When Health<\/a> opened for Deftones<\/a> at London\u2019s Crystal Palace Park this summer, it was a supreme exercise in juxtaposition. Here was a trio who made a name for themselves by playing punk rock<\/a> squats and abandoned L.A. warehouses, now on the bill of a sold-out show at a 25,000-capacity venue. The EBM-meets-industrial-metal of their last album, 2023\u2019s Rat Wars<\/a>, was self-described as \u201cThe Downward Spiral<\/a> for people with at least two monitors and a Vitamin D deficiency\u201d, and here they were making people dance outdoors on one of the sunniest days of the year.<\/p>\n Fact is, Health know they\u2019re a band of contrasts. Singer\/guitarist Jake Duszik says that he wants Conflict DLC, their sixth album, to be \u201cfun, cathartic and aggressive\u201d, as well as \u201cemotional and psychological\u201d. It\u2019s a continuation of the \u2018party at the end of the world\u2019 vibe they\u2019ve dealt in for years: an approach clearly resonating with a generation who have to live with live-streamed genocides and the inevitable apocalypse that is the climate crisis. Major Crimes, the band\u2019s contribution to the soundtrack of blockbuster videogame Cyberpunk 2077, boasts more than 32 million Spotify<\/a> streams. Plus, as well as Deftones, they\u2019ve supported Slipknot<\/a> and Sleep Token<\/a> in the last two years alone.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ordinary Loss introduces the conflict at the heart of Conflict DLC. \u2018Everyone that you love, they\u2019re here and then they\u2019re gone,\u2019 Duzsik moodily croons. Then, a burst of guitar and ear-splitting percussion explodes out of the speakers. During the first full verse, John Famiglietti\u2019s bass throbs alongside an industrial rhythm, making the song sound like a body-popping rave in a Blade Runner dystopia.<\/p>\n The likes of Burn The Candles, Vibe Cop and Shred Envy double down on the high-octane cynicism. These heavier tracks were mixed by Drew Fulk, after Health were wowed by his work on Knocked Loose<\/a>\u2019s You Won\u2019t Go Before You\u2019re Supposed To<\/a> last year. If Conflict DLC has a behind-the-scenes MVP, then it\u2019s him. Each beat and chord hits like an all-consuming detonation, without subtracting from the smoothly-voiced bleakness of Duzsik\u2019s lyrics. \u2018Hope is just a word,\u2019 he enunciates amid the chaos of Trash Decade.<\/p>\n The album has its softer moments as well, synthwave interlude Torture II evoking defeat without the need for vocals. Thought Leader is about loneliness in the internet age, but it turns that negativity into a delectable pop-rock anthem. \u2018Everyone is dumb,\u2019 the chorus repeats, in a manner no doubt destined to kick off some therapeutic, arena-wide singalongs. Similarly, Don\u2019t Kill Yourself is a slow number with music that seems designed to get crowds waving, even as Duzsik unloads, \u2018I don\u2019t want to kill myself but I don\u2019t want to live this way.\u2019<\/p>\n Health are still contradictory to the core: downtrodden and hopeless, yet channelling those feelings into songs you can either sing or move to. It\u2019s crowd-pleasing stuff that doesn\u2019t talk down to the audience. This lot know as well as everybody else that the world is fucked \u2013 refusing to have a boogie won\u2019t make anything better, though.<\/p>\n Conflict DLC is out now via Loma Vista. This review is taken from the new issue of Metal Hammer, which you can order now and get delivered directly to your door<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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