My Honest Thoughts on Wage War "Magnetic"

I will be reacting and reviewing Wage War - MAGNETIC (Official Music Video). Thank you for watching. Subscribe for more honest music reaction / reviews and to discover new music.
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►MUSIC VIDEO • Wage War - MAGNETIC (O...
#WageWar

[@METALBIRB]

How would you rate this song?

[@hawthornedrive]

I like when bands do new things and I like elements of this song but it's just overall super boring and generic. It's fine it isn't heavy, it's fine it doesn't sound like Wage War, it's not fine that it's just some typical radio buttrock with a weird breakdown that doesn't fit at all. I'd say it's like a 4/10.

[@McYates24]

3/10

[@ryana6590]

3/10

[@t.vitolo_]

BOUNDARIES

[@jonathanpradier2490]

3/10

[@tysonsenger4230]

I personally love it. I don’t care if they’re writing metalcore, heavy metal. Pop rock, Octanecore, Accoustic they’re just unreal

[@koda6092]

So versatile in an age where there’s a lot of misses in my opinion. They are one of the few bands who consistently hit.

[@frostynavs]

"if tomorrow never comes" is slept on so HARD

[@deathring7339]

100% I love when album closers feel larger than life, and If Tomorrow Never Comes absolutely does that.

[@Lewis1995]

literally their best song

[@lauralush23]

totally agree

[@LemmonDP]

Anybody who says Wage War has "sold out" is just admitting they want the band to struggle. Yes, its octane-core. Yes, its radio friendly. That's how bands get new listeners. That's how they make money so they can continue to make new music. Would you rather they become the next Betraying The Martyrs, where they have to break up because they aren't making enough money? Besides, the only reason I listen to Metalcore at all was because of BMTH's octane songs that introduced me to the band and led to me going down the rabbit hole of their heavier stuff. The kind of songs that "fans" gave them shit for are the songs that introduced me to metalcore genre. I can almost guarantee that the reason the released this song first was to get all the whining out of the way before releasing their heavier singles.

[@brandonbrown1440]

Totally agree man. People just gotta calm down

[@lameronraughnzo5268]

Music industry logic.

[@Cayde-8]

With BMTH, I'll repeat what I said in an earlier reply, BMTH did octane WELL. Same with Bad Omens and The Death Of Piece Of Mind. They are well written, produced and performed. This, and the entirety of Pressure have very bland and generic lyrics along with boring instrumentals and a chorus that feels like it's on a neverending loop. Cody's cleans are also just okay. His higher ranges are not his strongest vocal quality and it's either way too "nasaly" if you will or its almost like nails on a chalkboard sometimes. Their track Low is a great example of that. Again, I do really love this band and Cody's cleans but in MODERATION. This is also just personal opinion. You're welcome to enjoy it without restrictions.

[@justinbond15]

As a butt rock/octane core guy, I also enjoy super heavy songs as well. I just find it moronic to see people say that Bad Omens, BMTH, Architects are all just evolving. But when Wage War does it, it’s garbage. I loved the song

[@nickolasbourdelais]

Facts

[@dravenripley9468]

To be fair most people think the last Architects album isn't good including Metalbirb. FTTWTE was pretty solid though.

[@Cayde-8]

Because Bad Omens and BMTH did it well. They were insanely well produced and musically complex with deep lyrics. This and almost the entirety of Pressure was a whiny butt rock album with bland lyrics, riffs and okay cleans that overstay their welcome. Don't get me wrong, they can do some pretty cool non harsh vocal stuff like the trap metal they did with Manic which I wanted to hear more of. That whole "psychological horror" theme to the song was quite cool too.

[@Osama_Bin_Ladder]

All the bands you listed are hated on by elitists for not being heavy enough. It’s not just wage war… unfortunately the metal community has always been full of socially awkward edgelords, whose only sense of feeling cool is that they like heavy music. They complain that people don’t give metal a chance, but yet don’t give any music a chance that isn’t just screams and breakdowns. I personally love both soft stuff and the heavy stuff.

