Health (band)
{{Short description|American industrial rock band}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Health
| image = HEALTH @ Becks Music Box (27 2 2010) (4409387539).jpg
| landscape = yes
| caption = Health performing at Becks Music Box in 2010
| origin = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| genre = {{flatlist|
}}
| years_active = 2005–present
| label = {{flatlist|
- Loma Vista
- Trouble
- Flemish Eye
- No Pain In Pop
- City Slang
- Rome Plow
}}
| website = {{URL|www.youwillloveeachother.com}}
| current_members =
- Benjamin Jared Miller
- Jake Duzsik
- John Famiglietti
| past_members = Jupiter Keyes
}}
Health is an American industrial/noise rock band from Los Angeles, California. The band currently consists of drummer B.J. Miller, vocalist and guitarist Jake Duzsik, and bassist and producer John Famiglietti. It formerly also included Jupiter Keyes, who left in 2015. Originating from the Los Angeles underground experimental music community, they gained prominence with a remix of "Crimewave" by Crystal Castles before releasing a self-titled album in 2007.
Since then, they have released a further five albums: Get Color in 2009, Death Magic in 2015, Vol. 4: Slaves of Fear in 2019, and Rat Wars in 2023. The band also released the collaborative double album Disco4 in 2020 and 2022, and have contributed to a variety of video game soundtracks, including those for Max Payne 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Grand Theft Auto V, and Ultrakill.
History
Health was founded after its singer Jake Duzsik met bassist John Famigletti, while Duzsik was working at the flagship Guitar Center in Los Angeles. They decided to form a band and enlisted guitarist Jupiter Keyes and drummer B.J. Miller, the former of which Duzsik knew from university. The band's name was chosen after the members agreed it should be an "everyday word"; when reviewing a long list of terms, "health" was the only one not taken.{{cite news|url=http://www.imposemagazine.com/interview-health/2238/|title=Interview: Health|last=Jones|first=Kenya|date=September 17, 2009|work=Impose Magazine|access-date=September 10, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204005501/http://www.imposemagazine.com/interview-health/2238/|archive-date=December 4, 2008}} Their earliest work was inspired by experimentation in Los Angeles' underground music scene, with the intention of incorporating it into a more conventional band format.
=''Health''=
The band first gained a reputation through a remix of their song "Crimewave" by experimental electronic band Crystal Castles in August 2007. This was followed by their full-length debut a month later, which was recorded at L.A.’s noise/experimental venue, The Smell.{{cite web |title=HEALTH, by HEALTH |url=https://youwillloveeachother.bandcamp.com/album/health |website=Bandcamp |access-date=April 1, 2024 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=HEALTH |url=https://www.abc.net.au/rage/guest/health/9646532 |website=ABC Rage |access-date=April 1, 2024 |language=en-AU |date=April 15, 2016}} At the time, Famiglietti stated in an interview that it "completely changes the tone of anything you want to record; makes a lot of things dark and beautiful". Spin praised the album, describing it as a "mind-numbing sonic overload only sauntered by Health's noisy predecessors."{{cite news |url=http://admin.spin.com/articles/health |title=Artist of the Day: HEALTH |work=Spin |date=November 6, 2007 |access-date=August 11, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140812050343/http://admin.spin.com/articles/health |archive-date=August 12, 2014 }}
Health released their first remix album, Health//Disco in 2008, which received favorable critical reception.{{cite news |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11534-disco/ |title=HEALTH // DISCO |work=Pitchfork Media |date=May 23, 2008 |access-date=August 11, 2014 }} That year, the band also opened for the rock band Nine Inch Nails on their Lights In The Sky tour; after they initially failed to gain the crowd's attention, Trent Reznor lent them his band's expensive LED equipment.{{cite news |url=http://pitchfork.com/news/30200-nine-inch-nails-cancel-reschedule-some-shows/ |title=Nine Inch Nails Cancel, Reschedule Some Shows |work=Pitchfork Media |date=September 17, 2008 |access-date=August 11, 2014 }}
=''Get Color''=
