{"id":233893,"date":"2025-09-17T13:20:23","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T13:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/233893\/"},"modified":"2025-09-17T13:20:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T13:20:23","slug":"wolves-self-titled-review-angry-metal-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/233893\/","title":{"rendered":"Wolves – Self-Titled Review | Angry Metal Guy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Remember when hardcore was, like, hardcore? Wolves<\/strong> does. The generically named yet tongue-in-cheek UK hardcore gang makes antiestablishment music cool again, but not in the tired way. It\u2019s not the noise-and-noise-only approach of early punk\u2019s darlings Sex Pistols<\/strong> or Black Flag<\/strong>, but it ain\u2019t pop-punk\u2019s catchy anthem either. It\u2019s jerky, jagged, unhinged, and doesn\u2019t give a fuck about your feelings \u2013 it\u2019s angular! But it\u2019s also melodic, heartfelt, and overwhelmingly sincere. Calling out fascism and nationalism and the assholes who tote them, while getting personal and vulnerable with themes of parenthood and heartbreak, Wolves<\/strong> offers a scathing forty-eight minute romp through both the unfriendliness and melodicism of hardcore\u2019s storied history.<\/p>\n

Wolves<\/strong> is hardcore in a traditional way, but that doesn\u2019t forego on experimentation. The quintet at its core recalls the hardcore fury of Gallows<\/strong> or Verse<\/strong> in their punky politically inclined foot on the gas, but they toss in a generous helping of post-hardcore, healthy cup of mathcore, and a drizzle of post-metal into their stew of titles. Furthermore, four out of five members are also vocalists and panic chord abuse runs rampant alongside a groovy swagger. It recalls Every Time I Die<\/strong>, The Dillinger Escape Plan<\/strong>, and Poison the Well<\/strong> without committing to them completely, creating a hardcore album that rides neatly on the borders with intensity when needed and thoughtful melody when the situation calls for it. Both bolstered and hindered by their four vocalists and a gratuitous runtime, Self-Titled is math-curious, -core-furious, and genre-spurious debut LP.<\/p>\n

Self-Titled by Wolves<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Wolves<\/strong> justifies its lengthy runtime with some tasteful experimentation. While the backbone of tempo-abusing furious hardcore punk, a hefty amount of melody adds a heartfelt ache to the tracks (\u201cAll or Something\u201d), while post-metal\u2019s dirge-like hypnotism appears to slow things down in a far more somber and dreary tone (\u201cNew Liver, Same Eagle\u201d). These moments can be hit-or-miss, however, as the more Intronaut<\/strong>-inspired expanses that rely on clean vocals fall drearily flat (\u201cA Stolen Horse\u201d), the bluesy riffs can grate after so many reiterations (\u201cA Guide to Accepting One\u2019s Fate\u201d), and the more chaotic mathcore faithful can derail the otherwise interesting grooves (\u201cNicaea to See You (To See You Nicaea)\u201d). Furthermore, although the melodic nature recalls the yearning moments of Counterparts<\/strong> or The Ghost Inside<\/strong>, the four-vocal attack does not bode well, the fry vocals feeling particularly grating against the layered plucking (\u201cAll or Something,\u201d \u201cA Stolen Horse\u201d).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Thankfully then, the bulk of Self-Titled is one hell of a beatdown romp that toes the line between its influences in a relentless blend of mathy and groovy. Wonky panic chords and dissonant technical sweeps courtesy of The Dillinger Escape Plan<\/strong> add a desperate and unhinged dimension (\u201cLEECHES!,\u201d \u201cEmergency Equipment\u201d), while bluesy swagger that recalls the heyday of Every Time I Die<\/strong> makes riffs sound \u201cyuuuuge\u201d against the backdrop of blistering hardcore tempos, resulting in some seriously mosh-worthy content (\u201cThirteen Crows and One Pigeon,\u201d \u201cThe Rich Man and the Sea\u201d). Second track \u201cReformed (Try Love)\u201d is of special note, that while its groovy riffs are rad, the spoken word callout is the most hardcore thing I\u2019ve heard this year, calling out those who are \u201cone step from Nazi propaganda\u201d and nationalism-flirting politicians, businessmen, and influencers, British and American: \u201cMate, they don\u2019t give a fuck about you, but you\u2032ve let them whisper in your ear\u2026 \u2019cause it\u2032s easier to hate than to look in a fucking mirror.\u201d In Wolves<\/strong>\u2019 words, \u201cChrist, what a shower of cunts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wolves<\/strong>\u2019 Self-Titled is all about balance, as their unapologetic brashness blends surprisingly well with their tongue-in-cheek vibe and vulnerable melodics. At its core, it\u2019s a math-curious hardcore romp that fits neatly alongside the likes of both Gallows<\/strong>, Botch<\/strong>, and even Stray from the Path<\/strong>, so it\u2019s easy to forgive the overloud vocals, mediocre cleans, periodically gratuitous repetition, and album length. When its experimental edge succeeds, it\u2019s a home run, but that\u2019s not the star of the show \u2013 its political edge and weaponized mathcore influence will rip you a new one. Wolves<\/strong> is here to make sure you\u2019re not \u201cduped by absolute scumbags\u201d and have a rip-roaring time doing it.<\/p>\n

Rating:<\/strong> 3.0\/5.0
DR:<\/strong> 6 | Format Reviewed:<\/strong> 320 kb\/s mp3
Label:<\/strong> Ripcord Records<\/a>
Websites:<\/strong> theycalluswolves.bandcamp.com<\/a> | facebook.com\/theycalluswolves<\/a>
Releases Worldwide:<\/strong> September 5th, 2025<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Remember when hardcore was, like, hardcore? Wolves does. The generically named yet tongue-in-cheek UK hardcore gang makes antiestablishment…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":233894,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[1444,55679,125808,125809,125810,125811,171,125812,125813,125814,125815,23657,975,125816,125817,2290,11853,125818,125819,125820,125821,125822,98551,125823,67,132,68,20543,9571],"class_list":{"0":"post-233893","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-1444","9":"tag-3-0","10":"tag-black-flag","11":"tag-botch","12":"tag-british-metal","13":"tag-counterparts","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-every-time-i-die","16":"tag-gallows","17":"tag-hardcore-punk","18":"tag-intronaut","19":"tag-mathcore","20":"tag-music","21":"tag-poison-the-well","22":"tag-post-metal","23":"tag-review","24":"tag-reviews","25":"tag-ripcord-records","26":"tag-self-titled","27":"tag-sep25","28":"tag-sex-pistols","29":"tag-stray-from-the-path","30":"tag-the-dillinger-escape-plan","31":"tag-the-ghost-inside","32":"tag-united-states","33":"tag-unitedstates","34":"tag-us","35":"tag-verse","36":"tag-wolves"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115219846020996878","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}