[@justinbond15]

@@Osama_Bin_Ladder agreed

[@SkilledLabor]

Made for radio isn’t a bad thing. I dig both heavy/light wage war, an album with both I like personally. Pressure had some light pop stuff which grew on me and actually ended up really diggin it. Just hope they keep their juicy riffs that I’ve grown fond of!

[@villaingameplays]

it’s wage war, you know they will lol

[@deathring7339]

Honestly this is exactly what I expected out of a song premiering on Octane radio, so I’m not upset to be honest. It’s good for what it is, just not super groundbreaking

[@DeanTheDevil]

I'm usually disappointed when bands release songs like this, but it has been stuck in my head since the midnight release. I really really like it. Also my favorite WW song is also just my favorite song in general; Indestructible.

[@TheAceOfOnes]

You either die a Metalcore band, or live long enough to become a butt rock radio band

[@Botc_8686]

100%

[@creepyd6563]

So TRUE 😂

[@0owmjapo0]

Mostly true. If you want real popularity and being able to play bigger shows you have to go softer

[@silentagony1019]

Someone already said that in a video

[@daltonoftheyear]

this isn't butt rock lol

[@cole1130]

Never Said Goodbye really hits home

[@DadDrums1015]

The funny thing is this is one song. Their last album had a couple chill songs like this. Maybe the album will have variety? I think this song is solid, 7/10. It's written well in my opinion

[@mattavalos]

i'm never disappointed when Wage War drops softer stuff, cuz they always come back around with something heavy to compensate. Me Against Myself is one of my all time favorite songs from them, which is funny cuz i just LOVE their heavy stuff

[@nickolasbourdelais]

Here’s the way I see it. Is this a radio friendly song? The answer is yes. Does it appeal to all people? No. But does that mean they’ve lost their sound or they’ve gone to entirely mainstream? NO. This is not a bad song, I think the haters that are hating it are the ones that always listen to the slipknot Iowa album And think that’s where metal peaked.

[@CoolDj0101]

Good morning MetalBirb!! The River is my fav bruv

[@MrMonk123]

My favorite wage war song is Photograph

[@Nyeusi]

@@liagarcia2943woooosh

[@adecakaship2486]

​@@liagarcia2943 I'm pretty sure that was the joke because there are parts of this song that sounds like Nickelback...

[@Dylann121]

Cultured

[@MrMonk123]

@@adecakaship2486=)

[@ArizonaWx5110]

Completely agree with the review. Its not bad per se, but there is nothing that makes you want to listen to it again.

[@KaiyaBell-oq1xx]

The album blueprints is still amazing top tier metalcore

[@Epper95]

My favorite WW track is a toss up between Twenty One and Witness. Both of those songs got me through some shit. 🤘🔥😁 Your review summed up mine perfectly. It’s just the radio single. Trying to get the mass appeal. I get it. I am looking forward to the rest of the album.

[@hawthornedrive]

Oddly enough my favorite Wage War song is the Stripped version of Johnny Cash. Gravity Stripped is good also. They just really hit.

[@pancakeburglar9361]

You summed up my thoughts pretty well Birb. Solid track for the whole octane core sound but overall way too safe and I’m mostly bored of this style.

[@painkiller666666666]

I don't like when the song goes oooh ohhhh oooh, but i am sure the next song will be much better

[@RichardJanvrinYT]

That’s an excellent hook. This is like a “later album cycle” ADTR.

[@thesurfmonger4125]

Honest opinion here: im typically into hard fuckinusic ie black metal and so on. I was at Rockville 24 and heard and seen them the first time and idgaf what yall say them boys go hard in the paint 🤘💯

[@thomasfrancis9559]

Boundaries- scar on a soul

[@dylanshemwell1211]

I am loving this song

[@GaffAttack09]

7/10 for me. I think this song would have been better received it was a 2nd or 3rd single. It's still a good catchy "generic" song, similar to Circle the Drain. Think they would have been better off releasing a heavy hitter for the lead single, similar to High Horse. That is of course assuming their next album will have some heavy hitters.

