Holy Wars have been building toward something enormous, and Shadow Work/Light Work is the payoff. The LA-based band's sophomore album — released last Friday via Pale Chord/Rise Records/BMG — is a 12-track concept record that takes the grief of vocalist Kat Leon's devastating personal losses and transforms them into something genuinely cathartic. It's the kind of record that doesn't just ask you to feel something; it demands it.
The album's dual structure — Side A: Shadow Work, Side B: Light Work — mirrors the process it documents. The first half plunges into darkness: "O Death," "I Feel Everything," and "Shadowalker" move through the heaviest material Holy Wars have ever committed to tape, with Leon's voice ranging from feral howl to aching whisper. The second half doesn't offer cheap resolution, but it does find a way forward — "Proof of Existence," "Kill The Light," and closer "Metamorphosis" are where the album earns its title.
Leon has been open about the album's genesis. She lost both parents a decade ago, and her sister died in 2024 — a loss that threw her back into the same shadow mindset she thought she'd escaped.
The concept behind Shadow Work/Light Work is taking the grief and trauma of losing my parents ten years ago, and looking at how hard that has actually been for me. I have almost held onto that grief as armor for a long time. Then, after my sister passed away in 2024, it instantly brought me right back to that shadow mindset and darkness. However, instead of being trapped in it, I used it as a way of healing through writing.
Produced by guitarist Nicholas Perez in Joshua Tree, California, the album refuses to be pinned to one lane. The sonic range is staggering — from the incendiary "Kill The Light" (co-written with Josh Gilbert of Spiritbox) with its snappy riffs and electronic flourishes, to the tender, melodically rich compositions that could sit comfortably next to Evanescence's most vulnerable moments. Kerrang! gave the album 4 out of 5 in their review, calling it "powerful, profound, and transportive."
The album arrives after a breakout 2025 that saw Holy Wars perform at Rock im Park, Rock am Ring, and Download Festival, support Kittie across Europe, and open for Evanescence at the Mercedes-Benz Amphitheater in Alabama alongside Poppy. That momentum only accelerates from here — the band sailed on ShipRocked in January alongside Halestorm, Motionless In White, and Knocked Loose, and they're confirmed for three stops on the 2026 Warped Tour (Long Beach, Washington D.C., and Orlando) plus Louder Than Life Festival in September.
Shadow Work/Light Work is available now on all streaming platforms. If you slept on Holy Wars during their come-up, this is the record that makes ignoring them impossible.