Health at Electric Brixton, London 2024

HEALTH have brought their Rat Based Warfare tour to London’s Electric Brixton on SUnday the 20th of October and for a ‘school night’ – the venue was buzzing with HEALTH fans donning various Manga-inspired outfits, with Asuka from Neon Genesis: Evangelion being the clear fan favourite.

Before the opening notes of ‘Good, or Don’t Be. (OP-2Dタイプ)’ by Yoko Takahashi – the opening song of NGE – signalled HEALTH’s arrival on stage, the two opening acts: Zetra and Gost – were the perfect fit. Zetra opened with their melodic, goth synth-rock, and were greeted by a devoted army of fans. Gost on the other hand were the perfect appetiser for those who love HEALTH’s 80s synth call backs.

HEALTH opened with ‘IDENTITY’ and ‘GOD BOTHERER’, some of their earlier tunes, before hitting hard with ‘CRACK METAL’ that introduced ‘RAT WARS’, their recent album, to the evening. Their energy on stage is unparalleled. Johnny throws himself around the stage, commanding the bass and synths, while Jake’s crystal clear vocals and poise create the perfect blend that I love about HEALTH – the synergy of the chaos and noise with understated elegance.

Standouts front the evening were ‘DEMIGODS’, one of my personal ‘RAT WARS’ favourites, ‘MAJOR CRIMES’ and ‘ASHAMED’. However for me the absolute most glorious part fo every HEALTH set is ‘WE ARE WATER’, a song that has been the ringtone on my (always silent) phone since 2010. They closed the set with ‘FEEL NOTHING’ and ‘DSM-V’ and with that they tied a bow on an already perfect night.