“Prostrate in the shadow of machine grime.”
Alpha Wolf is a name that needs no introduction. Now several releases into their career, including two acclaimed full-length LPs, the Australian metalcore quintet has accumulated fame through relentless touring, sharing the stage with reputed acts such as Emmure, Invent Animate and The Devil Wears Prada. In the midst of much-needed downtime, however, they haven’t exactly been idling, as behind the scenes the Aussies have been cooking up their fourth full-length album, Half-Living Things, their first LP since 2020’s A Quiet Place to Die, a rollout that I myself have very fond memories of.
While AQPTD was not an overly lengthy affair, it managed to accomplish a great deal in its 36 minute runtime. The same fun factor behind Alpha Wolf’s destructive, mosh-inducing sound remained intact, yet it managed to broaden its horizons just enough to introduce some very welcome experimentation, where highlight tracks such as “Bleed 4 You” and “Don’t Ask….” spring to mind. The same can be said in 2024 with Half-Living Things, only ‘welcome’ isn’t quite the word I’d use this time around. While one half of Half-Living Things boasts a fair number of cuts that see Alpha Wolf at the very apex of their craft, its adjacent half is perplexing, to say the least.
The record kicks off with lead single “Bring Back The Noise”, which remains a perfectly satisfactory track in Alpha Wolf’s catalogue. While it isn’t particularly remarkable in any way, its high octane energy and moshability prevents it from falling firmly into the ‘boring’ category. Unfortunately, this is not the case for sophomore track “Double-Edge Demise”, a very by-the-books metalcore tune with very little in the way of replayability. Its only real highlight is its breakdown, coming in far too late at the two minute mark.
Up next is album highlight “Haunter”, where Half-Living Things finally builds some real momentum. Despite some rather rough synth work in its introduction, this one undeniably kicks some ass. Vocalist Lochie Keogh’s talents are on full display here, backed by Mitchell Fogarty’s ever-impressive drum patterns and dual riffers Sabian Lynch and Scottie Simpson’s manic power chords. Topping it off is a brief but bone crushing breakdown that absolutely floored me on first listen.
Sophomore single “Sucks 2 Suck” is easily the least impressive cut on the record. Filled to the brim with bland instrumentation, poor lyricism, and a borderline laughable feature from American rapper Ice-T, I couldn’t help but scratch my head on first listen. Even in an album setting, this track doesn’t do Alpha Wolf any favours, and only serves to add to my confusion. I truly can’t help but wonder how the quality of Half-Living Things ended up as such a mixed bag.
Recent single “Whenever You’re Ready” begins strong with a soaring, emotionally driven atmosphere, yet quickly falls flat upon reaching its chorus. Put simply, the cleans on display here aren’t great, which is a shame considering this may have been a major highlight if not for the weak vocal performance. “Bleed 4 You” from AQPTD was a much stronger display in this vein due to its stellar female vocal feature, while its closer “Don’t Ask….” would forego the use of cleans altogether and instead rely on Keogh’s powerful screams to generate its emotional gravitas. Overall, the direction for “Whenever You’re Ready” is an admirable stylistic homage to the aforementioned cuts from the sophomore record; I just wish it could’ve stuck the landing a little more consistently.
“Pretty Boy” is another one that’s firmly stuck in ‘OK’ territory. There are some fun grooves and breakdowns present here; however, the same poor lyricism present on “Sucks 2 Suck” and “Double-Edge Demise” makes an unwelcome return, backed by the same clean vocals from the previous track but delivered in a more nu-metal fashion. “Mangekyo”, on the other hand, is a contender for my favourite Alpha Wolf track, period. This is an absolute rager from start to finish, delivering one of the most memorable breakdowns I’ve heard in the four years since “Restricted (R18+)”. There is a noticeable climb in lyrical quality here too, with Keogh making fun nods to various anime and manga in the process.
As demonstrated by “Mangekyo”, the latter half of Half-Living Things is generally much stronger than its precedent former. “A Terrible Day for Rain” is absolute downtuned madness, sporting some of the lowest guitar notes to ever ring out on an Alpha Wolf record, as well as another monstrously heavy breakdown that is rivalled only by its predecessor in the previous cut. “Feign” and “Garden of Eyes” follow suit as powerhouse cuts that take no prisoners, with equally crushing moments that represent Alpha Wolf at their very best, and while the penultimate title track is a little more run-of-the-mill in its execution, it is still a serviceable track bearing highlights of its own. It’s obvious from this five song run that Alpha Wolf still knows how to write genuinely excellent Alpha Wolf songs; it’s only when they try to do literally anything else does the album’s strength falter.
Case and point, “Ambivalence” sees off Half-Living Things in a relatively underwhelming way. While the clean vocals on this track are noticeably better than those present on the previous moody cut, I can’t help but feel this one is…. out of place. It almost comes off as a Currents or Polaris B-side in its execution and doesn’t feel as if it is in tandem with the rest of the record. Whether that’s inherently good or bad will depend on your thoughts on the overall package, but I personally would’ve liked an explosively heavy epilogue in the same vein as the precedent run of songs to remind us that Alpha Wolf are still Alpha Wolf at heart. However, “Ambivalence” instead serves as a reminder that bands change and grow; and not always in the ways that we’d like them to.
Half-Living Things is very much a record where its overall quality lives up to its name. One half of the package feels alive with energy, boasting a brash fury unmatched by anything the band has ever demonstrated before, while the other half is simply dead on arrival. Explosive cuts like “Haunter”, “Mangekyo” and “A Terrible Day for Rain” will undoubtedly remain staples in heavier playlists, but as it stands, Alpha Wolf’s third full-length experience manages to find itself just above the average mark.
6/10
Half-Living Things is set to release April 5th via Sharptone Records, and can be pre-ordered here.