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Death Magic

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Death Magic
Studio album by
Health
ReleasedAugust 7, 2015 (2015-08-07)
Genre
Length39:30
LabelLoma Vista
Producer
Health chronology
Health::Disco2
(2010) 		Death Magic
(2015) 		Disco3
(2017)
Singles from Death Magic
  1. "New Coke"
    Released: April 24, 2015[1]
  2. "Stonefist"
    Released: June 12, 2015[2]
  3. "Men Today"
    Released: July 24, 2015[3]

Death Magic is the third studio album by American noise rock band Health. It was released by Loma Vista Recordings on August 7, 2015, six years after the band's previous album, Get Color.[4]

Background and recording

[edit]

After their last main album Get Color in 2009, Health was hired by Rockstar Games to work on the soundtrack for Max Payne 3. During the production of that album, they refined their production style; this combined with lengthy touring and "perfectionist" tendencies lead to a hiatus from non-soundtrack work.[5][6]

The band intended to make a "modern rock record" driven by sonic experimentation and distinct from their previous work.[5][7] Inspired by their soundtrack work and their Disco remix albums, they decided to take their next album in a more electronically-influenced direction, being partially inspired by genres such as intelligent dance music and artists such as Burial.[5] However, the prevalence on instrumental passages on Max Payne lead the band to avoid including many in Death Magic.[8]

They initially intended to produce with Rockstar's Woody Jackson,[5] but eventually worked with Andrew Dawson, who had produced albums for Kanye West. Additionally, some tracks were produced by British electronic musician The Haxan Cloak and Lars Stalfors.[7]

Composition

[edit]

Death Magic features more electronic instrumentation than Health's earlier work.[9][5] It was characterised by reviewers as melding Health's previous noise rock with greater elements of melody and pop music-esque composition.[10][11]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic73/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
The A.V. ClubA−[13]
Clash8/10[14]
Consequence of SoundC[9]
NME8/10[15]
The Observer[16]
Pitchfork7.8/10[17]
PopMatters[18]
Sputnikmusic4.2/5[10]

Death Magic received a score of 73 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on twenty-two critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.[12] Kevin Warwick of The A.V. Club praised its "electronic and industrial mystique", describing the album as "injected with a serum of growth hormones".[13] PopMatters's Colin Fitzgerald said it was a "more open and expressive version" of Health, and Jordan Bassett of NME said that band "finally know[s] what they want".[18][15]

Pitchfork's T. Cole Rachel called it a "bold, albeit occasionally jarring, step forward", saying that the more vulnerable tone in tracks like "Life" was "exhilarating and perverse".[17] Clash magazine called the "battle between melody and noise" "fascinating".[14] Rudy K. of Sputnikmusic praised Duzsik's "lighthouse"-like voice, stating that his vocals' newfound prominence was a "smart choice".[10]

AllMusic's Heather Phares praised the album, but noted that fans of the band's earlier work could be "disappointed by the preponderance of hooks and emotion".[11] Reviewer Adam Kivel of Consequence of Sound described the album as having a "sleeker focus" but the percussion as "sapped of strength and energy".[9] In a more negative review by The Observer, Paul Mardles wrote that Death Magic was "dated" and "attention-seeking" and called Health "eternal sixth-formers – disgruntled and as if unsure what it is they want to say".[16]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Victim"
2:00
2."Stonefist"
  • Benjamin Miller
  • Duzsik
  • Famiglietti
  • Keyes
  • Stalfors
3:24
3."Men Today"
  • Miller
  • Duzsik
  • Famiglietti
  • Keyes
  • Dawson
  • Stalfors[a]
2:03
4."Flesh World (UK)"
  • Miller
  • Duzsik
  • Famiglietti
  • Keyes
  • Stalfors
  • Stalfors
  • Dawson[b]
3:54
5."Courtship II" 
  • Dawson
  • Stalfors[b]
3:35
6."Dark Enough"
  • Miller
  • Duzsik
  • Famiglietti
  • Keyes
  • Stalfors
  • Stalfors
  • Dawson[b]
3:42
7."Life"
3:53
8."Salvia"
  • Miller
  • Duzsik
  • Famiglietti
  • Keyes
  • Stalfors
  • Dawson
  • Stalfors
1:48
9."New Coke"
  • Miller
  • Duzsik
  • Famiglietti
  • Keyes
  • Stalfors
  • Stalfors
  • Dawson[b]
3:39
10."L.A. Looks"
Stalfors3:24
11."Hurt Yourself"
  • Miller
  • Duzsik
  • Famiglietti
  • Keyes
  • Dawson
  • Stalfors[b]
4:10
12."Drugs Exist"
  • Duzsik
  • Famiglietti
  • Keyes
  • Stalfors
  • Dawson
  • Stalfors[b]
3:52
Total length:39:30

