What an odd and magnificent combination I discovered the moment Holywatr poured their newest song “I Won’t Forget” down my ears. The steely -and groovy- guitar riffs kicked my ass right at the start because I wasn’t expecting them -I went in completely blind- and what I began experiencing was a delightful and bloody trip down memory lane to my youth; it was suddenly 2004 and the world was still reeling from The Matrix Reloaded, MTV was still the go-to for music and “Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines” was the coolest damn video game in the world, you wouldn’t know it if you weren’t there, but it was a grand old time, promising and angsty alike.

If there were ever a song that perfectly captures the experience of being hung up on a one-night stand, “I Won’t Forget” would be the one.

I don’t mean to paint this image to say that Holywatr is in any way trying to be nostalgic on purpose and they’re certainly not derivative of the nu-metal of that era either. However, there is an undeniable vibe in their music that perfectly captures the essence of a time before iPhones existed. They achieve this effortlessly without resorting to any corny gimmicks. The closer you inspect their sound you do find that they’re not quite like most of what you’ve heard before either, and there’s a lot more depth and complexity to their sound than you would guess at first, and indeed they’ve been steadily releasing track after track drawing from the wellsprings of electronic, R&B, alternative rock and metal, for the better part of the last 3 years, starting with their founder, “Holy” who began the project as a solo act.

Holy has had the opportunity to perform alongside renowned artists such as Steve Aoki and has traveled around the world for sold-out concerts, where fans have warmly welcomed him. In addition to his successful solo career, Holywatr has had the chance to work with some of the top talents in the industry, including Iann Dior, Steven Moses, ALEXSUCKS, Bear, and Grammy award-winning artist Bobby Raps to name a few. With his collaborations reaching widespread praise and millions of combined plays across various music platforms and videos, Holywatr’s talent continues to gain recognition and success in the music scene.

 “I Won’t Forget” by Holywatr is about a passionate encounter with a woman who wants to give the singer a night he won’t soon forget. The lyrics describe a woman so imposing and confident that she can easily ‘consume’ a man entirely, just like one would smoke a cigarette, but she can also simultaneously “put him out” with nothing but her heel, further highlighting the power she exerts in his mind -and body- with her mere presence.

The song has a healthy dose of everything. From clean gothic vocals, harsher guttural backing, alt-rock riffs, electronica grooves, and a heart-pounding drum and bass outro that is absolutely out of this world. If you told me you could just make all of this work together I’d believe you, but I’d highly doubt you could pull it off with the same ease that Holywatr seems to do it with; they’ve definitely earned a top spot on my personal “ones to watch” list.

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