With their Australian return just around the corner, Wage War are stepping back onto our shores armed with their latest EP, It Calls Me By Name, bigger venues and the same crushing riffs that have made them one of modern metalcore’s most reliable heavy hitters.
Ahead of Wage War‘s July and August headline tour, we caught up with vocalist Briton Bond and guitarist Cody Quistad to talk Florida, breakdowns, why riffs still matter more than anything, surviving the flight to Australia and the one instrument they’re determined to sneak onto a Wage War record.
Your latest EP is called It Calls Me By Name. What’s something that still “calls your name” from when Wage War first started that you refuse to let go of?
Briton: That’s a great question. For me, it’s just big fat riffs. Every time Cody [Quistad] comes up with a sick riff, I’m like, “dude, yep! It’s going in”. I think that’s something we’ve always kept.
Cody: Yes, riffs. We will always have riffs.
Florida gets treated almost like another band member on this release. If you had to explain Florida using one Wage War breakdown, which song would you pick?
Briton: IN MY BLOOD. There’s literal swamp sounds in the background. Actually, maybe I’m wrong here, that’s the end of SONG OF THE SWAMP.
Cody: Yes, for that reason I’d probably have to go with SONG OF THE SWAMP for this one.
Wage War ‘Song of the Swamp’ video
You’ve spent years finding that sweet spot between crushingly heavy and ridiculously catchy. Do you ever write something and think, “Nope… this one’s actually too heavy”?
Briton: I don’t think we’ve hit that mark yet where we’re like: “we can’t put this out, it’s too heavy”. In our writing process now, when it gets to ridiculously heavy parts, me and Cody will just start laughing at each other, like “what are we doing?!”. But I don’t think we’ve hit that point where we’re like, “we can’t do this”.
Cody: If it was going to happen, it would’ve been on SONG OF THE SWAMP. That is the first time I’ve ever seen people online complaining that we are too heavy. Which is interesting, I’ve never seen that comment before.
Australia’s seen you at Knotfest, Is there something about Aussie crowds that genuinely catches you off guard every time?
Briton: Honestly, Australian crowds feel like Florida crowds to me. I’ve heard people say a lot that Florida’s the Australia of the United States. We all get on with the poisonous snakes and alligators and crocodiles!
Cody: I’ve also heard someone call Australia “Redneck Britain” or something like that. But we love Australia.
Briton: It’s really hot in Florida right now actually and I love when it’s kind of cool, so it’ll be nice to be over there in winter.
Cody: I did not even think about the fact that it’s winter over there right now, thank you for reminding me! I’m going to pack entirely different now. I would’ve been packing summer clothes.
Wage War ‘BLINDFOLD’ video
You’ve toured with everyone from Slipknot to Parkway Drive. What’s one lesson you’ve learned from these bands that fans probably don’t realise?
Briton: That pyro’s sick, but it’s also expensive. It’s a lot more expensive than people think. When that goes off, the band’s taking a pay cut to impress everybody.
Cody: It would be hilarious for someone to make a quantifiable video of every time a flame goes off, just how many dollars are going up into thin air, someone needs to make that!
Are you guys big Orlando Magic fans, if so how do you see them shaping up next season?
Briton: I do like basketball and I watch the NBA, I watch some Magic games here and there but I’m not too plugged in. But they’re on the up and up, I mean they made the playoffs this last season. It’ll be nice to see them make a nice run next season, I might even go to a playoff game if that happens.
Cody: I truly could not care less about basketball. But I respect the sport and if I’m going to go for a team, I am going to go for the home team.
Briton: He’s more of a hockey guy. Tampa Bay, those are our boys!
Metalcore feels healthier than it’s been in years. What’s one thing you hope the next wave of bands doesn’t lose as the genre keeps evolving?
Briton and Cody: The riffs!
Cody: (laughing) Every answer is riffs!
Briton: I’ll say it every time, but that’s what made me fall in love with it in the first place, hearing bands like Killswitch Engage and Converge and bands like that. That’s what kind of pulled me in. Obviously I’m the singer of my band, the vocals are sick too, but that’s not what made me gravitate towards metalcore initially. It was the badass riffs and how aggressive the music sounded. And I don’t think it’s going away from that, but I feel a little bit of trend-chasing has been going on more recently. I would love for people just to get back to badass riffs.
Cody: Riffs are number one for me for sure. I agree with Briton, the first time I fell in love specifically with metalcore was because of the riffs. And I’m not a guy who loves shreddy music, I just like riffy music, you know what I mean? I don’t need a bunch of guitar solos, I just need catchy, hooky riffs. Those were so prevalent from about 2003 to 2010. And then obviously things have to change and things have to deviate, but I hope things can kind of loop back into that again. I know that we are making a conscious effort to make sure that stays a staple of our band for sure.
Wage War ‘4×4’ visualizer
If you could permanently add one non-metal instrument to Wage War, purely to confuse people, what are you choosing?
