Wage War

This article is about the band. For the act, see Declaration of war.

Wage War is an American metalcore band formed in Ocala, Florida in 2010 under the name Empires. The band consists of lead vocalist Briton Bond, lead guitarist Seth Blake, rhythm guitarist and clean vocalist Cody Quistad, bassist Chris Gaylord, and drummer Stephen Kluesener.

Wage War
Wage War performing in 2022
Background information
Also known as	Empires War Within
Origin	Ocala, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Metalcore melodic metalcore hard rock post-hardcore
Discography	Wage War discography
Years active	2010–present
Labels	Fearless
Members	Seth Blake Briton Bond Cody Quistad Chris Gaylord Stephen Kluesener
Past members	Jordan Pierce David Rau
Website	wagewarband.com

The band has released five studio albums and one EP. The band self-released one EP, The Fall of Kings in 2011. In 2015, the band signed to Fearless Records. The band released their first studio album, Blueprints, on November 27, 2015. Their second studio album Deadweight was released on August 4, 2017. Their third studio album, Pressure, was released on August 30, 2019. Their fourth studio album, Manic, was released on October 1, 2021. Their fifth studio album, Stigma, was released on June 21, 2024.

History

Formation, line-up change and Blueprints (2010–2016)

Wage War performing at Rock im Park in 2016

Wage War started in 2010 under the name "Empires" in Ocala, Florida.^[1] The band originally consisted of Briton Bond (unclean vocals), Cody Quistad (rhythm guitar/clean vocals), Seth Blake (lead guitar), Jordan Pierce (bass) and David Rau (drums). Rau quit the band to focus on teaching and was previously residing as a teacher at West Port High School in the band's hometown. The band briefly changed their name to War Within before changing it again to Wage War. Since the name change to Wage War, the band hired on Chris Gaylord to replace Pierce and Stephen J. Kluesener to replace Rau. As of October 2019, Rau occasionally fills in for Kluesener. In 2015, the band signed to Fearless Records, with a single produced by Jeremy McKinnon and Andrew Wade.^[2][3][4][5] After being signed to Fearless, the band released their debut album, Blueprints.^[6]

Deadweight (2017–2018)

Their second album Deadweight was released with Fearless Records on August 4, 2017.^[7] Wage War has done a number of tours, including playing on the entirety of the Vans Warped Tour in 2016,^[8] and A Day to Remember's Self Help Festival in 2017.^[9] The band has also opened for artists such as August Burns Red, Chelsea Grin, I Prevail, The Amity Affliction, Northlane, Every Time I Die, For Today, Of Mice & Men and Disturbed. The band played with Parkway Drive on their mini-June 2017 tour.^[10] The band embarked on their first national headliner in the July 2017, in support of their new album Deadweight. Gideon and Varials joined up as support.^[11] The second leg of the tour featured Gideon and Varials once again. Oceans Ate Alaska and Loathe joined up as support.^[12] Wage War played on the final touring portion of the 2018 Vans Warped Tour.^[13]

Pressure (2019–2020)

On January 9, 2019, the band released a single titled "Low" through their label Fearless Records.^[14] Six months later, on July 9, they released a second single, "Who I Am".^[15] Then later that month, on July 30, the band released two singles, "Prison" and "Me Against Myself".^[16] Upon doing this, the band unveiled their plans for a third studio album, revealing the album's title, tracklist, and release date. Pressure, their third album, was released on August 30, 2019.^[17]

On March 18, Wage War lost all of their Myspace content from 2016 and earlier in "a server migration gone wrong" from the Empires era (with the exception of The Fall of Kings EP). It was widely reported that over 50 million songs and 12 years worth of content was permanently lost, and there was no backup.^[18] Wage War played on the 25th Anniversary Vans Warped Tour in Atlantic City, New Jersey and in Mountain View, California. The band went on tour throughout the Fall of 2019, in support of their latest album, Pressure. Like Moths to Flames, Polaris and Dayseeker joined up as support for the tour.^[19] On November 13, 2020, the band dropped a new song called "Surrounded", a previously unreleased track from Blueprints, which harks back to their heavier beginnings.^[20]

Manic (2020–2023)

On April 8, 2020, during the period of self-isolation caused by COVID-19 pandemic, Wage War announced on Twitter that they were working on new material for the upcoming record. Along with the announcement, the band also teased a new song and wrote: "Making the most of quarantine. #ww4"^[21][22]

