Band: Wage War
Album: Pressure
Label: Fearless Records / Caroline Australia
Release Date: August 30th 2019

Forming in 2015, Florida band Wage War have made a decent mark in a relatively short time, and with their third full length release “Pressure” coming out  via Fearless Records/Caroline Australia on 30 August 2019, that mark may soon become a crater. Before I listened to this album I checked out their previous releases and, with “Pressure” you clearly hear the band grow and set themselves up for a future

“Who Am I“opens the album and with lyrics like “Don’t forget Im human, I’ve got wounds to prove it”…….You don’t get more real than that. If people don’t have scars, they haven’t lived a day in their lives. It’s a great opener for an album, between the great guitar riff to the contrast between verse and chorus vocals and between the vocals of Briton and Cody Quistad.  Confession time, I have never been a big fan of the growling, screaming style of vocals, why, because it’s hard to understand the lyrics, but the vocals deliver not only power but clarity in the words, which makes the songs expand another level for me.

 “Prison” is musically tight with some great trade offs between the guitars and drums weaving through the vocal melodies and once again the varying vocal styles flow well and the words don’t get taken over by distortion. 

“Grave” is a nice change with more of an electronic undertone and the bridge in this song is a standout. This song will have a wider appeal especially with people like myself who are new comers to the band. Both this and “The Line” has a more mainstream approach, and will have a wider commercial appeal as a single to bring more new listeners in to the band

“Ghost” is a trip of a song. The start was more punk, then some electronic vibes mixed with metal but the stand out is the guitar solo. Real guitar hero style playing is over looked a lot now so to see someone absolutely let rip makes me happy.

“Me Against Myself”  and “Hurt” brings it back a bit. A great change of pace, about feeling comfortable in your own skin. Musically, Vocally and Lyrically the album standouts for me. Both songs sum up life, the challenges it brings and the feelings in instills on us. Haunting and reflective songs that tackle the issues many people live with every day.

“Low” and “Fury” say goodbye to chilled feelings and in comes the freight train of aggression and power, both will have more impact in the live setting than on an album where while great don’t get enough space to breath.

It’s obvious that Wage War haven’t just made an album, but more a platform. “Pressure” is only the beginning. It’s extremely evident in the songs. A worthwhile listen and addition to your collection

Tracklist

01. “Who I Am”
02. “Prison”
03. “Grave”
04. “Ghost”
05. “Me Against Myself”
06. “Hurt”
07. “Low”
08. “The Line”
09. “Fury”
10. “Forget My Name”
11. “Take the Fight”
12. “Will We Ever Learn”

Band Members

Briton Bond – Vocals
Cody Quistad – Guitar/ Vocals 
Seth Blake – Guitar 
Chris Gaylord – Bass
Stephen Kluesener – Drums