Florida’s metalcore bruisers Wage War throw everything at the wall on a gloriously restless sixth album…

Words by Felix Bartlett | Oct 06, 2026

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Wage War have never been a band to do things by halves. Since crawling out of Ocala, Florida back in 2010, the hard-grafting quintet have spent 16 years grinding it out, from sweaty club shows to big support slots alongside I Prevail and sold-out headline runs of their own. Next year they’ll even be tearing up Slam Dunk. After dropping the It Calls Me By Name EP back in April, most bands would’ve put their feet up. Not this lot. Self-produced, surprise-announced and absolutely stuffed with ideas, Landfall is the sound of a band with zero interest in slowing down.

Album number six kicks the door clean off its hinges. The title-track and Sweet Dreams, both already out in the wild, serve up the classic Wage War recipe: Briton Bond’s bottom-of-the-barrel growls, Cody Quistad’s big, soaring cleans and riffs heavy enough to dent concrete. Third track Silk is the first proper swerve, ditching the cleans altogether for a claustrophobic, mechanical racket that’d sit nicely next to Knocked Loose at their most unhinged. Then God Complex slinks somewhere darker, all whip-crack snare and wicked, grinning menace.

It’s a lot. Brilliantly, unashamedly a lot. One minute Stay With Me has you welling up in a sea of glowing screens, the next Way Of Pain is trying to cave your skull in. Red Dot throws back to the turntable-scratching heyday of Linkin Park and Slipknot before pulling a solo out of nowhere, while Silence Has Spoken and Blindfold dabble in moody electronics Bad Omens fans will lap up. Spellbound is a creepy little creature feature Ice Nine Kills would happily claim, and Song Of The Swamp, borrowed from the EP, is still an absolute riot. Through all of it, they never stop sounding like Wage War: loud, slick and impossible to pin down.

Closer Silhouette sums it all up, drifting in softly before erupting into a huge, heart-on-sleeve chorus and one last breakdown for the road. Sure, a couple of tracks outstay their welcome, and Figure 8’s glossy, chart-friendly sheen won’t win over the purists. But bursting with ideas and bravado, Landfall is the work of a band who’ve earned the right to do whatever they want, and are making the absolute most of it.

Verdict: 💀💀💀💀

For fans of: Bad Omens, Fit For A King, I Prevail