Friday, July 12, 2024

Review: Wage War, "Stigma"

Overview

Normally, I'm a fan of bands with identity crises, but I find Wage War to be pretty frustrating. On the one hand, they'll deliver an awesome heavy tune like "Death Roll" from their 2021 album Manic, then they'll turn around and give you one of the most generic and uninteresting radio rock tunes that you've ever heard. I find it hard to believe that anyone can enjoy both sides of the band equally, but apparently, they're out there. Stigma is no different in that I find myself really enjoying about half the album.

What's hot?

There are some great catchy and heavy tunes throughout the album. "Tombstone" and "Nail5" are standouts for me with the first being the closest to a "Death Roll" style banger, and the latter being the catchy song with the heavy hook, similar maybe to "Manic." I like the blend of nu metal with some techno and industrial beats, and though not all the heavy songs are as good as those two, they're at least interesting.

What's not?

You already know the answer here. It's the half the record that is just bland, uninspired radio rock to my ears. Songs like "Magnetic" and "Blur" just offer nothing for me. Both have decent hooks, I guess, for the style, but I just don't find them interesting at all.

The Verdict

Like much of Wage War's previous work, I'll be stuck listening to maybe four or five songs here that I quite enjoy and skipping the rest. 

Check out: "Tombstone," Nail5," "Self-Sacrifice," "Happy Hunting," "In My Blood"

Consider: "The Show's About to Start" 

Skip: "Blur," "Magnetic," "Hellbent," "Is This How It Ends?"

Get Stigma.



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