[@artistrankings6794]

i feel like im the only one that feels like circle the drain had 100x more identity than this track

[@GaffAttack09]

@@artistrankings6794 my point wasn't that this song is as good as Circle the Drain, more like they are a similar style

[@Kideem]

very simple, but kinda catchy

[@Crotes1990]

7.5/10, I cant help it but I really dig it alot. Fuck the haters haha.

[@robustpickle7859]

I saw a comment somewhere that said Magnetic sounds like what ChatGPT would make if you asked it what Wage War sounds like.

[@kylemitchell651]

Think my favorite by them is probably enemy. That riff just hits me every time man

[@secondson312]

Man you’re being generous with that 6 😂

[@SamMakesTrouble]

Ya know I've been thinking about speaking with my doctor about prescribing me some sleeping pills for my insomnia, but with the cost of medicine being so high I think I've found a nice alternative!

[@drewverses]

Would this have scored higher if it were an I Prevail song?

[@juliusmagwood6909]

The river Wage war Favorite

[@jerryortiz1517]

Favorite track would mostly be True Colors for new track and The River for older track

[@sandonparrish7217]

Honestly my issue with the song has notbing to do with it being Octane core. For me, its the fact that they didn't double down and write an actual pop/rock song with a bridge. Instead they did a cop out and threw in the unnecessary breakdown that lasts like 20 seconds and then carried on like it didnt happen

[@vitaminme4203]

Butt dad rock. IF thats for you, go for it, but man, i'd give it a 3/10.

[@jeremyruh5219]

Need to check out The Cost

[@gooseman6112]

I don’t hate the song because its soft but more or less because i find the song very cheesy (subjective i know) and also the breakdown of course… just thrown in there like its a smoothie in a blender. This one gets a yeah/10. Edit: also the chorus had me laughing out loud.

[@AtomicBear18]

Favorite will always be Alive! These guys came out of nowhere in 2015 with one of the best metalcore songs I've ever heard. They haven't topped it for me yet. There are some great songs on every album except Pressure. (Just don't vibe with anything on it.)

[@JustGerryNow]

It's a decent song, good for a playlist. Sounds like it's kinda... Made for tiktok. Doesn't make it BAD just... Eh. Not mad at it, the chorus is probably gonna be stuck in my head for the day lmao

[@CSARdrums24]

I just can’t believe they decided to double down on the Pressure sound after the entire OG fanbase roasted that album. They had such a strong comeback with Manic. Doing this is beyond disappointing.

[@villaingameplays]

it’s one single. you said yourself, their last album was really strong, i have no doubt this album will be anything less.

[@Nyeusi]

@@villaingameplays🧢🧢

[@dugtheundead]

Def a radio single, not my cup of tea but it happens not every album always has banger after banger. Still looking forward to the new album tho for sure

[@Number-zh8ef]

The River to a puddle

[@AyyFuji]

I accepted it would be an "octanecore" song pretty quickly, and was fine with it from that angle, but man that breakdown is so forced to try and say "We're still metalcore" but at the same time, felt like pandering. It was a 7.5 ish song before the breakdown, like wasn't horrendous, I like a catchy chorus in my 'metalcore' every so often, but man that breakdown sticks out real hard.

[@phantom_username]

This song is not horrible but it really doesn’t do anything for me. I have no issues with bands making radio rock songs at all but this song is a bit disjointed. I actually enjoy each part individually but the breakdown is super out of place and some parts just don’t transition to the next very well. I don’t hate the song but it’s nothing I would come back to that often. Edit: I forgot to answer the question but I would honestly go with Manic. I love the combination of the heavy riff and the almost trap verses.

[@larasaikali2483]

My favorite Wage War song is Manic

[@user-hm6fk4oo4d]

I know this has nothing to do with the video but we have the same coffee cup lol

[@wttruax5816]

that break down was so out of place lol

[@Whopperwhopper420]

Wage War on a steep decline since blueprints.

