Time for some heavy! Who doesn’t love that to start your day?! So I’m looking forward to seeing what Wage War have done with this, their sixth album ‘Landfall’. Shall we begin?
An alert siren starts and this one explodes, immediately the title track ‘Landfall’ means business, this is the perfect way to start my day, oh wow, those clean vocals kick in and just lets it soar. I wasn’t expecting that at all and I’m locked in! Massive riffs and the drumming is next level and our first breakdown hopefully sets the scene for the rest of the album. ‘Sweet Dreams’ comes out of the gate at a million miles an hour and again this balance the band has found between the brutality and the clean is perfect. There are so many layers to this song too and just listening to the parts in certain spots really show their craft. ‘Silk’ throws in some doom for good measure and keeps things running, ooh but I think ‘Figure 8’ has just jumped into top spot as this one starts clean and heavy and takes on a little different feel from the previous three. This is catchy!!!
‘God Complex’ takes on an industrial feel and the groove these vocals hit is insane, oh wow, that took a turn I didn’t expect and I like it. This music is huge and really well structured in the verses too, some excellent production there. Breakdown time and what a breakdown it is! ‘Stay With Me’ wait, ok, is this a ballad? A BALLAD? You know how to get me, and that’s the way… awesome vocal harmonies in this one and a soaring chorus and this is outstanding. This song is killer, and will immediately be going on a playlist, I think the saying “expect the unexpected” is perfect here as I wouldn’t have expected a song like this at all to appear and yet here we are. Before I keep reviewing the rest of the album, I’m going to play that one again. Well done!!!!
Then we have ‘Silence Has Spoken’ that keeps it slower for about 15 seconds before the riff kicks in and then brings it back down to another song with a completely different feel. I love how this band can produce the heaviest and then bring it right back to something completely different. Extra points for an awesome snare on this one, on point!! And back to our regularly scheduled heaviness with ‘Way of Pain’ and yeah this is large, big chunky guitars and thumping rhythm drive this one home. ‘Red Dot’ I like this riff and the climb it takes, then man this band has some nice tricks, this production is so good as it takes little detours you don’t expect and just like that a big guitar solo finds its place and I really dig this.
Then ‘Blindfold’ slows the album down again but doesn’t break any form of momentum as this balance is so well done. Another big sweeping song that takes you places and definitely worth checking out. That was a contender for a favourite for sure. OK I like where ‘Spellbound’ is going and the chunky riff before slowing to a clean verse is great as the rhythm kicks in and builds it up and then as it plays out big and heavy, they nailed this one. ‘Song Of The Swamp’ gets straight into it and yeah this is really good, heavy and even heavier, but what a groove it hits. Oh man after the alligator part (you’ll hear) this breakdown is so different and really impressive! Closing the album with ‘Silhouette’ they slow things down for the final time and in an almost ethereal way and it’s a bold and really clever way to start this one off before the drums come in to give this a groove that is hard to not nod your head along to. Then as quick as I can keep talking about this slow one it is now a monster as all the instruments come in to make this one explode and completely change the dynamic of the song and it works. Wow. The way they close this one out with the perfect heavy fade is the clincher, you rarely get a fade out these days and what a way to close this album.
Wow that was impressive, heavy, beautiful, balanced, and everything you want from Wage War. Landfall is something else, so many twists and turns that just work and kudos to them for making it do just that.
Essential Information:
From: Florida, USA
Release date: 9 October 2026
Record label: Fearless Records
Produced By: Cody Quistad
Website: https://wagewarband.com/
Track Listing:
Landfall
Sweet Dreams
Silk
Figure 8
God Complex
Stay With Me
Silence Has Spoken
Way Of Pain
Red Dot
Blindfold
Spellbound
Song Of The Swamp
Silhouette
