Aussie metalcore pack leaders Alpha Wolf are bringing back the noise with their third full-length album, 'Half Living Things', accompanied by a national headlining tour.
'Half Living Things', featuring the single 'Bring Back The Noise', comes four years after their sophomore album, the ARIA Award-nominated 'A Quiet Place To Die’, and was self-produced by the band.Alpha Wolf rhythm guitarist Sabian Lynch says the band hold a high standard for the music they want to put out into the world. "We like to impress ourselves with our songs," Sabian says.
"We want to be our #1 fans of our music, and also incorporating our live performance into that because we tour so much and absolutely love the live performance side of things.
"So, on the album there are some fun songs that we know we're going to see some crazy stuff going on live, then there's stuff that will touch on emotions and that's always a fun experience live and meeting fans who connect with our music in that way.
"But ultimately, it's to impress ourselves. If we're not liking our own music, we're not going to put it out."
Lead guitarist Scottie Simpson concurs, adding that working on a new album provided the band with an opportunity to reset after the prolonged recording and touring cycle of 'A Quiet Place To Die'. "We put out 'A Quiet Place To Die' in 2020," Scottie says.
"So, we've been playing that album for four years and the majority of our set lists have been that album, so it's an exciting time to go out and have a whole new album to add to the catalogue.
"I don't know what goal to set now because we've smashed all the barriers." - Sabian Lynch (Alpha Wolf)
"We get to chuck new songs in, and we get to see what works and what doesn't all over again. It feels like a whole new chapter is about to start."
The songwriting for 'Half Living Things' began while the band were still locked down during COVID, with the album finalised over a period of three years as Alpha Wolf returned to a hectic touring schedule post-pandemic.
"It wasn't until mid-last year when we had a proper break we were like 'we have to get the album done'," Scottie says.
"We had 20, 30 songs that we had to cull down to the 12 that made it. We had a whole wide range of stuff and we had to decide what we wanted the album to sound like and what direction we wanted to go."
Alpha Wolf will hit the road with 'Half Living Things' in August for a national headline tour featuring support from US contemporaries The Devil Wears Prada and Invent Animate as well as Thrown from Sweden, with a number of shows selling out in less than a week. "We couldn't even expect the response to this tour, to be honest," Sabian says.
"The response to the tour has blown our minds, so we now know we have to up our game and bring the best Alpha Wolf show we've ever had mixed with everything you know of Alpha Wolf."
'Half Living Things' includes the single 'Sucks 2 Suck', which features a verse from legendary rapper Ice-T in an epic rap-metal crossover in the tradition of Anthrax and Public Enemy. "He's a legend, he's a great dude," Scottie says of Ice-T.
"It was kind of just a shot in the dark. We were putting names back and forth and I think it was [lead vocalist] Lochie [Keogh] who said we should get Ice-T and then our manager in the States said: 'I know his manager.'
"It was a bit of back and forth; getting something like that happening isn't the easiest thing but once it was all approved and laid out, he delivered the track in like a day.
"A guy like him isn't going to jump on anything, he has to like what he's doing. So, the fact he liked it enough to do it – and we love his part we love what he did, and we also got to do the music video with him – it's like a grand slam of things."
From humble Tasmanian roots to working with rap royalty and representing Australian metalcore on the world stage, Alpha Wolf have vastly expanded their presence in recent years.
In 2022, Alpha Wolf presented the first edition of CVLT FEST, their very own curated, one-day festival featuring local and international acts. The second instalment was held in February to great success and acclaim.
"We've always been heavily invested in the business side," Scottie says. "Sabian and I manage the band in Australia, and we're very well invested in that side but starting your own festival is a whole different ball game."
Sabian adds: "I don't think we ever went into it as a business decision, it was more of a 'let's make a really cool day'," he says.
"Each line-up now has had bands that we're friends with or have toured with that we want to bring to Australia and let them go off and do their own tours because we think those bands deserve the recognition and deserve to hit Australian shores.
"It's more so that we wanted to do something fun. We've always wanted to do left-of-field type things.
"We grew up going to the Soundwaves and also going to the smaller festivals with eight bands, and that was our bread and butter back then. You'd see all of your friends and everyone you knew from the internet would be there. Just a fun time. . . we're happy with what it's doing, what it's done and both CVLT FESTs have now been incredible. Much praise to both events so far."
Since forming in 2013, Alpha Wolf have steadily scaled the ziggurat to stand among Australia's metal elite. Reflecting on just over a decade of being a band and what Alpha Wolf have achieved thus far, neither Scottie nor Sabian ever imagined being where they are today. "It's been a wild ride," Sabian says.
"We didn't think when starting a band that it would become this worldwide mosh metalcore entity, so we probably could have thought branding better back then if we were going to take it that serious," he jokes.
"We were just a couple of friends wanting to play some shows to our friends, and I guess the business mind that I have always wants to take it the next step. It's been right moves and right timing, but coming from where we did in the early days it is absolutely mind-blowing.
"I have short-term goals written down in a notebook somewhere and it's like, 'get 10,000 views on YouTube' and all these short-term goals, and we've wiped the floor with them since. I don't know what goal to set now because we've smashed all the barriers."
'Half Living Things' is released tomorrow (5 April).
Alpha Wolf 2024 Tour Dates
Thu 1 Aug - Metropolis (Perth)* venue upgradeFri 2 Aug - Chelsea Heights Hotel (Melbourne)* new show
Sat 3 Aug - Forum Melbourne* sold out
Sun 4 Aug - Hindley Street Music Hall (Adelaide)* venue upgrade
Wed 7 Aug - Liberty Hall (Sydney)* new show
Thu 8 Aug - Liberty Hall (Sydney)* sold out
Fri 9 Aug - King St Band Room (Newcastle)* sold out
Sat 10 Aug - The Fortitude Music Hall (Brisbane)* venue upgrade
