Wage War: “There’s nothing better than seeing your fans connect to music you feel proud to have made”

For a man whose house has apparently just flooded, Wage War guitarist Cody Quistad cuts a remarkably upbeat figure. Joining us from his backyard in Nashville, Tennessee, he’s all smiles and stoicism as the sound of birdsong drifts on the breeze of a cold spring morning in the background. The band’s somewhat laconic vocalist Briton Bond is connected too, albeit safely ensconced in the warmth of his flood-free home over 700 miles away in the heart of the pair’s native Florida.

“I’ve been better, but it’s been a heck of a morning,” Cody says, admirably laughing off what transpires is actually just his latest plumbing misfortune. ”I had a spigot freeze. It gets cold here in Tennessee, so if you don’t drip your faucet when you turn the water back on after a long winter, pipes will burst. Do you want to know the bummer part? This is the second time my house has flooded! But we’re rocking, it’s all good.”

Nothing, it seems, is going to mess with the Wage War man’s chi today – even if he’s yet to determine the full extent of the damage or confirm if new floors will be in order this time around. And the reason is simple. The five-piece – completed by fellow six-stringer Seth Blake, bassist Chris Gaylord and drummer Stephen Kluesener – are currently riding the waves of a major high having wrapped up work on their forthcoming fifth album, STIGMA. In a world-exclusive first interview, they’re visibly giddy about it, ready to tell Kerrang! all about how the record came together and the toll it took, as well as the hopes and dreams forged in the fires of its creation. Or that might be the case if it was how it actually went down. The truth is, they’ve evidently had a blast making these 10 tracks. There are no hard luck stories to tell this time; no great stresses, challenges or pains to unpack. STIGMA is, they say, simply the result and sound of a band of best friends having the time of their lives making music together. Sickening.

“On some records, you have a compelling story to tell about how they’re made out of tough times, and we’ve certainly had those in the past,” Cody explains, “but this one was born out of a great time.”

It all began behind the scenes in stages, conceived in the wake of heady days supporting Slipknot in arenas Stateside, the result of a whirlwind of “touring the absolute mess out of” 2021’s fourth album, Manic. An old demo of a song called STIGMA did exist, but only the title survived as the idea got pushed to the wayside over time. Similarly, the album’s eventual second track SELF SACRIFICE almost came out as a single in springtime last year, but a decision to keep their powder dry won out in the end. In reality, until the run of Canadian shows were completed last summer, there was barely even time to breathe let alone consider their next moves in earnest. They had never waited this long to put out a new record before. The every-two-years consistency streak was about to be broken, but golden opportunities kept stacking up, too good to let pass.

When it finally came time to get back into creative mode, the five-piece needed somewhere to focus and hopefully strike upon some inspiration. Having worked in log cabins in the wilderness of the mountains on Manic, this time they hit the seaside, renting a house in the city of Destin, Florida.

“It was pretty relaxing, since we were right on the beach,” Briton recalls of the album’s idyllic-sounding origins. “Some days the songs were coming together so good we’d just go swimming or whatever, then we’d wake up the next day and start writing again.”

“We probably put two or three songs together there,” Cody reckons. “It was a nice house, we set up a studio where Briton tracked some stuff, we worked on ideas and concepts, and it was great. That was a good trip to reconnect as friends in a low-pressure environment. Ideas pop out of nowhere in that headspace.”

To get in the right mood for his studio sessions, Cody would choose a suitable movie to play on the screen above his console. He’d set the lights in the room to an appropriate colour, too. When someone suggested that record opener THE SHOW’S ABOUT TO START sounded like something that might be heard in the club scene of The Matrix, the guitarist adjusted the lighting to green and put the sci-fi classic on for spiritual inspiration. Blade was another one that helped inform the record’s aesthetic and sonic tone. The “chaos” of the aforementioned TOMBSTONE borrows a line or two from the eminently quotable ’90s Western of the same name, so on it went too. “It was like a live moodboard,” the guitarist and co-producer says of his thinking and process, “it’s become kind of my thing in the studio now.” None of these songs are explicitly about the cinematic source material that helped shape them, however. That wasn’t the point. They were but catalysts; another way in which the band expressed their creative freedom to the fullest.

“There are songs with common themes you might expect from a Wage War record,” Cody reassures fans. “Whether that be mental health-based or relationship-based material, certainly, there are those kind of songs on there. But we also wanted to branch out a little.”

On the subject of mental health, Briton – who has been open about discussing his struggles in the past – says he is doing much better these days.

“I’m in my 30s now and it’s been the funnest time of my life so far,” he firmly asserts. “And I feel like our band is blossoming into something new. So, it’s a breath of fresh air.”

When Wage War find themselves in the full swing of the touring cycle promoting STIGMA, they will mark a decade of doing this as a band on the world stage. Theirs is a story of friendship, hard work and doing things for the right reasons. Rather than chase anything, their focus remains on keeping a firm grip on those values.

“All five of us have always been best friends this entire time,” Briton reflects. “From being in the band to touring in buses and travelling internationally, we’ve always got along and that’s been a big thing for me at least. Having fun with my best friends? I wouldn’t change that for the world.”

“We have truly seen it all at this point. From our inception even to this day, I feel like we are more of a DIY band than most our age,” Cody argues. “We all work very hard at this, it’s not just a touch and go thing. There are things that make life easier, but we have slept in vans for months on end with no beds, no hotels, lived off $5 a day, played to nobody and come home dirt poor having to find odd jobs. To be in a spot now where life can be a little bit more comfortable, and we can make a living doing what we love is truly success to me. More than ever, I appreciate just how far we’ve come, thinking about how we made our first record and this one.”

Who knew that a band called Wage War would be all about peace, love and harmony. What gives?

“Being open and honest with each other is the key,” the guitarist reckons. “Not everyone does that in the same ways or at the same time, but ultimately we all circle up and have our moments when we come together and talk. Because things can build up and get out of hand. We are certainly not fight-free in this band. If you’re going to spend this much time away from home away from family missing out on so much, it better be with people you love.”