In support of their latest full-length, “Rat Wars,” released on October 17th, 2024, via Loma Vista Recordings, HEALTH embarked on the Rat-based Warfare tour, which has taken them across the globe for the better part of the year, from the US to Australia. For the tour’s European leg, ZETRA and GOST joined them, finishing the tour at Hole 44 in Berlin on October 30th, 2024.
The evening started with an already packed venue. We all know how many people tend to arrive late for the first bands, this was not the case tonight, since by the time ZETRA went on stage, it was already very difficult to move around the venue, let alone maneuver with a camera to photograph.
We’ve heard and seen a lot about the British duo online over the past year, but when listening to their music from the comfort of our homes, we didn’t quite catch their vibe. For the record, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, here’s why: ZETRA’s music initially felt confusing. The kind of confusion you feel when trying to identify something that evokes a familiar emotion, but whose origin you can’t quite trace. While ZETRA has roots in the synth-rock genre, they manage to present it in a unique way. Eventually, we stopped trying to pinpoint why their music feels so irresistibly good, and we allowed ourselves to be carried away by their melodies and the thrill of being captivated by the ethereal atmosphere their music creates. This experience is enhanced live, particularly during songs like “Sacrifice,” which served as the opener this evening.
With their self-titled latest album, released via Nuclear Blast Records, the duo made a statement in terms of their capability to evolve their sound to the next, far more refined level when it comes to songwriting. While the elements present in their past work are still a constant in their latest album—such as the emotional vocal melodies, poetic lyrics, hooking rhythms, and otherworldly synthesizers—the combination of these elements now sounds more cohesive, elegantly refined into stirring compositions like “Starfall,” “Suffer Eternally,” and “The Mirror.” All wonderful tracks to experience live.
Needless to say, it didn’t take more than a couple of songs to understand that the praise we had seen online was more than deserved. You might want to take this as an invitation to listen to what the scene tells you and go to shows of bands you aren’t necessarily familiar with, but people keep telling you about. You might end up discovering your next favorite band.
Next on stage were the American duo GOST. Quite fitting to the unearthly tone ZETRA had set previously, both members entered a pitch-black stage that would soon turn into a soundscape of dark electronic chaos. Frontman James Lollar is known for wearing a skull mask on stage, while completely dressed in black. The combination of this, the dark nature of the music, and minimal lighting created an eerie atmosphere onstage, as the skull seemed to float in darkness, occasionally pointing to the crowd to animate them. If you never thought dancing to black metal was possible, you might want to check out GOST live.
The time came for the headliner of the evening to hit the stage. As previously mentioned, the venue was already quite full by the time ZETRA started their set. When HEALTH’s turn came, it was close to impossible to move around the venue without inconveniencing other attendees. The lights went down as the main theme from Neon Genesis Evangelion (“Cruel Angel’s Thesis”) played in the background as an intro, to which the crowd responded ecstatically while cheering and dancing.
The trio from Los Angeles entered a barely lit and heavily fogged stage to greet a loud and animated crowd. Bassist John Famiglietti got on his knees right at the edge of the stage, while stretching his arms towards the crowd’s reaching hands. The set started with “Identity” from the album “Disco4 :: Part II,” which, given the more evened-out tone of the song, served perfectly to warm up the crowd for what was about to come. No matter where one looked, all attendees in all directions were dancing along to the music across the entire venue. The dancing escalated quickly into a small but consistent moshpit in the front rows, as the song “Crack Metal” reached its peak.
We’re honestly wondering how much there is left to say about HEALTH’s music that hasn’t already been said by numerous critics and listeners around the world. Far from the well-executed online marketing that does come across as effortless, this band is one of the most consistently good, qualitative artists the alternative/heavy/electronic spheres have seen in a while. They aren’t only always good live, but their sound keeps evolving while remaining moving to the listener.
Their sophisticated blend of heavier and rhythmic layers, smoothly enhanced by synthesizers, and the fragile yet poignant vocals as well as lyrics provided by frontman Jake Duzsik, are truly mesmerizing. Tracks like “New Coke” work like a dose of a rapidly energizing substance, even though compositions like “Demigods” show us that the more down-tempo tracks carry the same potential.
This leads us to the conclusion that there is an intoxicating quality to HEALTH’s music when experienced live, and the aftermath of the high feels similar to an addiction—if not healthier, at least a less damaging one in this case, for which the band’s name serves only as an unwitting coincidence. When it comes to electronic/alternative music with heavier elements, this tour package takes the prize for the most appealing, otherworldly combination of the year, and we are more than pleased to have witnessed it.
Text and Photos by Michelle R.
