Wolves to release "Self-Titled" via Ripcord Records!
- Jason Hesley
- Aug 8, 2025
- 2 min read
Formed in 2016, the band brings together a tight-knit group of musicians with a long, tangled history. From the angular chaos of Finish Him! to the crushing riffs of Ashes of Maybelle, the jazzy metalcore of EFK to the politically charged aggression of Bludger, each project added a layer to what Wolves would become. Along the way, members also left their mark in bands like Hundred Year Old Man, Conjurer, ByTheRiver, xKings, Vnder a Crvmbling Moon, and The Grey. But Wolves feels like a culmination, a full-circle moment built on trust, scars, and a shared sense of unfinished business.
After Bludger disbanded, Mark Howes (vocals/guitar) and Andy Price (bass/vocals) weren’t ready to stop. Joined by longtime friend Robbie Tewelde (drums), and soon after by dual guitarists Andy ‘Beard’ Rodger (guitar/vocals/sax) and Ryan Tyrrell (guitar/vocals), the band came together under the name When The Wolf Comes Home. Their debut EP, Gone Are The White Flags (Damage Limitation Records, 2017), was a raw, cathartic outburst, written fast, recorded with urgency, and soaked in sweat and intent.
The EP’s live campaign saw Wolves sharing stages with Sectioned, Urne, Harrowed, LLNN, Pleiades, Renounced, and Tuskar, quickly gaining a reputation for chaotic, no-holds-barred performances marked by flailing limbs, flying guitars, and more than a little blood.
Then 2020 happened.
Plans to record a debut album stalled as the world ground to a halt. Families grew. Life got real. But in early 2021, Wolves returned—older, more focused, and determined to craft something heavier, sharper, and more deliberate. The result is Self Titled: a ten-track maelstrom of Every Time I Die-style swagger, atmospheric post-metal vastness, Dillinger-grade technicality, and Poison The Well-level emotion.
Wolves shift gears effortlessly, from twisted, discordant riffing to thunderous, fist-in-the-air anthems and they do it with remarkable control and finesse. Take Reformed (Try Love), for example: a track that showcases their ability to balance chaos and clarity without losing any momentum.
There’s muscle here, no doubt. But there’s also message. Wolves write songs that hit like a hammer and still manage to carry emotional and political weight. Lyrically, the album dives deep into sleep paralysis, fatherhood, fascism, heartbreak, told through the shifting perspectives of four vocalists. The result is an unpredictable yet cohesive journey. The production, handled in-house by drummer Robbie Tewelde, is precise and unrelenting.
Wolves is not a rebirth. It’s the sound of a band stepping into the skin they’ve grown over a decade of shared stages, failures, and frenzies.
It’s music built to move bodies and rattle teeth. It’s catharsis. It’s chaos. It’s home.
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