To promote their 2009 album, Get Color, the band held a sweepstakes contest, in which the winner of a golden ticket was awarded a free trip to Los Angeles to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain with the band. Other prizes included locks of the band members' hair and posters autographed in blood.{{cite news |url= http://www.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2009/10/01/best-contest-launched-by-an-la-band-healths-cd-sweepstakes-the-golden-ticket-is-discovered |title=Best Contest Launched By An L.A. Band: HEALTH's CD Sweepstakes (the Golden Ticket is Discovered!) |work=LA Weekly |date=October 1, 2009 |access-date=August 11, 2014 }} The album was praised by Pitchfork, which described it as an "unqualified success" with a "more delicate balance of noise and prettiness" than the debut album.{{cite web |last1=Colly |first1=Joe |title=HEALTH: Get Color |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13409-get-color/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=July 25, 2024}}
The following year, they released "Disco2", which featured remixed tracks from Get Color in addition to some new original songs.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/wqhf |title=HEALTH ::DISCO2 Review |work=BBC |date=2010 |access-date=August 11, 2014 }}
= ''Max Payne 3'' soundtrack =
In 2012, Health composed the soundtrack for the Rockstar Games video game, Max Payne 3.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/3cnv |title=HEALTH Max Payne 3: The Official Soundtrack Review |work=BBC |date=2012 |access-date=August 11, 2014 }} The game's music director, Ivan Pavlovich stated that his team "wanted to give Max a sound that is really identifiable"; after they saw Health play "it was very clear that they were the ones".{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNVlb5VPKjI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/SNVlb5VPKjI |archive-date=December 21, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Scoring Max Payne 3 With HEALTH |via=YouTube |access-date=August 11, 2014 }}{{cbignore}} At the time, Duzsik stated that while it was a "surprise" to the band's fans, it was "fun to make music that was atypical for that sort of entertainment";{{cite news |url=http://pitchfork.com/features/update/8977-health/ |title=The L.A. electro-noise band tell us what to expect from their forthcoming third LP. |work=Pitchfork Media |date=October 29, 2012 |access-date=August 11, 2014 }} he later credited the soundtrack as forcing the band to "expand our musical palette" and head in a more electronic music-influenced direction.
The score was nominated for Best Score in a Game and "Tears" was nominated for Best Song in a Game at the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards.{{cite news |url=http://gamerant.com/2012-spike-video-game-awards-vgas-winners/ |title=2012 Spike Video Game Awards Winners List |work=Game Rant |date=December 7, 2012 |access-date=August 11, 2014 }} In 2013, this was followed by the track "High Pressure Dave" which appeared in Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V.{{cite web |last1=Grubb |first1=Jeffrey |title=Grand Theft Auto V digital album available now on iTunes |url=https://venturebeat.com/games/grand-theft-auto-v-digital-album-available-now-on-itunes/ |website=VentureBeat |access-date=July 25, 2024 |date=September 24, 2013}}
=''Death Magic'' and ''Disco3'' =
Health's third album, Death Magic, was released on August 7, 2015, on Loma Vista Records. It signified a shift in the band's style, being more melodic and featuring greater usage of electronic elements than their previous work.{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/9630-game-over-health-finish-first-album-in-six-years/ |title=Game Over: HEALTH Finish First Album in Six Years |website=Pitchfork |date=April 20, 2015 |access-date=April 24, 2015 }} The album's release was preceded by three singles: On April 23, 2015, Health premiered "New Coke" on SiriusXMU. The song "Stonefist" would be the second single released in June. On July 24, "Men Today" was released as the third track from the album.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} During the European Death Magic tour in 2015, Jupiter Keyes left the band.{{cite web |last1=K |first1=Simon |title=Review: HEALTH - VOL. 4 :: SLAVES OF FEAR {{!}} Sputnikmusic |url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/78910/HEALTH-VOL.-4--SLAVES-OF-FEAR/ |website=www.sputnikmusic.com |access-date=July 25, 2024 |date=February 8, 2019}}
