Wage War pursued thier first stop of the 2020 tour in the UK, at the local music venue The Fleece, in Bristol. This venue is perfect for new starters and the usual favourites, which is ideal for an up close and personal gig with fans.
First support act to hit the stage was an Australian band called Thornhill. The heavy undertones and harmonic vocals from Jacob Charlton got everyone in the mood for what was going to proceed that evening which was full of instrumental prowess and vocal flair. They played songs such as; ‘Views From The Sun’, ‘The Haze’, ‘Reptile’ from their EP Butterfly. Thornhill sound similar to Northlane, In Hearts Wake and Polaris so, if you are already a fan of one of these bands get listening to Thornhill and add them to your Spotify playlist.
The second band to play next were a band called DED, who originate from America. A nu metal band made up of members from Greeley Estates and ex-members of Man Made Machine from Tempe, Arizona. The band first toured with Korn in May 201 7 and have played numerous festivals. From the very first minute they walked on to the stage they gave off this post-apocalyptic mad max vibe. Lead vocalist Joe Cotela blasted the audience with hardcore screams that shook the room with their first song ‘FMFY’directed by Fred Durst. This band is a must see live! They made the room bounce, the heavy drops and catchy lyrics mixed with the booming screams were electrifying and made you feel like you had stuck your fingers in a plug socket (please don’t try it). Playing songs such as; ‘Hate Me’, ‘Architect’ and ‘Disassociate’which had a Limp Bizkit/Saliva/ Static X vibe, each song had a nice mix of aggression and melody. This band will be one that I will see again, in the near future and I recommend you do too.
Headlining the tour was the legendary Wage War, who dominated the stage and rained down slamming beats and a wide range of heavy and melodic vocals with their first song ‘Who I AM’ from their recent album Pressure released on August 30, 2019. The Pressure album from 2019 and Deadweight from 2017, were one of my favourites to listen to whilst going through chemotherapy and will always have a momentous place in my heart so, seeing them play these live was an extra special treat. Next, was the immense chugging power of ‘Prison’ hearing the whole room singing along with Cody Quistad who plays rhythm guitar and does the melodic clean vocals was simply magical. Bass dropping, head banging, ‘Don’t Let Me Fade Away’ from the Deadweight album followed; the emotion in this song is so strong and makes the audience sympathise with the personal, catchy lyrics. Briton Bond lead vocalist was on form and vocals on point, the hardcore screams and growls brought metal madness to the stage, while circle pits opened up around the room, like the openings to the pits of hell. That night, they played songs such as; ‘Gravity’, ‘Witness’, ‘Johnny Cash’ and ‘Stitch’ from the 2017 album Deadweight and songs such as; ‘Grave’, ‘Ghost’, ‘Me Against Myself’, ‘Low’ and ‘Hurt’ (the big sad) from the 2019 album Pressure. They also included some punchy riffs in their set playing songs such as; ‘Hollow’, ‘Twenty-One’, ‘The River’ and ‘Alive’ from their late 2015 Blueprints album. Wage War will forever be one of my favourites and they have progressed with such power and stage presence throughout the years. I will be utterly amazed if you have not heard of them already, unless you have been living under a rock.