Briton: What do you want, some steel guitar Cody?
Cody: Yeah, but Bilmuri’s already kind of doing that. I’ve actually been trying to get some cowbell on a Wage War record for a long time. I want cowbell. We’re gonna do it!
Briton: “I’ve got a fever! And the only prescription is more cowbell!”
You’ve written a lot about perseverance and mental health over the years. Do fans still tell you stories that genuinely move you?
Briton: Yeah, all the time. We usually will do a VIP meet and greet for our headline runs and people come talk to us. Some of it’s very heavy, I won’t lie, but it’s really cool that we have fans who can open up and say that our music has helped them throughout their lives. It’s really special.
Cody: I think it’s part of this job that you maybe don’t necessarily think about starting out. It starts with just loving music and writing music that you love, and then obviously it moves people and that’s awesome. It has been an adjustment period, but it’s very awesome when people come up and share their stories with us. It does mean a lot, especially depending on the day, we could be having a low day or missing home or whatever it might be. And someone can just come up, and it might be something just as simple as them appreciating your music or sharing a simple story and you realise: man, this matters so much more than just my guitarwork tonight. This means something to people and that’s really special.
Wage War ‘PURIFY’ visualizer
What’s one thing you hope people are saying about Wage War after these shows?
Briton: That they enjoyed the show and they got their money’s worth! But I always want to go out and put on a good show. Even if it’s a night where I’m not feeling the best or a little sick or whatever it might be, some of these people have been waiting months or weeks just to have that night off and see our band. And I can put my problems aside for them and just have fun with everybody that night. It’s not always just about us either, it’s about giving back. So hopefully that’s what they take away from it.
What’s life outside of music look for you?
Briton: I’m in this room a lot, this is my home studio. So even when I’m not doing music, I’m still pretty much always doing music. I do like to try and golf, that’s become a recent hobby of mine actually. Golfing and just hanging out and doing life with my people. Those are pretty much the most important things for me.
Cody: Hanging out with friends for me is a big one. I also do gaming, behind me there’s a whole racing sim back there, stuff like that and just chilling out. I also like the outdoors, fishing and hunting as well.
If you weren’t in a band for a living, what do you think you would be doing career wise?
Briton: Shoot, I don’t know. I’d be lost without this.
Cody: I never had a plan B, it was this or nothing.
Briton: Sorry if that’s a cheesy answer!
You guys return to Australia shortly, as we all know that flight is not short. What do you do to get through the extensive travel required to get down under?
Briton: I suffer, that’s what I do.
Cody: It doesn’t help that we all live on the opposite side of the United States. Before we even get to the big flight, I live in Nashville, so my first flight’s four and a half hours. The other guys live in Florida, so it’s closer to five and a half hours. So before we even get on the 13 or 14 hour long haul flight, you’ve already been in the air for five hours. And for this tour, we start in Perth once we get there, so we get off the big one and then after Perth we have another four hour flight. The last times we’ve been to Australia I have not slept a wink on the flights, so it’s just suffering and mental gymnastics.
Briton: Yeah, I remember I bought a Pokémon game on my Switch and I beat the whole thing before we landed last time.
Cody: I prepared myself this time, this will be our fourth time doing it. I’ve done a bunch of research, I’ve got what I think is a pretty juiced-up neck pillow, I’m trying a new natural sleep aid, I’ve got my seat all planned out, and I’m getting a sleep mask. So I’m going to do this as correctly as possible. I’m going to download a show, I’m going to buy a game. I’ve got a bunch of stuff to do.
Briton: On those long-haul flights, they need a strap on the back of the seat where you just put it on your forehead so it keeps your head upright.
Cody: I can send you a link to an absolute gas neck pillow. Oh wait, I already showed it to you!
Briton: Yeah, but I never got it.
Wage War Australian Tour 2026 with Special Guests Orthodox (USA) and Heavensgate
- Thursday, July 30th – Perth, WA – Freo Social
- Saturday, August 1st – Adelaide, SA – The Gov
- Sunday, August 2nd – Melbourne, VIC – Forum (Venue Upgrade)
- Thursday, August 6th – Brisbane, QLD – The Tivoli (Selling Fast)
- Friday, August 7th – Sydney, NSW – Metro Theatre (Selling Fast)
Tickets available now via Destroy All Lines.
Whether they’re debating swamp-inspired breakdowns, dreaming of adding cowbell to a future record or simply trying to survive the flight to Australia, one thing is obvious: Wage War haven’t lost sight of what got them here in the first place.
With It Calls Me By Name marking the band’s latest chapter and Australian fans about to experience it live, expect plenty of riffs, plenty of energy and, if Briton gets his wish, everyone leaving the venue feeling like they got every dollar’s worth.
Wage War return to Australia from July 30th with special guests Orthodox and Heavensgate, with Melbourne’s show now upgraded to the Forum due to overwhelming demand, while Brisbane and Sydney are also selling fast.
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