Disco3 was released in the United States on February 17, 2017, on Loma Vista. Announced and released alongside a reverse telethon event on Facebook live, broadcast from the FunnyOrDie studios. Fans were asked to text a number in order to receive a call back from those involved, including B.J. and John.{{cite web |last1=Bowe |first1=Miles |title=Watch Pauly Shore and HEALTH call fans to announce surprise album DISCO3 |url=https://www.factmag.com/2017/02/17/pauly-shore-health-call-fans-telethon-surprise-album-disco3/ |website=Fact Magazine |access-date=March 30, 2024 |date=February 17, 2017}} Later that year, the band covered New Order’s "Blue Monday" for the film Atomic Blonde.{{cite web |last1=Yoo |first1=Noah |title=HEALTH Cover New Order’s "Blue Monday" For New Movie Atomic Blonde: Listen |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/72175-health-cover-new-orders-blue-monday-for-new-movie-atomic-blonde-listen/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=July 25, 2024 |date=March 10, 2017}}
=''Slaves of Fear'' and further video game work=
Health's fourth album, Vol. 4 :: Slaves of Fear, was released on February 8, 2019, on Loma Vista. The album was preceded by the singles "Slaves of Fear", released in December 2018, and "Feel Nothing", released through the Adult Swim Singles Program in January 2019.{{cite web |title=Hear HEALTH Rain Industrial Terror With New Song "SLAVES OF FEAR" |url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/hear-health-rain-industrial-terror-new-song-slaves-fear |website=Revolver |access-date=March 30, 2024 |language=en |date=December 6, 2018}}{{cite web |last1=Rettig |first1=James |title=HEALTH - "FEEL NOTHING" |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2030023/health-feel-nothing/music/ |website=Stereogum |access-date=March 30, 2024 |language=en |date=January 28, 2019}}{{cite web |title=Album Review: HEALTH Vol. 4 :: Slaves of Fear |url=https://metalinjection.net/reviews/health-vol-4-slaves-of-fear |website=Metal Injection |access-date=March 30, 2024 |date=February 7, 2019}}
Over the next year, Health also composed the soundtrack for GTA Online{{'}}s Arena War update,{{cite web |last1=K |first1=Simon |title=Review: HEALTH - GTA: Online Arena War (Soundtrack) {{!}} Sputnikmusic |url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/79096/HEALTH-GTA-Online-Arena-War-Soundtrack/ |website=www.sputnikmusic.com |access-date=July 25, 2024 |date=March 2, 2019}} and the song "Major Crimes" for the video game Cyberpunk 2077.{{cite web |last1=Breihan |first1=Tom |title=HEALTH – "Major Crimes" |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2111363/health-major-crimes/music/ |website=Stereogum |access-date=March 30, 2024 |language=en |date=December 18, 2020}} "Major Crimes", alongside some other songs from the game, also appeared in its anime adaptation, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, in 2022.{{cite web |last1=Moss |first1=Molly |title=Cyberpunk: Edgerunners soundtrack – Every song in the Netflix anime series |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/cyberpunk-edgerunners-soundtrack-netflix/ |website=Radio Times |access-date=July 25, 2024 |date=October 11, 2022}}
= ''Disco4'' series =
On September 17, 2020, the band announced their fifth album, Disco4: Part I. Despite being called Disco4 "in the interest of continuity", it is not a part of Health's Disco series of remix albums, but a collection of original collaborations (with the exception of the album's lead single, "Cyberpunk 2020", which was composed solely by Health themselves).{{Cite web|last=|title=HEALTH announce collaborative album 'DISCO 4:: PART I' {{!}} News|url=http://diymag.com/2020/09/17/health-disco-4-part-i-album-100-gecs-cyberpunk-2020|access-date=May 6, 2021|website=diymag.com|date=September 17, 2020 |language=en}} The album was released through Loma Vista on October 16, 2020.{{cite web |last1=Breihan |first1=Tom |title=HEALTH Release Excellent New All-Collabs Album 'DISCO4 :: PART I': Stream |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2102614/stream-healths-excellent-collab-heavy-new-album-disco4-part-i/music/ |website=Stereogum |access-date=March 30, 2024 |language=en |date=October 16, 2020}} An accompanying remix album, Disco4+, was later released on April 2, 2021, on the band's Bandcamp page.{{Cite web|title=DISCO4+, by HEALTH|url=https://youwillloveeachother.bandcamp.com/album/disco4|access-date=May 6, 2021|website=Health}}
