WAGE WAR: It Calls Me By Name
The Florida metalcore band WAGE WAR gets grimy, hostile and aggressively raw with five tracks of unadulterated swamp-bred assault. Get ready to break out the drywall repair kits, WAGE WAR comes out swinging with a brutalist edge that never lets the tension or energy drop. This is a return to their roots in more than just spirit; it’s an unfiltered listening experience packed with catchy hooks and some of their heaviest material to date.
The first track, ‘SONG OF THE SWAMP’, drops you straight into their Florida origins. A swampy atmosphere greets the ears with a brief sense of calm, placing you deep within the murk. The chirps and quiet aren’t meant to comfort, they’re a false calm before the death roll begins. Almost immediately, Briton Bond’s growls cut through the atmosphere, a warning of what lurks beneath the surface.“There is no suffering in silence, hear the song of the swamp. It’s a jaw-locked fight for your life to the top. CHOMP!” A singular “CHOMP!” ignites an onslaught that never relents. The percussion work from Stephen Kluesener is relentless from the jump, tearing through the mix with animalistic fills. Lyrically, the track walks a fine line between targeted aggression and a primal, almost alligator-like power fantasy. Chris Gaylord (bass), Seth Blake (lead guitar) and Cody Quistad (rhythm guitar) amplify the feeding frenzy, shredding through the track until nothing but bone and brutality remain. It’s a true return to form, setting the gritty sonic landscape for the rest of the EP.
‘4x4’ keeps the beatdown going, driven by one of the catchiest choruses on the record: “Are you sick, are you twisted? Dead inside, so sadistic”. Distorted screeches trail each verse, making it an infectiously chaotic ride. The “na na na e” chants feel tailor made for future call-and-response moments on tour. Tempo switches, industrial electronic textures, and hardcore breakdowns collide throughout. Though short, it stands out as one of the most immediate and high energy tracks.
‘BLINDFOLD’ pulls the tempo back without sacrificing heaviness. It leans more melodic, echoing the tonal direction of their previous album ‘STIGMA’. Cody Quistad takes the vocal lead, weaving through distorted industrial layers that complement the track’s somber tone. Even so, the breakdowns refuse to release the tension built by earlier tracks, maintaining a tight grip on the listener.
‘Karma’ expands further on those industrial elements, with Quistad and Bond trading vocal duties. The track shifts between metalcore and hardcore influences, creating a duality that hits like controlled whiplash. Its final third feels engineered for a clear setup to a wall of death. An explosive instrumental dropout punctuates the moment, followed by the commanding line, “I’ll let God decide” before crashing back in with a brutal finish, complete with a signature blegh that dares the listener snap their neck.
‘PURIFY’ is pure rage incarnate, it’s arguably one of the band’s strongest displays of aggression and production. Its industrial distortion is pushed to the limit, blending argent-metal textures with djent-driven guitars and a bassline that propels everything forward. The track feels like it was ripped straight out of a modern DOOM soundtrack high praise. As it progresses, it edges into deathcore territory, with guttural squeals and monstrous vocal peaks that evoke a true apex predator. By the end of it you want more, a taste of the otherworldly aggression and a capital metal sin to not replay it more than once. Just as the chaos peaks, the swamp ambience returns, bringing the EP full circle back to its deceptive calm.
‘It Calls Me By Name’ is an apex predatory listening experience that resonates in ethereal aggression, it’s suffocating, relentless and built on pure instinct. WAGE WAR has crafted an EP that feels alive in the worst way possible: tense, violent and always ready to surprise the senses. A tension-snapping feeding frenzy listening experience capped with a rip-and-tear finale that leaves you hungry for more.
With their North American tour kicking off April 25th at Sick New World Festival in Las Vegas, expect this material to hit even harder live. Show up ready to CHOMP or get swallowed whole.