Fatality: Alpha Wolf show their teeth with 'Sub-Zero'

19 March 2019 | 2:03 pm | Alex Sievers
Originally Appeared In

Yep, 'Sub-Zero' might just be Alpha Wolf's heaviest song to date.

Alpha Wolf deal out a heavy new number, 'Sub-Zero'. 



In a joint deal with Greyscale Records in Australia and New Zealand, and with SharpTone Records now handling the band's releases globally, Alpha Wolf have revealed their new EP, 'Fault'. The new six-track EP, which also comes with previous single 'No Name', is set for release on April 19th via the two labels. This news comes also packaged with the release of their new single, 'Sub-Zero'. (A nice little Mortal Kombat reference, by the by.)

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With some hefty low-end, spiking riffs, and one of the hardest grooves the Melbourne crew has perhaps ever laid down, the band are bench-pressing what is easily their heaviest song with 'Sub-Zero'. Stacking it up alongside 'Black Mamba' and 'No Name', this is probably my preferred fave of the three singles so far. If you dig what Alpha Wold have done before, you'll love this new number, quite simply. I also think if people are complaining that vocalist Lochie Keogh didn't have the same level of angst in his voice as past material, than his ruthless performance here will hopefully smack those comments straight to bed.

Lyrically, this is the usual Alpha Wolf topics of discussion: if not a dark introspection of the self and one's own personal flaws, then it's a big, aggro 'fuck you'. The latter is the case here, with lyrics like "You're just a pussy in a black hoodie pushing your luck/Hang your head in the light but show your teeth in the dark". It's violent and confrontational, sure - and that imparts the overall tone and sound of the music - but it's also a little corny too. Then again, I'm not sure what else people would expect from bands like this when it comes to the stand-offish words that they spit? It's more so par for the course.

However, you cannot change my mind: this is absolutely a diss-track directed at the band's former vocalist, Aidan Ellaz. Even though this EP would've been  written, recorded and finished last year, the line" You're barking like a dog, but I am a fucking wolf" says it all. It's all too coincidental to be about anything or anybody else. As for Aidan, he now fronts Dealer, who only debuted last month and who are, let's be honest here, just a rip-off of Alpha Wolf. Which is amusing because Alpha aren't an original band - yet they pull-off this mosh-core sound very well, which is the key difference - thus making Dealer a copy of a copy.

Calculated beef or legit disses? I'll leave that call up to you, dear reader. Yet out of the 'Fault' EP (Alpha Wolf) and the 'Soul Burn' EP (Dealer), I know which one I'm personally looking forward to hearing the most. Go and get a little cold below:



[caption id="attachment_1106619" align="aligncenter" width="760"] The cover for Alpha Wolf's 'Fault' EP. [/caption]