On August 6, 2021, the band released a song called "High Horse".^[23] On August 25, the band officially released the second single "Circle the Drain" from their fourth studio album, Manic, which was released on October 1, 2021. At the same time, the band revealed the album cover and the tracklist.^[24][25] To promote the album, the band also announced that they will support I Prevail's rescheduled European tour along with Dream State in March 2022.^[26][27][28] On September 14, the band released the third single "Teeth".^[29][30] On November 18, 2022, the band announced an acoustic album called The Stripped Sessions, which was released on December 2, 2022.^[31][32]

Stigma (2024–present)

On March 21, 2024, Wage War unveiled the first single titled "Magnetic" and its corresponding music video.^[33] On April 12, the band premiered the second single "Nail5" and an accompanying music video along with the album cover and track list.^[34][35] On May 17, the band released the third and final single "Tombstone".^[36] Stigma was released on June 21, 2024.

Musical style

Wage War's musical style has been described as metalcore,^[1][37][38] melodic metalcore,^[1][39][40] hard rock,^[41][42][43] post-hardcore,^[44][45][46] melodic hardcore,^[1] and recently, industrial metal.^[47] The band also utilizes elements of djent,^[48] nu metal,^[49] electronic,^[38] pop,^[49] and hip hop.^[49]

Band members

• Wage War live at Rock im Park 2016
• 
  Vocalist Briton Bond
• 
  Lead guitarist Seth Blake
• 
  Rhythm guitarist Cody Quistad
• 
  Bassist Chris Gaylord
• 
  Drummer Stephen Kluesener

Current

• Briton Bond – lead vocals (2017–present); additional guitars (2019–present); unclean vocals (2010–2017)
• Seth Blake – lead guitar, backing vocals (2010–present)
• Cody Quistad – rhythm guitar, clean vocals (2010–present)
• Chris Gaylord – bass (2013–present); backing vocals (2017–present)
• Stephen Kluesener – drums (2013–present)

Former

• Jordan Pierce – bass (2010–2013)
• David Rau – drums (2010–2013)

Timeline

Discography

Main article: Wage War discography

Studio albums

• Blueprints (2015)
• Deadweight (2017)
• Pressure (2019)
• Manic (2021)
• Stigma (2024)

