HOLY WARS hits us with a Cult Classic!

If you’ve heard the music by HOLY WARS, you know they are not your typical rock band. Listen to their flawless album Eat It Up, Spit It Out to understand why this is the case. Together, Kat Leon (vocalist/songwriter) and Nicolas Perez (guitarist/producer) created an honest and unapologetic collection of songs. For example, people’s obsession with social media with “Little Godz” and the imbalance of the rat race with “% Milk”. Musically, they hit hard as well, as “21st Century Bitch” and “Bolt to the Head” can testify. But, to hear them at their best, wrap your ears around “Get Mine” with its dark industrial tone. 

Following up on such an impactful and impressive album is no easy task. However, HOLY WARS are up for the challenge and created their new EP, Cult Classic. Leon says, “Making this EP was a fun and intrusive experience. I wanted to pose the question of what if the horror (aka ‘the monster’) was actually inside us? In most thrillers, the monster is an external enemy, but in this body of music I really wanted to lean into the internal enemy. But also acknowledging how this internal enemy is influenced by our external world and what we are made to feel about ourselves and about others. I hope this EP and every song displaying the internal struggle of the self empowers the listener and allows them to have the freedom to unplug and let go of the ever-powerful ego”. 

Going off their previous releases, strap yourself in, as this will be one wild ride of an EP. One they describe as “a daring escapade that weaves through the realms of sound and psyche, marrying the gritty essence of modern rock and cyberpunk with a touch of nu-metal and pop”. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s press play on Cult Classic.

A short intro starts off the EP with a 50’s dystopian feel. As they add layers of screaming, it enforces the mood. It sets the stage for the title track, “Cult Classic”, with its high-tempo drum and bass beats with heavy guitars. Then, Leon joins in to share the opening lines, “Intrusive, gonna make you sick / Bloodsucker, burrough like a tick / Skinwalker, they’ll never quit / It’s a parasite city that we’re living in”. She delivers each word like a punch but with purpose. It is about “the need for fame, influence, and the ‘American Dream’ changes us in ways with moral shapeshifting and greed is insatiable”. The hook is the perfect example of their message with lines such as “An infected mind, no remedy / It’s feeding time, sharpen up our teeth / A dark magic society / Cult classic, American dream”. 

HOLY WARS look to empower and inspire with their new EP ‘Cult Classic’

Like their debut album, HOLY WARS do not hold back. The opening track is the beginning of more impactful songs that will make you view the world with different eyes. “BODY//TEMPLE” is next up and the most accessible to new listeners. It has a lighter feel thanks to its infectious hook. Don’t be fooled, as it still has a bite to it. But, it is nothing compared to the “Deus Ex Machina”. It is a dark, relentless moment that takes no prisoners. It deceptively opens up with the soft delivery of the lines, “My mind is a machine / Deus Ex Machina, God / I fire rounds in my head / Creating holes in the plot”. Then, all hell breaks loose! 

Leon rapidly delivers lines including “Pretty wanted hell and a taste of venom / But it’s a counterfeit drip rip that you’re spittin’ / And I wanna take a high road back to heaven / But I’ve become too good at playing the villain”. But later on, menacingly struts to deliver words such as, “Back in the coffin that birthed it / When I clawed my way straight up to the surface / Now I’m back to the core, been ignoring / A whisper from back seat telling me to floor it”. But, in between, she shares a hypnotic chorus to help showcase her impressive vocal range. “Deus Ex Machina” offers everything that makes HOLY WARS stand out. 

“VenoM” may not stand out as much as the others lyrically, but this one is all about its soundtrack. It’s dark and angry to reflect its hook, “Spittin Venom / Venom / Try to come at me this how I get em / Spittin Venom / Venom”. Seeing out the EP is “TENSION//RELEASE”, a song about depression and grief. Lyrically, there is honesty as they mould their words to reflect these feelings. It is clear to hear from the opening lines, “Cutting off the circulation I feel everything at once / Thoughts, they never stop when they’re unsaid, so l I throw em up / Disassociating till this body’s growing numb / I’ve become addicted to the burning in my lungs”. 

Their message stands out when the chorus arrives. But it hits home as it repeats to see out the song. As it ends, it leaves you wanting more. A trait found in everything that HOLY WARS creates. Cult Classic EP is a sublime collection of honest anthemic songs. It is another impressive showcase of their songwriting talents that fits perfectly within their discography. Each one offers something different and all deserving of your listening time. Give Cult Classic EP a listen today, and then go down the rabbit hole of their back catalogue. You will not be disappointed!