EP REVIEW: Wage War – ‘It Calls Me By Name’

To this day, the mind boggles at how STIGMA ended up as despised as it was. Like, do you realise how much you have to screw up for people who routinely listen to Wage War to call your album bad?! The thing is, too, STIGMA wasn’t the worst thing ever; it had some okay bits. Nothing that even came close to amazing, but because this is the band responsible for Cody Quistad becoming ingratiated into metalcore’s club of flanderisers, ‘some okay bits’ are enough.

But because bands like this have no spine and are entirely beholden to public and commercial response, It Calls Me By Name is, first and foremost, a recalibration effort. On this five-track EP, Wage War seek to root out what wasn’t liked last time, and double down on pure, honest metalcore dishwater. It’s entirely reactive without a single step taken forward. And while you can appreciate their rectifying efforts, they only go as far as Wage War once again circling the drain, an Octanecore thud-fest that’s not daring or exciting.

Of course, ‘efforts’ as a term in itself might be stretching it. There’s a semblance of something wanting to be explored that, naturally, is way out of Wage War’s league. Supposedly, there’s inspiration taken from nature in the Florida swamps, though that’s ironic when Wage War are like the Black Death for anything even approaching musical biodiversity. There are the sounds of bugs and frogs to bookend the EP, but then what? They aren’t Down who are built to fit that sort of thing, or even Cane Hill who can appropriately tailor themselves to it. Rather, it’s the usual hammer-and-anvil heaviness with no lasting impact, dissipating after its hit as if it were nothing. There isn’t form or grounding to work with; it’s mediocre business as usual.

Perhaps you’ll get fooled into thinking otherwise with Song Of The Swamp, an opener that seemingly represents Wage War kicking things up a gear. It is probably the best song here for its density, where if anything is going to connect on the prospect of a black-and-blue battering alone, it probably would be this one. It’s also as good as you’ll get from It Calls Me By Name, though. Nothing else shows off this same force or animal intent, regardless of the guitar tone carrying over. Hell, Blindfold isn’t too far from the ballads that turned so many off on STIGMA, for which this EP was supposed to be a course correction for. If that doesn’t prove how limited Wage War are—where even five songs without a mushy metalcore cowpat is too much for them—what does?

The cardinal sin of It Calls Me By Name is how uneventful it is by design. If you’re expecting some reinvention to chew on…well, you’re listening to Wage War; no, you aren’t. Even across such a meagre clutch of songs, the ideas are so tired and threadbare, and colour inside the lines to an almost comical degree. The low, croaky voice to insinuate danger is here on both 4×4 and on Karma, as well as the expected industrial finish if you weren’t left apathetic enough. (Side note: how have this band been making uninspired metalcore for over a decade and a half and are only just now getting around to releasing a song called Karma? Wild…) You’ll find yourself strapped for any memorable motifs or instrumental parts, or literally anything that hasn’t been done with more effective craftsmanship elsewhere.

In other words, looks like Wage War’s recalibration efforts are a roaring success! They certainly are back to where they were, warts and all. Though in their particular case, the warts comprise the majority of what’s here. But whatever; if STIGMA didn’t give you enough to satisfactorily club yourself over the head to, It Calls Me By Name will do the trick. Wage War’s commitment to being unchallenging, generic and hideously interchangeable is just that strong, apparently. But even if STIGMA wasn’t liked, it had the distinction of being the rare sacrificial lamb that metalcore fans are so hesitant to identify. It Calls Me By Name, meanwhile, is waist-deep in the bog before it’s even over.

For fans of: Fit For A King, I Prevail, Memphis May Fire

‘It Calls Me By Name’ by Wage War is released on 17th April on Fearless Records.

Words by Luke Nuttall