Interviews: Wolves At The Gates

On their latest album Wasteland, Wolves At The Gate delve into their most ambitious conceptual work yet—an allegorical journey through sin, self-reliance, and the hope of redemption. Blending cinematic storytelling with an evolving sonic palette, the band continues to push creative boundaries. All questions in this interview were answered by vocalist and guitarist Stephen Cobucci, offering a deep look into the heart and mind behind Wasteland. All questions have been answered by Stephen Cobucci

1. Wasteland seems to take the band into deeper conceptual territory. Can you expand on the overarching narrative and themes you explored throughout the record?

For the entirety of our career I’ve explored the depths of my faith & theology as well as sociology and psychology. I’ve wanted our songs to be places that people can go to for an understanding of the gospel, an understanding of God, and the hope of salvation. And in my attempts to communicate those truths, I found that some of the most powerful ways those messages were delivered were through storytelling in our songs. And so, leading up to this album, we decided to be ambitious and tell a story through a larger, more expansive narrative. The overarching narrative is intentionally very allegorical. We tried to build a physical world that has numerous components that represent our collective objective reality. Wasteland focuses on this idea of what it looks like to try and live for oneself. To live lawlessly. To embrace the desires of your flesh and where it leads you. For many of us, we live that out in our minds and don’t realize how destructive it is, and how hopeless it is. This album takes you through that world, so to speak, through the eyes of a character that we hope personifies the experiences we all go through. Yet in addition to that, we hope the narrative introduces hope in the form of a way of escape. A way of forgiveness & acceptance despite how flawed and sinful we are.

2 .You mentioned that Wasteland is a metaphor for a mental space you don’t want to live in but keep returning to. Can you share more about how that concept influenced the songwriting?

A long time ago, I realized how powerful the mind is and why it is so important to understand the truth and, more importantly, how to remind myself of the truth. It is sort of the idea of “self-talk.” It was something I saw the psalmists in the bible do. They would find themselves in dark places of hopelessness and despondency, and would talk to themselves and remind themselves of the truth. A lot of these songs work in that same sort of way, except the only difference is in the fact that we are doing this through a narrative and conceptual storyline.

3 .The album incorporates electronic elements and interludes that add new layers to your sound. How did you approach expanding your sonic palette while staying true to your metalcore roots?

We really just did what felt natural and exciting to us. We also continually asked ourselves if the music fit the emotion of the song and if it helped you feel like you were in this world that we were building. We’ve known that we’ve always been a bit odd in the realm of what makes a “metalcore” band or “post-hardcore” band, but we have never identified ourselves in any of those ways because we’re just trying to make music that we love and are passionate about.

4.The co-production with Josh Gilbert (Spiritbox) must have been an interesting experience. How did his input shape the album’s sound and direction?

Josh was such a helpful addition to this new batch of songs that we were working on because he brought a fresh set of eyes to songs that we had been working on for a while. We sent Josh and Joseph McQueen a Dropbox folder full of songs that we had been working on, and they helped identify which songs were moving in the right direction and had potential. That was the first step that was really valuable. Then I worked on those songs some more on my own until I flew out to their studio to work together on them. I personally like their creative instincts and their willingness to work until we are all happy with the direction of a song or even a small section of a song. Josh has a unique perspective creatively that was inspiring and valuable in the process of bringing the songs to life.

5. You recorded in multiple locations—New Jersey, San Diego, and LA. How did working in different environments affect the creative process?

It really has affected the creative process because we have recorded the last three albums this way. Thankfully, we are much more organized this time around and are less critical of ourselves as well.

6."Parasite" is an intense track both musically and lyrically. How did the concept of a parasite-host relationship come to symbolize personal struggles in this song?

When I was trying to depict the insanity of sin and the habitual nature of it, I was brought to the idea of a parasite and a host. In the storyline, I wanted there to be something that had infected the blood of all of the inhabitants of the Wasteland, and I felt that the parasite-host relationship would best describe that. It’s also just how my own sins and failures make me feel. There are always things that make empty promises, but are like a poisoned well that invites me to drink from it time and time again, but with the same outcome every time.

7. The music video feels more like a short film with cinematic storytelling. What was the vision behind it, and how involved was the band in its creative direction?

Seeing as the album was already a musically artistic medium that we were using to tell the story of the Wasteland, we wanted to use other artistic mediums to fill in the gaps of the story in ways that an album couldn’t. And so when we approached Garrett Drake and Kevin Johnson about helping us bring that to life in a music video, they were immediately inspired with their own artistic vision as to how they could help us tell this story. They asked if we would be interested in an ambitious attempt to make this into a short film, and we didn’t hesitate at all. Garrett did an incredible job of taking the story that I had written out and expanding it into a thoughtful and compelling script. And then from there, it was just down to the incredible performances from the actors to deliver the heart and emotion of the story.

8. The track blends synths, screams, and crushing breakdowns—arguably one of your heaviest yet. Was there a conscious effort to push your sound to new extremes on this record?

In a sense, yes. That is what excites us as artists. Trying to take our music and creativity to places we haven’t explored and didn’t imagine in previous albums. There will always be identifiable components of our music that will remain, but we want to push those limits in ourselves to see what else we could create that is exciting and fresh to us.

9. Since Captors, you've been refining and evolving your sound. Looking back, how do you think Wasteland stands apart from your previous albums?

This album has been really challenging for me, but also really rewarding. There is a sense of patience and thoughtfulness that stands apart for me regarding the Wasteland. Every album is a time capsule within itself, but I hope that this can be just another exciting journey for listeners to enjoy in our discography.

10. You've played with bands across different rock and metal subgenres, from The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus to August Burns Red. How have those experiences influenced your musical growth? With Wasteland adding new dimensions to your music, where do you see Wolves At The Gate going next?

We always look forward to touring with different bands because there is always the opportunity to learn something from other musicians, whether it is technically or creatively. We’ve had the privilege to tour with many different talented people over the years that have definitely influenced us creatively. I try not to look too far into the future so that I can focus on what is in front of me at the moment. While we are indeed excited to see people get to listen to Wasteland, we are excited about what is to come between touring and more music.