HEALTH’s DEATH MAGIC represents a daring evolution for the Los Angeles experimental group, pushing their abrasive, noise-infused sound into new territory that blends industrial intensity, dark electronics, and unexpected pop sensibilities. Across the album, HEALTH navigates the tension between aggression and accessibility, creating a record that is simultaneously unsettling, hypnotic, and intoxicating.
The album opens with STONEFIST, a punishing track anchored by relentless drums and jagged synths that immediately immerses the listener in HEALTH’s confrontational world. DRUGS EXIST, stands out as one of the album’s most hypnotic pieces. Its slow, pulsing beats and eerie atmospherics give the track a hallucinatory feel, blurring the line between seductive and menacing while Jake Duzsik’s detached vocals float over the dark electronic textures.
Tracks like FLESH WORLD (UK) introduce rhythmic momentum that invites movement, contrasting sharply with the more chaotic textures of DEATH MAGIC. Meanwhile, DARK ENOUGH and LIFE reveal a surprising melodic vulnerability, giving the album moments of emotional resonance amid its otherwise intense sonic landscape. Each song is carefully layered, with distorted guitars, synths, and percussion combining to create a sense of ritualistic immersion.
NEW COKE continue to explore this duality, mixing danceable grooves with abrasive textures, while STONEFIST revisit the album’s signature blend of industrial noise and hypnotic pulse, reinforcing the album’s themes of obsession, desire, and disorientation.
Produced with a keen sense of spatial depth, DEATH MAGIC rewards close listening, revealing intricate layers of sound, hidden textures, and subtle emotional cues. The record balances nihilism and euphoria, aggression and beauty, making it a landmark in HEALTH’s discography a record that invites both confrontation and immersion.
In short, DEATH MAGIC is a provocative journey through intensity, rhythm, and dark emotion. With tracks like DRUGS EXIST, HEALTH demonstrates their mastery of tension, atmosphere, and sonic storytelling, creating a record that lingers long after the final notes fade.
