REVIEW: Wage War - It Calls Me By Name
- Theviya R Karunaharan
- 4 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Florida’s quintet, WAGE WAR, are solidifying the fast approaching sweaty and humid summer season with their upcoming EP It Calls Me By Name. Their previous album, Manic, has seeped into the crevices of our minds with catchy lyrics and rhythmic tracks. An album that's created sleeper agents ready to scream along and spin kicks. WAGE WAR have solidified their position within metalcore since 2010 and constantly prove to listeners that their enhanced sound is a mutation of familiarity that deserves a spot in playlists. Bringing brutal screams paired with dense riffs, this is an EP that you’ll walk away from with a sore neck.
Metalcore remains one of heavy music’s most contested entry points, often framed as both a gateway and a battleground for evolving tastes. It Calls Me By Name is a tightly curated five-track EP that highlights the genre’s evolution, weaving together elements that have defined metalcore across its past and present. The EP consists of layered bridges and pulsating breakdowns alongside heart wrenching ballads, highlighted on the middle track “BLINDFOLD”. The tracks are anchored by strong emotions and urgency displayed in the suffocating humidity of a swamp bound landscape.
With the sounds of nature, the gentle croaks of frogs paired with the trickling rain, listeners aren't prepared for the lurking danger upon the horizon. The single Song of the Swamp introduces Briton Bond’s ferocious snarls, tapping into a sense of familiarity found on tracks loved by fans before. The track has already sunk its teeth into your shoulder, and there is a certainty in listening to the rest of the EP. The blood thirsty screams paired with the harsh drums create a perfect song to bounce into a mosh pit.
4x4 makes sure you've got hooks right down your spine with a gradual build and catchy chorus that you’ve memorised before the end of the track. The short track merges the genres that are craved by modern listeners: metalcore and nu-metal. The pairing of the drum work and melodic guitars allows the vocals to offer a chaotic yet contained environment for a live crowd to rage to. The harshness is dialled back with the soul crushing ballad, BLINDFOLD. With the strip-back, the track accentuates the vulnerability and cracking rage that lingers within Cody Quistad’s clean vocals. There is a projection within the chorus that allows the track to soar without losing any substance. Listeners are forced to reset and have their heartstrings pulled, which WAGE WAR have mastered.
The EP swings back on its fourth track, Karma, celebrating the various elements of metalcore explored in the previous songs. The placement of the third and fourth tracks now feels purposeful, bringing a clearer sense of cohesion to the EP as a whole. As the track builds, its bridge channels a surge of rage, only to be undercut by rapid drum cymbals that ultimately diminish its impact. Closing the EP with the most atmospheric track, Purify drags you back by one leg through the murky mud water to the first track, Song of the Swamp. An eerie ambience crawls out of the track with darker tones that are slashed by high pitched cymbals that inject urgency. The monstrous screams build up to the breakdown, which features a sharp animalistic squeal. As the track ends, the landscape of the swamp resurfaces, compelling you into another playthrough.
WAGE WAR isn’t trying to create something completely new but are proving their ability to refine the skills they had already mastered in previous metalcore projects. The five tracks are meticulously placed in their respective orders and allow you to dive from the surface of a swamp down to the gritty mud at the bottom. It Calls Me By Name is the clear mutation of metalcore that is swerving its way onto your playlist.
Score: 8/10
It Calls Me By Name will be released on 17th April 2026 via Fearless Records.
Words: Theviya R Karunaharan
Photos: Wage War
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