Traveling a constant forward trajectory at lightspeed, Wage War not only push their own sound forward, but they also propel heavy music into new territory. The Florida quintet—Briton Bond [lead vocals], Cody Quistad [rhythm guitar, clean vocals], Seth Blake [lead guitar], Chris Gaylord [bass], and Stephen Kluesener [drums]—have always tempered a pummeling metallic onslaught with unshakable melodies. A near-decade grind naturally brought Wage War to this point. They have unleashed a string of fan favorite albums, including Blueprints [2015], Deadweight [2017], Pressure [2019], and Manic [2021]. Beyond looks from SPIN, Modern Drummer, American Songwriter, Revolver, Guitar World, and more, KERRANG! hailed the latter as “their greatest album yet,” and DORK raved, “It’s an embracing of being metalheads, popheads and just fans of good songs. On more than one occasion, there’s an earworm poking its head up through the dirt.” They also put up numbers, tallying hundreds of millions of streams boosted by the likes of “Stitch,” “Low,” “Manic,” and “Circle The Drain.” On their fifth full-length offering STIGMA [Fearless Records], Wage War outfit their signature style with industrial grit and electronic sheen, leveling up into the future in the process with singles such as “MAGNETIC.”

Leading with an emphasis on quality in everything they do, Nevertel - Jeremy Michael (vocalist), Raul Lopez (rapper/guitarist/producer) and Alec Davis (guitarist) - have honed a distinctly modern genre-blending sound that fuses elements of hip-hop, nu-metal and alternative rock. Touting influences from established acts such as Linkin Park and Bring Me The Horizon, the group draws in listeners with riveting melodic choruses, hip-hop infused verses and bombastic EDM-style breakdowns. Even before they were Nevertel, they were just a bunch of childhood pals bonded by their shared love of music. “We’ve all been best friends since high school and have been in and out of bands together,” Jeremy explains. However, as often happens with school-aged friendships, they eventually drifted apart – until music intervened yet again. “It wasn’t until years later, after seeing Linkin Park at the 2014 Carnivores Tour, Raul called me and Alec about starting another band.” Though the trio is long past their high school days, they still bond over the interests they shared as kids. “What brought us together was our love for music and video games. We would play video games to stay close and keep in contact about the band. Music and gaming have been instrumental to our growth and bond as brothers.” Now, after two albums, two EPs, and a slew of singles out in the world, Nevertel has racked up over 60 million global streams to date (and over 900K a week) while fostering an online community of over 600K social media followers. A testament of their dedication to their craft and commitment to their fans, the band has performed at festivals like Welcome To Rockville, seen radio support from SiriusXM and earned recognition across all major DSPs, with a placement on Spotify’s All New Metal, Kickass Metal, and Hard Rock playlists. “Our mission is pretty simple: to make music that saves and inspires people to make great changes in their lives.” While they pour their hearts into their work, at the core of it all, they do it for the tight-knit group of childhood best friends they once were. “If we could inspire that same 13-year-old kid we once were to follow their dreams and chase their passions then I'd say our mission is being accomplished.”

What got out of Orthodox’s A Door Left Open was a capital M Monolithic Metal record, which accomplished its goal of approximating the dread one would feel coming home to a door ajar. The lack of subgenres attached to the overarching weight doesn’t mean there weren’t influences from heavy music’s history, rather that attempting to sum it up would be a hyphenated mess as chaotic as opener “Can You Save Me?” and far less pointed and poignant than the album-ending monologue making up the middle section of closer ‘Will You Hate Me?” Between the album’s poles—start-and-stop metallic hardcore ala Converge and relative calm, almost post-metal-esque diversity (see what we mean about those hyphens?)—the Nashville/Columbus based quintet have made nu feel new again. It’s at the apex of the densest elements of innovative subgenres like nu metal and metalcore, both which added aggression to softening metals, that Orthodox craft their own take on “The Heaviest Matter of the Universe.” Similar to peers like Knocked Loose, Harms Way and Jesus Piece, the band mutate metal’s most groovy elements into a molten alloy as scalding as it is dense. (That they’re joined by Matt McDougal, Andrew Neufeld and Brann Dailor on guest vocals only adds to the oomph.) In the case of Orthodox, call it “Dread Weight” after the track of the same name, and be prepared to be crushed—as many have through tours with the likes of The Acacia Strain, Stick To Your Guns, Boundaries, Dying Wish and more. From the floor to a massive stage, from hardcore to metal, and everything in between, Orthodox have built a name on fervent, visceral live shows. With their most blunt album, both lyrically and musically, the wrecking ball that is Orthodox is coming to shatter expectations and minds of fans of metal and hardcore alike. Their powerful alloy ensures it doesn’t matter if there was, ahem, A Door Left Open or not, with their latest album, they’ve kicked theirs off its hinges—if not turned it into dust.