Photo by Mynxii White

For the last few years, HEALTH have been touring with arena rock bands like modern pop-metal giants Sleep Token and currently, Hot Topic emo-core pioneers Pierce the Veil. While these pages’ tastes may not align with either of those artists, you can’t help but acknowledge there’s been a positive ruboff from them on the Los Angeles industrial noise trio as they continue putting themselves out there with artists from outside their own digital-influenced world in pursuit of leveling up their own game.

“ORDINARY LOSS” is HEALTH is doing just that fully powered up. As the first single from the band’s sixth studio album, CONFLICT DLC, this remains a far cry from the noiseniks’s insular DIY Smell scene days, yet it keeps the ethos of clashing with the void at its core. Hugely so, in an an even wider screen continuum on the timeline from where the exploded diagram that was their 2022 effort, RAT WARS, left off. Voltage is turned up to 20 and the noise barrier is set to thunderous as heavy duty electric riffs and violent machine drums ripple through the dystopian view. Jake Duzsik’s hologram vocals permeate the brutalism, clenching our collective fears of dying and simulation theories. “All there is is bad news / I know we’ll be gone soon / Is it just another lie / Or is this real life?” The existential questions just keep getting bigger, and they’re all feeding HEALTH’s sound.

Directed by: More Than Lethal

HEALTH’s CONFLICT DLC will be released December 11th on Loma Vista Recordings.