Words by Sam Wolstenholme
Photography by Paul Blackburn @wysiwyg.pix
It’s only been just over a year since LA’s EDM-driven industrial metal powerhouse HEALTH have graced Australian shores, but they’ve since enjoyed a stratospheric rise in popularity, particularly off the back of the December release of their immensely successful album ‘RAT WARS’. This album and the star-studded collaborations that have followed it – not to mention that mammoth Europe tour with Sleep Token – are paving the trio’s path to greatness, with their genre-bending yet intoxicating sound capturing a passionate following across various internet subcultures. Tonight is the final leg of an almost completely sold-out headlining tour down under. Brisbane’s goths emerge from their bedrooms and unite, fittingly, on a cold midwinter night for an al fresco HEALTH ritual in The Brightside Outdoors, with our very own breakout trap star Zheani and the experimental noise duo of Joshua Wells and Karina Utomo in tow. Red lights emanate eerily from the high, imposing stage as we filter into the courtyard of The Brightside, setting the tone for the gothic odyssey to come.
Karina Utomo opens the proceedings in a heartfelt way with a poetic and thoughtful Acknowledgement of Country, reminding us of where we are and why we are here. She’s joined by electronic wizard Joshua Wells for their experimental DNB-meets-extreme vocalisation duo project in a fittingly unique and adventurous choice for Act I of tonight’s dark theatrics. A booming, deep pad synth rumbles through the earth like ancient ancestors announcing their arrival, and it has only just begun to build before Utomo’s unmistakable rasps disrupt the ambience. Using what appears to be several vocal pedals, she begins to loop several different vocalisations – feral shrieks, extra-normal harmonics, spoken word and even some lines of sweet alto melodies – and the effect when layered within the swirling synth noise from Wells is spine-tingling. The duo creates an atmosphere that is primal yet otherworldly, reminiscent of a time before words, as whispers, shrieks and pulsating synths chase each other in the air like ghostly transmissions. Masterfully crafting ebb and flow through 30 minutes of uninterrupted dark grind electronic experimentation, Wells and Utomo deliver an unforgettable sonic experience tonight.
Act II couldn’t be more of a contrast to the act preceding it in musical style, aesthetic and mood, but it’s clear from the crowd reaction that fairy trap sensation Zheani has summoned her internet worshippers in great numbers tonight. Armed with only a hallucination-esque video backdrop, the rapper from Wallaville takes the stage solo and immediately engages hyperdrive rave mode to deliver an audacious set of kinky bangers that certainly aren’t lacking in shock factor. It’s an e-girl party paradise with the lights strobing and Zheani’s knee-length braids twirling as she bops to the beat. Vocally, she offers an interesting dichotomy; the intense autotune effect she’s chosen lends her clean vocals their hyperpop quality, and this contrasts with her frequent feral screams – think Poppy meets Stormzy. Add in her unashamedly horny lyrics and it’s a Tiktok fever dream. You’ve got to admire how confident Zheani is in her femininity, her sexuality and her brand, particularly during an unreleased song, which she announces is “on brand for a c*m metal night”, and during one truly memorable moment in the set when she removes her shirt and pours fake blood on her chest in a bold feminist statement. She’s not holding back tonight – all hail the fairy trap witch for the internet age.
The third and final act, the one we’ve all been waiting for, is here – after a brief J-pop intro track, HEALTH emerge amidst building strobe lights and pulsating synths, then it’s all systems go as they add live guitar, bass and drums to the mix. I may be biased, being a metalhead through and through, but adding thoroughly heavy infrastructure to their industrial EDM sound gives HEALTH such an incredible edge and damn, does it go hard in a live setting. Jake Duzsik’s vocals are as silky as ever as they glide atop the gritty soundscape of pitch-black pad synths, thunderous guitars and razor-sharp drums. CRACK METAL kicks things into gear with insane strobes punctuating the double-time guitar chugs, and MEN TODAY into HATEFUL makes for an unexpectedly sharp detour into real darkness.
The crowd’s starting to get loose, particularly its metal contingent, and during Zoothorns and PSYCHONAUT, bassist/synth magician John Famiglietti and drummer BJ Miller flex their chops considerably, with the latter carving it up in a crazy blast beat-driven solo that injects some chaos and shifts us further into rage rave territory. Miller’s snare is marching-band crisp, and each cymbal hit is satisfyingly resonant. I must say, while this is a ‘RAT WARS’ tour, the band has made a marked effort to construct a generously lengthy, career-spanning set for this tour. The trio are ghostly silhouettes against liberal smoke clouds and bright white lights, and the ethereal synths in best-loved hits like STONEFIST are straight out of a faraway galaxy as they reverberate through the courtyard. FUTURE OF HELL absolutely slaps, with a seamless transition into DEMIGODS.
Until now, there has been next to no crowd banter, but Duzsik pauses briefly to announce with pleasantly self-deprecating humour that he’s losing his “schoolboy” voice and might struggle with the higher vocal lines. Considering he’s sounded album quality throughout the set so far, I feel like reassuring him that he’s got nothing to worry about. On with the set – MAJOR CRIMES and UNLOVED convey dark sensuality, then crowd favourite BODY/PRISON is electrifying as it is bleakly dystopian. A cover of Deftones’ Be Quiet and Drive, dappled with pastel rainbow lights, is reminiscent of a UV-tinged, hazy neon summer. ASHAMED and WE ARE WATER offer crisp synth and drums combo lines that carve the air, with disco beats in the latter amping up the rave vibes. Despite what Duzsik’s desert-dry and humble stage chat may imply, tour fatigue doesn’t stop HEALTH from delivering a world-class set from start to finish. Finally, wrapping up with FEEL NOTHING and DSM-V is the ultimate one-two punch send-off for this dark and decadent performance. If there’s anything that could ignite joy in the hearts of career goths, it would be a show like this one.
Thanks to Dallas Does PR