Notes

  • ^a signifies a co-producer
  • ^b signifies an additional producer

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Death Magic.[19]

Health

[edit]
  • Jacob Duzsik
  • John Famiglietti
  • Jupiter Keyes
  • Benjamin Miller

Additional personnel

[edit]
  • The Haxan Cloak – production (track 1)
  • Lars Stalfors – co-production (tracks 1, 3); production (tracks 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10); additional production (tracks 5, 8, 11, 12); mixing (all tracks)
  • Andrew Dawson – co-production (tracks 2, 7); production (tracks 3, 5, 8, 11, 12)
  • Justin Raisen – co-production (track 7)
  • Joe LaPorta – mastering
  • John Famiglietti – art direction
  • Andrew Pham – design

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2015) Peak
position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[20] 5
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[21] 24
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[22] 23

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "NEW COKE (2015) | Health". 7digital. United States. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  2. ^ "STONEFIST (2015) | Health". 7digital. United States. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  3. ^ "MEN TODAY (2015) | Health". 7digital. United States. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  4. ^ Cohen, Ian (April 20, 2015). "Game Over: HEALTH Finish First Album in Six Years". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d e Cohen, Ian (29 October 2012). "HEALTH". Pitchfork. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  6. ^ Mertens, Max (6 August 2015). "The Right Way to Vomit Milk and Play Stadiums: An Interview with HEALTH". Vice. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  7. ^ a b Payne, Chris (30 July 2015). "HEALTH's 'Death Magic': How a Noise Band, Haxan Cloak & Kanye's Engineer Made 2015's Coolest Heavy Album". Billboard. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  8. ^ Sexty, Jordan (3 February 2016). "HEALTH talk Death Magic, Max Payne and their social media game with Jordan Sexty". FBi Radio. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Kivel, Adam (July 31, 2015). "HEALTH – Death Magic". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  10. ^ a b c K., Rudy (August 4, 2015). "HEALTH – Death Magic". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  11. ^ a b c Phares, Heather. "Death Magic – HEALTH". AllMusic. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  12. ^ a b "Reviews for Death Magic by HEALTH". Metacritic. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  13. ^ a b Warwick, Kevin (August 7, 2015). "Health's primal noise assault morphs into a mass of experimental electro rock". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 7 August 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  14. ^ a b O'Malley, Gareth (August 11, 2015). "HEALTH – DEATH MAGIC". Clash. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  15. ^ a b Bassett, Jordan (July 29, 2015). "HEALTH – 'Death Magic'". NME. Archived from the original on August 7, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  16. ^ a b Mardles, Paul (August 9, 2015). "Health: Death Magic review – dated and attention-seeking". The Observer. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  17. ^ a b Rachel, T. Cole (August 3, 2015). "HEALTH: Death Magic". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  18. ^ a b Fitzgerald, Colin (August 12, 2015). "HEALTH: Death Magic". PopMatters. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  19. ^ Death Magic (liner notes). Health. Loma Vista Recordings. 2015. LVR-37187-02.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ "Health Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  21. ^ "Health Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  22. ^ "Health Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
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