“I’ve lost a consciousness I can’t recover.“
A collaborative EP has intense potential to be something truly special — a seamless converging of styles between different bands to create a sound which couldn’t have been achieved by the groups individually. When The Lost & The Longing was announced back in early June, it rightfully caused quite the commotion in the core community. Not only does it feature two of the premiere bands on the Sharptone roster, the stylistic differences between these two bands is rather significant. At first glance, merging the hardcore leaning nu-metalcore sound of Alpha Wolf with Holding Absence‘s catchy blend of indie rock and post-hardcore seems like it would be a hard sell. However, the ability of both groups to convey unyielding emotion through their respective styles turns The Lost & The Longing from a potential unfocused mess into a vulnerable exertion of passion and power.
We’ll start by discussing the non-collaborative tracks on the EP, beginning with Alpha Wolf’s solo offering, “Hotel Underground”. The track contains nearly everything one could possibly want from the Aussie titans; it’s a vicious cut full of pummeling grooves, particularly rabid vocals, dissonant leadwork, and a signature “bow-wow” breakdown to top it off. While the track does not do anything particularly surprising for Alpha Wolf, it is an energetic showcase of the boys down under doing what they do best, and taking no prisoners in the process. A similar sentiment can be held for “Coffin”, the counterpart from Holding Absence, albeit not to the same degree. As to be expected from the British quartet, it is a catchy yet mournful track that hits every note that makes the group a reliable source of catharsis for so many. Propelled by beautiful piano melodies and passionate performances across the board, the group continues to explore the ideas demonstrated on their most recent full-length The Greatest Mistake Of My Life with overwhelming success. It is even able to expand on that sound through its focus on acoustic guitar in the verses, which serves as a lovely compliment to the piano melodies and allows the already beautiful chorus to pop even more. Also worth mentioning is the variation in synth tones found in the closing minute of the track especially, distinguishing it amongst the group’s discography. In summation, both solo offerings perfectly fulfill their roles on the EP of giving the individual fans of both groups a reliable and strong new cut. However, the brilliance of The Lost & The Longing overwhelmingly comes from the monstrous collaborative tracks.
The aforementioned goals of a split EP applies to individual tracks as well, and to put it bluntly, both cuts accomplish these goals with an astounding level of success. Both tracks stylistically manage to allow Alpha Wolf and Holding Absence to play to their usual strengths while simultaneously meeting at a relative middle ground to allow for seamless features. And most importantly, the uncompromising emotion which is so important to both bands’ sounds shines through with unyielding passion. As a result, both tracks are extremely captivating listening experiences, bound to satisfy fans of both groups.
“Aching Longing”, lead single and Holding Absence-led cut, is a perfect example of a band catering their sound for a more seamless feature. Whilst the group is surely no stranger to a bit of aggression, it is a sound they have been moving further and further away from in favour of a more indie rock-infused sound. This makes it even more striking that the track features not just one, but two breakdown-like sections with a formidable amount of chunk by their standards. One of these sections even features vocalist Lucas Woodland screaming a bit, which, while also not necessarily new for the band, is another aspect the group were less interested in exploring on The Greatest Mistake Of My Life. However, what makes Woodland’s decision to include screaming so notable is that it gives the song a bit more edge before Alpha Wolf vocalist Lochie Keogh enters in the second half, with his screams sounding particularly woeful and agonizing. This, once again, shows the two groups meeting in the middle to come together as one entity; Keogh strays away from his signature aggression in favour of this mournful tone to create a more fluid listening experience. And the track accomplishes all of this without losing the signature identity of new Holding Absence, with drummer Ashley Green giving a standout performance and energetic backbone to the catchy guitarwork provided by Scott Carey and groovy basswork of Benjamin Elliot. The chorus, especially, is identifiable as Holding Absence; melancholic yet catchy, and more than anything, comforting.
This brings us to the unreleased opening track of the EP: “60 CM Of Steel”, led by Alpha Wolf and featuring Holding Absence. And oh, what a monstrous track it is. Seriously, this track absolutely astounded me. On A Quiet Place To Die, Alpha Wolf’s brand of nu-metalcore stood out in such a strong way due to their expert use of melody and ambient textures behind all the chunk and groove. It gave the album a very unsettling and depressing atmosphere, and while the group had toyed with these elements on previous releases, they really came to fruition on A Quiet Place To Die. And, to the delight of this particular reviewer, these elements are just as present as ever on “60 CM Of Steel”, creating not only a more stand-out track for Alpha Wolf, but a perfect backdrop for Lucas Woodland to come in for a powerful and emotive chorus almost reminiscent of the most desperate material of Linkin Park’s early catalogue. It is an absolutely perfect blend of styles that has an unreal amount of impact, and the rest of the track just propels this impact even further. Vocalist Lochie Keogh once again flexes his chops as one of the best vocalists in metalcore, giving a vicious display of range, flow, and emotion. Guitarists Sabian Lynch and Scottie Sympson guide the listener through some of their most bludgeoning riffs yet, topped off by some of their most melancholic leads which, coupled with unsettling synths, lends the track heaps of texture. Meanwhile, bassist/backing vocalist John Arnold and drummer Mitch Fogarty provide a beefy backbone, never allowing the pace to be lost and having some standout moments themselves. What a perfect track.
The Lost & The Longing is a truly standout effort from both Alpha Wolf and Holding Absence. Despite obvious stylistic differences, the EP demonstrates a seamless convergence of genres held together by spectacular songwriting and raw emotion. Listening front-to-back is a continuously rewarding experience, as the variation amongst the tracks creates an exciting listen that never feels forced and retains cohesion. Both groups deserve applause for what they have created, standing as a perfect follow-up to the individual successes of both A Quiet Place To Die and The Greatest Mistake Of My Life, and more importantly, an exciting indicator of what’s to come.
9/10
The Lost & Longing will available August 15th via SharpTone Records.