With both themselves and other artists not touring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Health decided to use the opportunity to work on more collaborations, resulting in Disco4: Part II. After a teaser on May 3, 2021, the band released the first track off the album three days later, a song with Nine Inch Nails titled "Isn't Everyone".{{cite web |last1=Benitez-Eves |first1=Tina |title=Health, Nine Inch Nails Release "Isn’t Everyone" |url=https://americansongwriter.com/health-nine-inch-nails-release-isnt-everyone/ |website=American Songwriter |access-date=July 26, 2024 |date=May 6, 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Thiessen |first1=Brock |title=HEALTH and Nine Inch Nails Are Busy Teasing Something │ Exclaim! |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/health_and_nine_inch_nails_are_busy_teasing_something |website=HEALTH and Nine Inch Nails Are Busy Teasing Something │ Exclaim! |access-date=July 26, 2024 |language=en |date=May 3, 2021}} The full album was eventually released on April 8, 2022, featuring artists such as Poppy, Lamb of God, The Neighbourhood and Street Sects.{{cite web |last1=Crudgington |first1=Kate |title=HEALTH's DISCO::4 Part II is the sound of the disconnected seeking connection |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/health-disco4-part-ii-album-review |website=The Line of Best Fit |access-date=March 30, 2024}}
Just before the 10-year anniversary of the game's release in May 2022, an expanded anniversary edition of the Max Payne 3 soundtrack was announced for release later that year. This would also mark the album's first release on a vinyl record.{{Cite web |date=May 13, 2022 |title=Celebrate the 10-Year Anniversary of Max Payne 3 |url=https://www.rockstargames.com/newswire/article/89o35925k44ak1/celebrate-the-10-year-anniversary-of-max-payne-3 |access-date=July 31, 2022 |website=Rockstar Games Newswire}}
= ''Rat Wars'' and collaborations =
Health announced their next single "Hateful" as part of an April 2023 update to the video game Ultrakill.{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Andy |title=HEALTH debut new single 'HATEFUL' through first-person shooter 'Ultrakill' |url=https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/health-debut-new-single-hateful-through-first-person-shooter-ultrakill-3437487 |website=NME |access-date=March 30, 2024 |language=en-AU |date=April 28, 2023}} This was followed by the announcement of their sixth album, Rat Wars, with a release date of December 7, alongside two additional singles, "Children of Sorrow" and "Sicko".{{cite web |last1=Damara Kelly |first1=Tyler |title=Health announce new album, Rat Wars alongside double singles, "Children of Sorrow" and "Sicko" |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/health-announce-new-album-rat-wars-alongside-double-singles-children-of-sorrow-and-sicko |website=The Line of Best Fit |access-date=October 9, 2023}} Thematically, the album was more "personal" than Health's previous work, being influenced by recent events in Duzsik's life. To promote its release, they published a Vampire Survivors-like game, Rat Wars Survivors, on itch.io themed around the album.{{cite web |last1=Easby |first1=Ryan |title=HEALTH release free 'Vampire Survivors'-style game with sex toys and death magic |url=https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/health-release-free-vampire-survivors-style-game-3557182 |website=NME |access-date=March 30, 2024 |date=December 11, 2023}}
In 2024, the band collaborated with Bad Omens and Swarm for the track "The Drain" for the former's album Concrete Jungle [The OST], and released a reprised version of "Ashamed" from Rat Wars in collaboration with Lauren Mayberry.{{cite web |last1=Kaufman |first1=Spencer |title=Bad Omens Team Up with HEALTH and SWARM on "THE DRAIN" |url=https://consequence.net/2024/04/bad-omens-health-swarm-the-drain/ |access-date=July 25, 2024 |date=April 17, 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Campbell |first1=Erica |title=Deeper Dimension: HEALTH and Lauren Mayberry Remix 'ASHAMED |url=https://www.papermag.com/lauren-mayberry-health-ashamed#rebelltitem5 |website=Paper |access-date=July 25, 2024 |date=July 17, 2024}} Additionally, in 2024 the band collaborated with the German video game studio rose-engine to release a music video for the song "Don't Try" using footage from the game Signalis.{{Cite web |date=2024-02-08 |title=HEALTH Share New Signalis-Inspired Music Video For “Don’t Try” |url=https://music.mxdwn.com/2024/02/08/news/health-share-new-signalis-inspired-music-video-for-dont-try/ |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=mxdwn Music |language=en-US}}
Musical style
Health's musical style has variously been described as industrial rock, electronic rock, experimental rock, and electro-industrial. Having origins in Los Angeles' experimental scene, the band has also been classified as noise rock, though Duzsik has stated that even its earlier work would not be categorised as such by "purists". He has described the band as a "primitive soundscape", influenced by sci-fi movies and the imagery of a dystopic future.
