ALBUM REVIEW: Starving Wolves – The Fire, The Wolf, The Fang (Pirates Press Records)
Starving Wolves are a hardcore street-punk band from Austin, Texas, who’ve been around since 2015, and if their singer sounds familiar, that’s because he’s also the voice of long-running NYC band The Casualties.
David Rodriguez, formerly with Texas street-punks the Krum Bums, was a founder member of Starving Wolves, and after they supported The Casualties on tour, was asked to take over when vocalist Jorge Herrera retired from touring in 2017.
Singing in two bands (and the small matter of a global pandemic) stalled the progress of Starving Wolves a bit, but after debuting with the We Are One EP in 2016, and self-released album True Fire in 2020, they’re back with album number two.
Rodriguez is joined by ex-Krum Bums bandmates Zach Volta (bass) and Josh Langford (guitar), with Kevin Nguyen (Evacuate) on guitar and newest member Reeve Allen (ASS/Original Glitch) on drums.
Together, the five-piece create a blistering blend of raw, impassioned, angry punk rock which is perfect for playing at high volume if you’ve had a bad day. Did I say ‘angry’? I meant fucking furious.
It kicks off with Nothing More, whose horns, guitars and militaristic drums evoke images of a showdown in a spaghetti western film. A minute and a half in the guitars come in and Rodriguez unleashes the first of many intense vocals, returning to the repeated mantra “Raised in fear/Bathed in blood/Crucified, we are reborn/In death, in death we are reborn.”
Starving Wolves have a strong social conscience, and their songs tackle issues like police brutality (Burn The Stations), fragile mental health (Please Listen), and racial identity (Mixed Blood).
The latter, trailed as a single, sees Rodriguez draw upon his Mexican-American heritage, singing in both English and Spanish, and connecting racism to colonialism.
Ossuaries, another single, shows the band’s more melodic side, while the blistering Tracks On The Tank is one of the album’s highlights, with its speeding metal riffs.
Right Eye is about making sacrifices for what you believe in, while Alec’s Song has a slow-burning start with some heavy riffs and more of that military drumming and spaghetti-western-style ‘hoo-ha’s’ before exploding in frantic fury.
Please Listen, the first single from the album, is an emotional rollercoaster of a song which swings from wanting to end it all to pledging to help a loved one through their pain, and there are more relationship advice on Love Is Fleeting, whose over-riding message is “be careful what you wish for”.
Starving Wolves aren’t reinventing the wheel here, but there’s plenty to enjoy. 7/10.
- The Fire, The Wolf, The Fang is available in three different vinyl variations from Pirates Press Records HERE.