[@esaedvik]

An absolute bop, solid 8/10. ERRA does this a bit better, but a good effort nonetheless.

[@hauke3364]

I like the Contrast between the Breakdown and the soft elements. Let them release more Songs and they will wrote Heavy Songs too. They wrote soft songs on the old Albums too, but now they are buttrock radio? Lol People mad cuz they released one soft song after 2 Years. Favourite Song is Godspeed.

[@coveurt]

Kingdom of giants vibes

[@anrupieterse6968]

My Grave Is Mine To Dig.

[@paulvachon6538]

Honestly I'm probably going to go 2/10. It's boring, generic, and the lyrics are as basic as you can get. The breakdown is one I've heard 100 times before and way too many bands are releasing songs like this. The production is well done and thats the reason for the 2.

[@kylesmith2577]

Greyhaven's new song is a banger

[@BigSleepy985]

What makes this song so unspecial is its lack of ENERGY. It’s relying on its mix to sound larger than it actually is beneath the surface.

[@nickhazel7920]

should be called wageback lol

[@badseed4492]

Go see it live. I bet it will be 20x better

[@TimmyTurner421]

Good on you for being honest. Imo you could even me more brash about it. If a song in your opinion sucks ass then just say it

[@frantheravenfire]

Sometimes I’m in the mood for simple metalcore songs with a big chorus and a good breakdown, but this song just doesnt have anything memorable. In terms of favorite Wage War songs: Stitch, Witness and Manic

[@CrashBlastSmash]

Manic

[@ImmortalMarz]

I think it's a 6 or 7 out of 10 for me. If it didn't have that out-of-place and unoriginal breakdown in the song, and instead with a beautiful bridge or anything else, my rating would probably be higher. I do like the chorus, though, but it seems like almost everyone is doing the octane sound.

[@CZYKOfficial]

If anybody is itching for the Wage War heaviness, we just released a new track called “Kill The Flame (feat. NVRLESS)” that’ll satisfy your need for a BANGER! 🔥🤘

[@METALBIRB]

;)

[@ven1x427]

too much modern nickelback vibes lol xaaxaxaxa

[@brockhill3194]

Yeah not my favorite, but I can enjoy it and relate this song in a cheesy way with wife

[@Darien17CDMX]

It's a ok song. Not everything has to be heavy but its for me a boring song compared with "Circle The Drain" wich i like more. My favorite part overall was the intro until the chorus beside that was just mid. The Breakdown was kinda unnecessary. At the end I still like it but not enough to be one of their best songs. 6/10

[@mickribz3963]

I liked this bands first couple albums. They were just heavy enough with catchy choruses that weren't too poppy. But I remember a few years back when you reacted to them, one of your critiques was that they were too formulaic and even generic (I'm paraphrasing, but that was the jist of it). At the time I didn't like hearing that, but I accepted it because the more I listened, the more I could hear it. To me, this new song is the pinnacle of that critique. Uninspired and generic Nickelback-Core. They have no identity, nothing you can pinpoint as their own, that you can point to and say oh thats Wage War.

[@robdurbin8300]

14yo me would have thought this song was the shit!!

[@johnnychavez]

Where's them Kublai khan tx fans

[@Dippedinblackink]

This is a high estrogen infused song.

[@Isaac_Murphy]

Facts

[@KingKiller5555555555]

No. Wage War has had whole albums where even their softer stuff still isn't quite octanecore. I think Cody has a little too much influence on the song writing now. Sure the production is still good but that's because of Drew Fulk. This isn't good even in octanecore standards. And given how good I know this band is and can be no this ain't it. 3 or 4 out of 10. Only because of production.

[@Hopium500]

Sounds like if imagine Dragons had a child with Nickelback.

[@danielspencer4564]

I think this would be a great radio rock song if the front man didn't do cleans. Something very off about his voice I don't enjoy it. The song itself is solid though.😊

[@jonathanpradier2490]

Damn agree with you!! Probably a good song but not the right audience for it and seems too generic for me...

