Review
Divided symmetrically into six dark and six light tracks, Holy Wars’ sophomore record confronts the raw aftermath of personal tragedy with a deliberate split structure. Rather than leaning on superficial mental health tropes, the Los Angeles outfit pairs abrasive heavy-rock dynamics with pop-inflected hooks to chart vocalist Kat Leon's hard-won recovery.
While Kerrang! appreciated how the songs "shapeshift, with their moods and dynamics darting unpredictably," other publications remained unconvinced. Boolin Tunes argued that the emotional weight was undercut by the production, noting that the "mixes felt too flat to make an impact" and left some of the heavier moments feeling "glossy and underdeveloped." Still, the consensus highlights a band pushing past easy formulas; as Rock DNA Mag observed, the album wisely "trades in easy impact for something slower, heavier, and far more deliberate," ensuring that their conceptual evolution registers as a fragile, hard-earned triumph.
