With a genre-blurring vision and a drive for raw honesty, Holy Wars detail the heart-breaking circumstances that led to their formation and their mission to provide hope to anyone who may need it.
Music is a powerful thing.
With the ability to bring people together and provide comfort in times of loneliness, the right song can help you find your place in the world, and even provide the strength to cope with insurmountable tragedy.
It’s a kind of magic that LA-based duo Holy Wars are all too aware of. Comprised of vocalist Kat Leon and guitarist/producer Nick Perez, the musicians united following the loss of Kat’s parents in 2015. Battling unimaginable grief, their debut EP ‘Mother Father’ documented a period of deep healing, marking the start of their unique journey.
“After that EP came out, we didn’t really know what to say next. Nothing seems as important as talking about the loss and putting out a message like that,” Kat starts.
“We were playing those songs every night, and it was exhausting to keep reliving it. We would see people tearing up in the audience, and it was an honour to know that we made them feel safe enough to express their emotions, but we wanted to see people moving and headbanging to our music. We wanted to help them feel another kind of catharsis.”
Fusing elements of alternative rock, punk, nu-metal and hip-hop with earworm pop melodies, since making their live debut in 2021, Holy Wars have been in a state of constant evolution. Adopting a boundaryless vision that has left record labels and booking agents baffled as to how to market the shapeshifting duo, for Kat and Nick – each song is a chance to tell a new story.
“We explore raw emotion in our music, but sometimes songs that are emotionally gut-wrenching can be hard to listen to. The challenge is finding different ways to create that feeling,” Nick nods.
“We’re always growing as humans, and music has been a big part of that for me. It’s helped me learn who I am and how I fit into this world,” Kat adds.
“The best songs make you feel multiple emotions. I love when the music makes you feel empowered, but the lyrics break your heart. I look for that depth in the music I listen to, and that rawness is vital to Holy Wars because our inception came from the most vulnerable place imaginable.”
Whatever sounds they explore, and whether they’re delivering anthems of grief or self-belief, that sense of vulnerability underpins everything that Holy Wars do. Determined to never succumb to predictability, the duo are proving that when you put your most authentic self out into the world – wonderful things can happen.
“As I’m getting older, I’m conscious of what I’m carving out during the short time that I’m on this earth,” Kat finishes.
“I want to make people feel empowered, and I want to give them a home. I feel like an orphan every day, and I struggle with depression, but I don’t believe any of us are alone in the way we feel. When I sing about it, it feels narcissistic at first, but when I see the positive influence it has on people, I know I need to keep going. It’s what I’m here for.”
Holy Wars’ new EP ‘Cult Classic’ is out now.
