HEALTH
Rat Wars Ultra Edition
Loma Vista Recordings
First and foremost, I’m intimately familiar with this album. It’s a unique blend that resonates with my musical ballpark.
Demigods sounds just as world ending as ever, Hateful (ft Sierra) is laced in spite and electronic gothic gloom. The crunchy guitars at the top of Children Of Sorrow sound like Ministry with way better production. Godflesh reprising Like Rats from their seminal Street Cleaner album is a symbolic passing of the torch on Sicko and is suitably devastating. The dual Ashamed / Of being born are the best industrial songs Nine Inch Nails didn’t write. DSM-V is a full-on underground Berlin club massacre and Don’t Try is a heartfelt plea to your soul that closes out this album perfectly.
So, that’s the familiar territory we’ve covered. But hold on, there’s more to this album that’s both unexpected and thrilling, and that’s exactly why I’m reaching out to you, our fantastic readers…
There’s a brand new track Free To Die with Industrial rock icons, Filter, no less, this starts out as an acoustic platitude and drifts into mainstream metallic territory before, i’d imagine HEALTH wrangle it back to up close and personal, this is the HEALTH trick, taking the widescreen and pulling it up close, there’s an intimacy, especially in the vocal delivery and a beautiful androgyny that sets them apart.
Next up their sublime, in fact I’d go as far to say, genius cover of Deftones, Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away) now Deftones are top tier for me so, for me, it’s a bold move to cover them but once again HEALTH are savvy and deliver their own ridiculously well pitched version which totally makes sense and delivers all the goosebumps you’d want. I could probably use up my word count on this cover alone. It’s electronic, it’s gothy, it’s ethereal and I adore it and it ends in a pit of heavy, perfect!
There’s a fresh take on Ashamed, featuring Lauren Mayberry, that somehow manages to deepen its emotional resonance. This is truly an ultra-version, as promised. It’s an emotional journey that keeps raising the stakes.
This extravaganza ends with potentially the best track I think Bad Omens have been involved with aside from their Poppy collab. It leaves scorched earth around it, with its refrain sounding like a call and response from a darker force to the voice of reason. The track is a powerful and haunting conclusion to the album, leaving a lasting impression on the listener.
Should you revisit this album in this format? Hell, yes you should! This is an upgrade!
Review By George Miller