Alpha Wolf deliver a mind-bending, Whammy-heavy playthrough of Akudama

Of all the acts in the Australian metalcore scene, Alpha Wolf stand out as one of the most boundary-pushing. While the quintet's music is formed of the same thunderous rhythms, heavyweight drop-tuned guitars and in-your-face vocals that characterize the genre as a whole, it's irrefutably etched with its own unique sound.

The group's second studio album, A Quiet Place to Die, doubles down on their 2017 debut, Mono, and serves up a platter of mosh-inducing arrangements and Whammy-drenched guitar lines, demonstrated perfectly on its fourth track Akudama.

Guitarists Scottie Simpson and Sabian Lynch join Guitar World today for a full playthrough of the masterclass metal track, showcasing its pummeling seven-string lines in all their glory.

Gear-wise, both Simpson and Lynch play Fishman Fluence Modern-modded, EverTune-equipped electric guitars – an ESP LTD M-7HT and an Ibanez RGD7UCS, respectively.

"Akudama is all about total aggression,” says Simpson. “It’s relentless in its structure from beginning to end and the playing style follows that. It follows the tropes of a traditional Alpha Wolf style song but just turns everything up to 11. From the Whammy sounds, to the riffs to the hooky chorus. It’s a straight up live banger!

He continues: “Instrumentally, the body of the song was written quite quickly in one session with myself and Mitch, and it was all about writing just a fun song that would go well live. From there we just kept shortening and refining the song as we listened to it over the coming months and cutting out the shit, until it’s the version you hear today!”

• Alpha Wolf's A Quiet Place to Die is available now via Sharptone.