Holding Absence & Alpha Wolf – The Lost & the Longing – Split (Review)

Alpha Wolf are an Australian metalcore band and Holding Absence are a UK modern rock band. They have teamed up for this split release.

Alpha Wolf, (check out A Quiet Place to Die), give us two songs, lasting just over six minutes in total.

60cm of Steel opens the split, and is a collaborative track that features Holding Absence’s vocalist. It’s a song that combines Alpha Wolf’s trademark heaviness with emotive atmosphere. The Holding Absence singer complements the Alpha Wolf one very well, and the track is a well-crafted crusher. We then come to Hotel Underground, which rages with angular riffs and a brutal intent that’s both modern and timeless.

Holding Absence, (check out Holding Absence and The Greatest Mistake of My Life), give us two songs, lasting just over eight minutes in total.

Aching Longing starts their side off, and is a collaborative track that features Alpha Wolf’s vocalist. The song is energetic and melodic, with a few heavier aspects that we don’t normally see from Holding Absence. The singer of Alpha Wolf provides some additional bite to the track, although even he can’t properly cut through luscious melodies and mood-rich layers that the song employs. Coffin closes the release, which you could almost describe as a contemporary power ballad of sorts. It’s a very, very good song.

Both bands succeed in showing once again why they are so well-regarded in their respective arenas. To hear them together like this is a treat, and they work well with each other despite their differing styles. Make sure you check this out.

Very highly recommended.