[@johndebbaudt8029]

This song isn’t even mid. Just bad, easy, octanecore, pandercore. Overall 3/10. Also… BLUEPRINTS!!

[@namnambulu]

Eighteen visions burned us alive around the 2:13 of that song is almost exactly the same riff age after the breakdown so 18v did it almost 18 yrs ago

[@ianbisby6823]

Oh dear..... it sounds like Nickelback with a mini breakdown lol

[@ShadowOfADoubt9]

Just ok

[@jussi-pekkalaakko8768]

It sounds like a song that has been made allready like 1000 times. Very boring. Wtf they were thinking In the studio just asking.

[@justified_edc]

Incredibly boring. Hopefully the rest of the album is the opposite of this

[@Lewis1995]

The thing is its not because its soft or raidio friendly as to why its bad because their softer songs in the past have been good but this is just shit

[@andrewpottersfield]

This song is just very weak to me, I expect more from them but at the same time I get this move for their career. They’re trying to grow and I respect that. I will always love and support them but this song is far from my favorite they’ve put out

[@CruciaLou]

Nickelback-core

[@tylascano2300]

I agree with the forced breakdown. It threw me off and seems out of place. Not my cup of tea. Not bad just not for me.

[@theshadowmaster560]

I dont care how good a chorus is. If you repeat it too many times, I get bored of the song very quickly. At the end of this I was already getting bored of hearing it.

[@dustinfoto]

I'm both a metalcore fan and a dad rock fan (chevelle, breaking benjamin, red, starset are some of my favs) and this is just so boring. The chorus is bland. The breakdown is jarring from a compositional standpoint. I don't understand the choice of using a vocoder in the verse. Its like its a lot of different elements that don't blend very well. Fav wage war song is Death Roll

[@SmyD87_]

Bad for a nickelback song Worse for any other bands song

[@MedicalAnomaly]

4/10. Just so fucking far from what they can do creatively, and it appears we’ve reached the point where they’re making radio rock.

[@chiefluke210]

The only “Magnetic” thing about this track is how it’s attracted to the rubbish bin.

[@McYates24]

This has to be the most dumbed down form of intentional octanecore i've heard so far, no substance sonically at all compared to some other bands' attempts at radio songs.

[@dravenripley9468]

5.5/10. Its ok. But I know Wage War can do better.

[@HunterLikesSoda]

i really dont know how people like this, and i'm a pretty big wage war fan. it's just...bad lol

[@tylerdirschel5644]

A plain boiled hot dog has more character and flavor than this song

[@cobymclaughlin3453]

3/10. Boring, generic, and formulaic. Listened once and I’ll never listen to it again, lol

[@braydenpartridge4344]

Yea this is a 4/10

[@scotter23]

Oh man I hate when these songs come out. Not because they aren’t good. They’re great. Wage War is great. But when the singer doesn’t scream like Cookie Monster and the double bass kick drum isn’t just going insane like a machine gun… the metalcore kids declare it objectively sucks. It’s not what they’re “going for the radio airplay“… They’re playing music they wanna play. It just sucks that any band who downshifts from fifth gear screaming… Suddenly they sold out, they’re boring… they suck etc… God forbid there’s a melody…

[@ryanbollinger1759]

I don’t agree. Bad Omens, BMTH, Dayseeker, ADTR, etc can pull this off perfectly because they have the songwriting chops. Compare this to anything those bands have done in the softer sphere and it falls flat.

[@Lewis1995]

their previous softer songs have all been good this is just shit

[@tkosportscards]

Relapse

[@amandahamilton391]

I found it... Meh.

[@metalhoable]

God this is the epitome of boring.

[@Spacenugget9]

This song is kinda boring, and it's following the annoying trend of metalcore bands releasing ballads with a phoned-in breakdown that doesn't fit with the song. If a band wants to make a softer song, put in a bridge hook or something.