LA’S HEALTH have broken the mould ever since they first broke out of their burgeoning, local scene and into the wider world. A band that have remained resiliently unkempt and one which hasn’t conformed at any stage along the way, their first full length release since 2012’s Max Payne 3 OST sees them defy convention once again; becoming markedly more accessible yet no less essential.

The grandest statement to have ever taken its rightful place in their storied repertoire, DEATH MAGIC is an indisputably engrossing piece of work that has the capabilities to convert anyone to their vast yet unconcentrated fanbase.

Cinematic in scale, ‘VICTIM’ sets the tone for an album that can only be described by words such as gargantuan and titanic. While this may seem hyperbolic and farfetched when referring to a band whose previously adopted, industrial tinged style of dance music was distinctly within the camp of lo-fi, the proof is there for all to hear.

The harsh blasts of noise that signify the album’s genesis are less in-keeping with the work of their contemporaries and more of the ilk that Hans Zimmer would employ to soundtrack a Hollywood blockbuster.

Brutal stabs of pummelling synth and the contrastingly lilting vocals of Jason Duzsik are the focal point of ‘STONEFIST’, an unrelenting affair that uses its calmer interludes to emphasise the raw power that they gleefully wield. In a move that is likely to befuddle many; its core elements and songwriting aren’t a million miles removed from that of bands  Tears For Fears or Soft Cell during their heyday despite a healthy injection of dissonance that skews its poppier leanings.

In the event that any longstanding HEALTH fans may have been concerned that they’d completely abandoned their allegiance to doom-laden noise as a central concept, the primal and uncompromising drums of ‘MEN TODAY’ should serve to alleviate those fears. Hastily replacing the initial fury of the percussion with a central riff that is every bit as immediate as previous standouts such as ‘USA Boys’, the surging cacophony that intermittently re-asserts itself wilfully overwhelms whenever deemed appropriate.

‘FLESH WORLD (UK)’ begins as though it has aspirations to be played within the Berghain before an air of nefarious intentions soon renders the track firmly within their canon. A notable caveat which must be acknowledged at this interval is how strongly Duzsik’s vocals have been represented upon this album; no longer embedded within swathes of reverb and filtered through numerous avenues, they now majestically lead the way through the darkness and demonstrate his proficiency like never before.

‘COURTSHIP II’ begins life resoundingly tense, capturing attention with ease thanks to the incessant, high energy beat that purrs away at a relatively low frequency before the newfound winning combination of obliterating waves of noise and passive, almost entranced vocals come into play once more.

There are moments in which this formula doesn’t quite come together and verges towards overreliance, but it’s never to the extent in which it becomes aggravating. It’s clear that HEALTH no longer wish to reside in the realm of ‘noise rock’ or any other lazily assigned tag that has confined them in the past. Not only is this admirable, it also pays off in spades for the majority of the album; with only the occasional hiccup such as the seemingly restrained yet still broadly enjoyable ‘Dark Enough’ providing anything to be even slightly perturbed by.

Speaking of a drastic step away from the abrasion that had informed their past recordings, the most outwardly ‘commercial’ track on the record is unquestionably the stunning ‘LIFE.’ Curtailing the aggression in favour of a more harmonious form, the track is a slice of halcyon dream pop that conjures comparisons to the staid material of Chromatics and the at times stark and ornate beauty of Zola Jesus.

This brief glimpse of bliss is soon eradicated by the machine-gun paced onslaught of ‘SALVIA’, a track which almost teases the listener with another venture towards the kaleidoscopic before laying waste to it with another insistent barrage.

‘NEW COKE’ is most certainly not a nuanced effort; it is one which confronts the senses, melding the placid with one of the most unstoppable outbursts that they’ve ever unleashed upon this unsuspecting world. The element which is referred to is of course the bellowing combination of instruments that constitutes its refrain, an unforgiving and inventive aspect which helped to spark the intrigue surrounding the band’s next evolution when it first came to the light in late April.

‘LA LOOKS’ nods towards the tenderness of Austra in its production meanwhile the solemn sentiment of: “It’s not I love but I still want you” enables the track to register with a genuine sense of poignancy thanks to the despondent manner in which it is expressed.

The effervescence that is central to ‘HURT YOURSELF’ is offset by the up-tempo dance beat that bubbles away in the depths, leaving ‘DRUGS EXIST’ to bring the album to a close with an expansive sound that proves that their creativity was in no way spent by the time that the record’s conclusion rolled around.

Despite the fact that HEALTH have been a prominent force in certain circles for many a year, it is no disservice to the band to  say that DEATH MAGIC is the album on which they truly arrive. Surely fulfilling what they set out to achieve when the record was conceived, the LP is an audacious step in the right direction for one of modern music’s most engaging propositions.