References

1. Yeung, Neil Z. "Biography : Wage War". AllMusic. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
2. Chatterjee, Kika (June 15, 2015). "Wage War announce Fearless Records signing with Jeremy McKinnon-produced single". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
3. "Wage War Signs to Fearless Records". New Noise Magazine. June 15, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
4. Admin (October 23, 2015). "Wage War Shared Intriguing New Single "Youngblood" From Debut Album". Highlight Magazine. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
5. Shultz, Thom (June 16, 2015). "Wage War Signs to Fearless Records". Mind Equals Blown. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
6. Bomber (February 22, 2016). "Wage War premiere 'Youngblood' video clip". Bombshell Zine. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
7. Redrup, Zach (August 4, 2017). "Album: Wage War – Deadweight". Dead Press!. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
8. "Full Vans Warped Tour 2016 Line-Up Revealed". Kerrang!. March 23, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
9. DiVita, Joe (July 22, 2017). "A Day to Remember's Three 2017 Self Help Festivals Announce Initial Lineups". Loudwire. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
10. Ralph, Caitlyn (April 12, 2017). "Parkway Drive announce tour with the Word Alive and Wage War". Alternative Press. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
11. "Wage War Announce U.S. Headlining Tour — The Prelude Press". Thepreludepress.com. May 30, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
12. "Wage War Announce Deadweight Tour Part Two With Oceans Ate Alaska, Gideon, Varials And More". Bring the Noise. September 14, 2017. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
13. "Watch a little kid get his Mosh on during Wage War's set at Vans Warped Tour". The New Fury. July 18, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
14. "Hear Wage War Channel Meshuggah on Crushing, Melodic New Song "Low"". Revolver Magazine. January 9, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
15. "Wage War drop new single/video "Who I Am" & announce new album". The Rock Pit. July 10, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
16. "Wage War have released two brand new singles, check out 'Prison' and 'Me Against Myself'". Upset Magazine. August 1, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
17. "Wage War Announce New Album, Premiere Punishing Lead Single "Who I Am," Share Fall Headlining Tour Dates". BringTheNoise. February 27, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
18. Brodkin, Jon (March 18, 2019). "Myspace apparently lost 12 years' worth of music, and almost no one noticed". Ars Technica. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
19. "Wage War Announce 'Pressure' Album, New Song + Headlining Tour". Loudwire.com. 9 July 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
20. citylightstam (November 13, 2020). "Wage War Unleash Surprisingly Hard New Single 'Surrounded'". Wall Of Sound. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
21. Redrup, Zach (April 10, 2021). "News: Wage War begin work on fourth album; tease new song!". Dead Press!. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
22. "Wage War Working On Fourth Album, Tease New Song". The PRP. April 8, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
23. Aarons, Ricky (August 5, 2021). "Surprise! Wage War Return With Heavy & Groovy Tune 'High Horse'". Wall Of Sound. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
24. "Wage War To Release New Album "Manic" In October, Debut "Circle The Drain"". The PRP. August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
25. Carter, Emily (August 25, 2021). "Wage War announce fourth album Manic, drop new single Circle The Drain". Kerrang!. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
26. "I Prevail Reschedule European/UK Tour To 2022, Wage War & Dream State To Open". The PRP. May 7, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
27. Rogers, Jack (May 7, 2021). "I Prevail's Upcoming UK/EU Tour Has Been Rescheduled To 2022". Rock Sound. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
28. Redrup, Zach (May 8, 2021). "News: I Prevail postpone UK tour to March 2022!". Dead Press!. Archived from the original on June 20, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
29. Rogers, Jack (September 14, 2021). "Listen: Wage War's Stunningly Crushing New Track 'Teeth'". Rock Sound. Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
30. Aarons, Ricky (September 14, 2021). "Wage War Continue Momentum With Studio Version of 'Teeth'". Wall of Sound. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
31. Rogers, Jack (November 18, 2022). "Wage War Announce Special Album 'The Stripped Sessions'". Rock Sound. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
32. "Wage War have announced a new stripped-back album". Upset Magazine. November 18, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
33. "Wage War Premiere "Magnetic" Video". ThePRP. March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
34. "Hear Wage War's Heavy, Industrialized New Song "Nail5"". Revolver. April 12, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
35. "Wage War Debut New Track "Nail5", Reveal New Album "Stigma"". The PRP. April 11, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
36. "Wage War Premiere "Tombstone"". The PRP. May 16, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
37. Travers, Paul (January 9, 2019). "Wage War don't hold back on crushing new song "Low"". Alternative Press. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
38. Travers, Paul (September 30, 2021). "Album review: Wage War – Manic". Kerrang!. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
39. "Wage War's Acoustic Album "The Stripped Sessions" Due In December, Music Video Launched For New Version Of "Never Said Goodbye"". The PRP. November 17, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
40. Oakeshott, Will (February 21, 2020). "Review: Polaris, Wage War (USA), Crystal Lake (Japan) and Alpha Wolf, The Gov, Adelaide, 21 February 2020". Heavymag. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
41. Peters, Kris (October 13, 2021). "Wage War Go Manic On New Album". Heavymag. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
42. "Wage War: "We know we're a heavy band, and we really embraced that"". Upset Magazine. September 30, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
43. Glover, Nao (October 14, 2022). "Wage War shares stripped down video for 'Godspeed'". HM. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
44. Rose, Anna (August 28, 2019). "Wage War // Changing Of The Tides". Hysteria Magazine. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
45. Rose, Anna (August 23, 2019). "Wage War Pressure". Hysteria Magazine. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
46. Jablonski, Mikey (September 28, 2021). "Album Review: Wage War - Manic". Crucial Rhythm. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
47. Stevens, Samuel. "Wage War - Stigma". Crucial Rhythm. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
48. Vapour, Dj (July 24, 2020). "Playthrough: "Who I Am" from Wage War!". Metal Noise. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
49. Rolls, Alex (September 30, 2021). "Album Review: Wage War - Manic". The Alt Club. Retrieved November 10, 2021.

External links

• "WAGE WAR Guitarist Seth Blake Becomes Internet Meme With Protest Against Chipoltle". Rock Feed. January 25, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.