HEALTH - Rat Wars [Red Smoke]

Rat Wars is HEALTH's darkest record, and the one where the Los Angeles trio finally fused every side of their sound into a single, crushing whole. Released through Loma Vista at the end of 2023, it pairs industrial metal weight with the gauzy, melancholy melodies that have always hidden inside the noise.

The album moves from the pounding opener "Demigods" through the churning "Hateful" and the pitch-black "Children of Sorrow" to "Sicko" and "Ashamed," songs that sound enormous yet oddly tender. Jacob Duzsik's whispered vocals float above walls of distorted synth and guitar, while short interludes like "(Of All Else)" and "(Of Being Born)" give the record the shape of a single long descent. Closer "Don't Try" is as bleak and beautiful as anything the band has written.

Coming after the collaborative Disco4 projects, Rat Wars marked HEALTH's first proper studio album in years and put them back at the front of modern industrial music. It set the stage for the even heavier Conflict DLC that followed.

Pressed on red vinyl with black smoke effect. A striking look for a record this dark.