Wage War Comes Home On The Pressure Tour At House of Blues

November 1st

The Pressure is the newest album from Wage War and the bands most dynamic record to date. Released back in August of this year on Fearless Records, the subsequent tour kicked off almost a month later with a plethora of talent featuring Like Moths To Flames, Polaris and Dayseekers. The thought behind the title was derived from the “pressures” of creating the perfect album and the level you have to bring in the studio to make that happen. Dealing with the pressures of mental health is also an underlined theme of the album and a handful of songs written for it.

With the bands on this tour it’s only expected to draw a large crowd. But when you’re closing out the tour in your home state and about an hour or so from your home town, the building is going to be filled with friends, family and devoted fans that want to see their local boys tear it up on the same stage they’ve watched some of their favorite bands perform on.

Wage War laid down the first two brutal tracks off The Pressure with “Who I Am” and “Prison”. The fans screamed out every lyric as if they were on stage themselves, so did every crowd surfers as they banged their fists in the air while they made their way to the stage. All the energy coming off that stage was absorbed by the crowd and they gave it right back ten fold, creating a great atmosphere in the building between the fans and the band.

Before the song “Ghost”, Singer Briton Bond got the fans stirred up by asking for some circle pits which ignited like small tornadoes on the floor. Briton works the stage like a commander leading his troops into battle and would show why he is one of the best front men in metal. Cody Quistad’s vocals provide multiple layers to the bands songs adding so much range and emotion. His contributions behind the mic are an imperative piece in Wage Wars sound.

Lead guitarist Seth Blake supplies great phrasing within each song, complimenting Cody’s vocals perfectly. He is also not shy to steal the spotlight when it comes to shredding a solo or ripping leads. Bassist Chris Gaylord and drummer Steven Kluesener add their heavy handed bottom end to the detuned sledgehammer of the bands vicious rhythms and breakdowns.

Wage War dealt out one bone crushing song after another for their fourteen song set. After they finished “Low” and before the band can even leave the stage, the nearly sold out crowd starts to chant “ONE MORE SONG!”. After leaving the crowd eagerly wanting more, the band returned. Briton begins to reminisce about when they were younger and sitting in the back of this very venue watching their favorite bands and now they are headlining their own tour in the same building.

Cody Quistad then gets emotional when he also remembers being here with Briton and how they have family that came from all over the country to support them on such a monumental occasion. I couldn’t imagine being in their shoes and going from diehard metal fans just going to shows at a local venue, to touring across the world and becoming one of the biggest bands in the genre and playing to your hometown crowd. That right there is something special that very few can say that they’ve experienced.

Wage War was flying high after a twenty six city tour that brought them coast to coast and back home. To say that the fans here were dedicated would be an understatement. The line for merch wrapped around the upstairs balcony, people were not yelling but screaming lyrics throughout the entire set and I heard more then a couple fans talking about when the first saw the band or how many shows it had been for them.

 

The last year has been one of the most successful for the band including being on some of the biggest summer festivals including Sonic Temple, Epicenter and Download and oh ya, one of the best albums of the year. The band has some time off before setting out on a month long winter tour of Europe at the beginning of January. Pick up your copy of The Pressure or stream it on all major streaming platforms. For music, merch, and tour info head to the bands website at http://wagewarband.com/.