Death Magic

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Template:DMCA Script error: No such module "Unsubst-infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters". 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.[1]

Background and recording

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.[2][3]

The band intended to make a "modern rock record" driven by sonic experimentation and distinct from their previous work.[2][4] 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.[2] However, the prevalence of instrumental passages on Max Payne lead the band to avoid including many in Death Magic.[5]

They initially intended to produce with Rockstar's Woody Jackson,[2] 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.[4]

Composition

Death Magic features more electronic instrumentation than Health's earlier work.[6][2] It was characterised by reviewers as melding Health's previous noise rock with greater elements of melody and pop music-esque composition.[7][8]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic73/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf star[8]
The A.V. ClubA−[10]
Clash8/10[11]
Consequence of SoundC[6]
NME8/10[12]
The ObserverStarStar[13]
Pitchfork7.8/10[14]
PopMattersStarStarStarStarStarStarStar[15]
Sputnikmusic4.2/5[7]

Death Magic received a score of 73 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on twenty-two critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.[9] Kevin Warwick of The A.V. Club praised its "electronic and industrial mystique", describing the album as "injected with a serum of growth hormones".[10] PopMattersTemplate:'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".[15][12]

PitchforkTemplate:'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".[14] Clash magazine called the "battle between melody and noise" "fascinating".[11] Rudy K. of Sputnikmusic praised Duzsik's "lighthouse"-like voice, stating that his vocals' newfound prominence was a "smart choice".[7]

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".[8] Reviewer Adam Kivel of Consequence of Sound described the album as having a "sleeker focus" but the percussion as "sapped of strength and energy".[6] 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".[13]

Track listing

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Notes

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Death Magic.[16]

Health

  • Jacob Duzsik
  • John Famiglietti
  • Jupiter Keyes
  • Benjamin Miller

Additional personnel

  • 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

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Chart (2015) Peak
position

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Cohen, Ian (April 20, 2015). "Game Over: HEALTH Finish First Album in Six Years". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Cohen, Ian (October 29, 2012). "HEALTH". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Mertens, Max (August 6, 2015). "The Right Way to Vomit Milk and Play Stadiums: An Interview with HEALTH". Vice. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Payne, Chris (July 30, 2015). "HEALTH's 'Death Magic': How a Noise Band, Haxan Cloak & Kanye's Engineer Made 2015's Coolest Heavy Album". Billboard. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Sexty, Jordan (February 3, 2016). "HEALTH talk Death Magic, Max Payne and their social media game with Jordan Sexty". FBi Radio. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kivel, Adam (July 31, 2015). "HEALTH – Death Magic". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  7. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.K., Rudy (August 4, 2015). "HEALTH – Death Magic". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  8. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Phares, Heather. "Death Magic – HEALTH". AllMusic. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  9. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Reviews for Death Magic by HEALTH". Metacritic. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.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 August 7, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  11. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.O'Malley, Gareth (August 11, 2015). "HEALTH – DEATH MAGIC". Clash. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  12. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bassett, Jordan (July 29, 2015). "HEALTH – 'Death Magic'". NME. Archived from the original on August 7, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  13. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Mardles, Paul (August 9, 2015). "Health: Death Magic review – dated and attention-seeking". The Observer. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  14. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Rachel, T. Cole (August 3, 2015). "HEALTH: Death Magic". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  15. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Fitzgerald, Colin (August 12, 2015). "HEALTH: Death Magic". PopMatters. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.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)

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