Album/EP

Wage War - STIGMA (Album Review)

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

Jun 16, 2024

7 min read

Wage War – STIGMA
Released: June 21st, 2024

Line-Up:

Briton Bond // Lead Vocals
Cody Quistad // Rhythm Guitar & Clean Vocals
Seth Blake // Lead Guitar
Chris Gaylord // Bass
Stephen Kluesener // Drums

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It has been an immeasurably large few years for Floridian metalcore giants Wage War since the release of their fourth LP Manic, and, they have undergone extensive worldwide touring in the time since (revisit our North American coverage here and our Australian coverage here). As they prepare to drop their latest offering STIGMA, the clear shifts in sound and style amongst recently released singles 'Magnetic', 'Nail5', and 'Tombstone' has caused both excitement and confusion amongst listeners on a global scale.

The band expressed to Wall of Sound in March what has sparked this creative change and how having the freedom to experiment has influenced them up until this point. The different approaches on the latest songs signify growth in an act that is quickly becoming a leader within the world of metalcore music, but is this growth represented throughout the album as a whole, which in turn could project this class act further on their upwards trajectory? Let's explore.

Bass-driven electronic thumps on 'The Show's About To Start' kicks off the album on a footing that nobody expected. Softly spoken vocals describing a party atmosphere with lyrics such as 'Lights go down / Voices loud / Lost inside the crowd / Bodies meet / Feel the heat / Never miss a beat now" sit on top of the synth-driven music. It isn't long before instrumentals are introduced, creating a collective beefy sound that inevitably builds up to a breakdown which quickly reintroduces listeners to the group's heavy roots. Continuing on the EDM trend, the intro to 'Self Sacrifice' begins with synthesisers which are quickly blended amongst a dialled-back, heavy driven instrumentally focused sound, transforming this track into a hard hitting banger. A church bell makes a subtle appearance throughout the chorus amongst intricate guitar riffs and Briton Bond's gut-wrenching low unclean vocals, expressing 'Dance with the devil / Deal with the reaper.'

The tempo is wound back, and the instrumental tunings wound up for 'Magnetic'. The radio friendly track, which is dripping with heartbreak is arguably their softest and slowest offering yet, spanning through their entire career. However, this track manages to stand as one of the album's strongest with both Briton Bond and Cody Quistad sharing singing duties to relay the powerful message of feeling pulled to someone romantically, despite the obstacles that may appear with lyricism such as 'No matter how hard I try / you pull me back every time / Try to push away but we’re right back in it / You and me are always gonna be magnetic'. A mild-mannered breakdown occurs towards the outro, but is quickly brought back to the slow and soothing sound of Quistad's voice on top of mellow instrumentals.

The group continue to push the envelope with creativity and diversity separating each song and delivering a perfect blend that spans multiple soundscapes, however, the group find themselves drawn to their humble, heavy beginnings with 'NAIL5'. The track doesn't stray too far from the Wage War we have known and loved for years, giving the group's older fans a reason to smile. Bond proves to be an exemplary mid-range unclean vocalist who manages to sing with the instruments, rather than simply on top of them. Particularly throughout the chorus with lyrics such as 'Dance on the grave / Five nails in the casket / Bones lay to waste / let 'em rot with the maggots'. The 2:34 track is the shortest on the album, proving it to be a delectable hard and fast offering for all the headbangers out there.

Intricate, layered guitar riffs take us into 'Blur', which is a beautifully written introspective and cathartic anthem that once again offers a slower, more simplistic approach by the instrumentalists, which isn't a bad thing - as the saying goes 'less is more'. This allows Quistad the opportunity to flourish in the limelight as he goes on to sing about the internal struggles of dealing with mental health issues, with lyricism such as 'I’m so insecure / My visions faded / I just make things worse / Always so dilated / It’s what I deserve / I don’t try to change it'. The intensity of the instrumentals increases towards the outro, with the inclusion of Bond's heavy-hitting unclean vocals. Proving to be a polar opposite offering to the previous track, 'Tombstone' turns the intensity to the max with blast beats and double kicks coming from the always impressive Stephen Kluesener. Bond takes centre stage with a voice that is bleeding with anger as he spits venom, producing a wide range of vocals from his ear-splitting highs, to his lower-than-hell lows which Quistad focuses his attention on his riffage. Closing out the track is a Pantera/Kublai Khan-styled riff that nobody saw coming, which keeps me on the edge of my seat as I continue into the next track.

'Happy Hunting' reintroduces the electronic elements seen earlier in the album. Undulated vocals, driven by the EDM influences sit well with the dance styled riffs of Seth Blake. As much as the track is creative, it is equally repetitive. I find myself waiting for an exciting moment where a member's personal flair is exhibited, however, it never comes. Quistad's enthusiasm for country music oozes through in the introduction for 'Hellbent' as he softly sings on top of an acoustic guitar riff, which quickly transforms into another radio-rock chorus. The track progressively builds intensity, until a crescendoing breakdown with the lyricism 'The only enemy is the inner me / Don’t let the inner me, be the end of me'.

Beginning with enticingly intricate guitar riffs, 'In My Blood' sways between heavy and soft elements with beefy verses and an anthemic 'sing-along' styled chorus. The song seemingly serves as an accolade to the quintet's home state of Florida, with lyricism such as 'When its high noon in Florida / Even the devil gets hot / There’s a reason he’s in Georgia and not in the swamp'. 'This Is How It Ends' closes the album on a mellow note with another 'radio-rock' track which comes in at four minutes long, making it the album's longest offering. Apart from its repetitive nature, the song closes the group's fifth record beautifully with its reflective and inward-looking essence.

Wage War's fifth album, STIGMA doesn't reinvent the wheel - In fact, it does the exact opposite. As the band have gone on to incorporate new dynamics, such as the inclusion of electronic-styled sounds, they have continued to push the bounds of what metalcore music could (and should) sound like, while still producing a sound that would resonate with the fans from day one of the group's existence.