At the time of its first record, the band was referred to as creating noise music with "raw synth, haunting monotone vocals, and drum[s]."{{cite news |url=http://www.rockinsider.com/2007/07/health-blowin-up.html |title=HEALTH - BLOWIN' UP |work=Rock Insider |date=July 19, 2007 |access-date=August 11, 2014 }} The band used a "Zoothorn", a permutation of microphone and guitar pedal and an occasional atonal sound without a symmetrical structure.{{cite news |url=http://larecord.com/interviews/2007/03/10/health-hes-approving-friend-requests |title=HEALTH: HE'S APPROVING FRIEND REQUESTS |work=L.A. Record |date=March 10, 2007 |access-date=August 11, 2014 |archive-date=August 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812210134/http://larecord.com/interviews/2007/03/10/health-hes-approving-friend-requests |url-status=dead }} With their third album Death Magic and Vol. 4: Slaves of Fear, Health shifted their style, incorporating more electronic elements and a closer adherence to a standard song structure, and taking greater inspiration from metal and industrial music. Famigletti has credited this to the innovation in the electronic scene at the time, stating that he found the resulting music to have "sheer power" that made it "orders of magnitude bigger" than its precedents.
Lyrically, the band described its tracks as "purposely kept vague for the listener", with the vocals imbuing "an even, unaffected feel. A softness, like a Zombies melody, or even a Gregorian chant".{{cite news |url=http://waytooindie.com/review/music/health-disco2/ |title=HEALTH – ::Disco2 |work=Way Too Indie |date=July 3, 2012 |access-date=August 11, 2014 }}
Members
Discography
{{Main article|Health discography}}
Studio albums
- Health (2007)
- Get Color (2009)
- Death Magic (2015)
- Vol. 4: Slaves of Fear (2019)
- Rat Wars (2023)
Remix and collaborative albums
- Health//Disco (2008)
- Health::Disco2 (2010)
- Disco3 (2017)
- Disco4 (2020 and 2022)
References
{{Reflist|refs=
{{cite web |last1=Sigur |first1=Matthew |title=Noise rock band HEALTH talks new album, reality's 'lame, dystopian movie' ahead of BR show |url=https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/entertainment_life/music/article_2ca67986-5d6c-11e9-89b0-e7ad68f7b11f.html |website=The Advocate |access-date=May 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510112551/https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/entertainment_life/music/article_2ca67986-5d6c-11e9-89b0-e7ad68f7b11f.html |archive-date=May 10, 2021 |date=April 25, 2019}}
{{cite web | url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/health_drop_off_of_crystal_castles_tour | title=HEALTH Drop Off of Crystal Castles Tour | work=Exclaim! | access-date=March 26, 2016 | date=October 24, 2012 | author=Hughes, Josiah}}
{{cite web | url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/health-mn0000724877 | title=HEALTH | publisher=AllMusic | access-date=August 20, 2016 | author=Lymangrover, Jason}}
{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/noise-rockers-health-release-most-disgusting-video-of-the-year-70418/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722054950/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/noise-rockers-health-release-most-disgusting-video-of-the-year-20150424|archive-date=July 22, 2015 | title=Noise Rockers Health Release Most Disgusting Video of the Year | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=April 24, 2015 | access-date=March 26, 2016 | author=Kreps, Daniel}}
{{cite web | url=http://thequietus.com/articles/02279-new-health-album-get-color-reviewed-track-by-track | title=New HEALTH Album Get Color Reviewed Track-By-Track | work=The Quietus | date=July 27, 2009 | access-date=March 26, 2016 | author=Kharas, Kev}}
}}
External links
{{commons category|Health (band)}}
- {{official website|http://www.youwillloveeachother.com}}
{{Health (band)}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Health}}
Category:American electronic rock musical groups
Category:American experimental rock groups
Category:American industrial rock musical groups
Category:American neo-psychedelia groups
Category:American noise rock music groups
Category:Fiction Records artists
Category:Loma Vista Recordings artists
Category:Musical groups established in 2006
Category:Musical groups from Los Angeles
Category:Rock music groups from California