HEALTH’s performance at London’s Oval Space was loud, pounding and intense. HEALTH released their fourth album, ‘Vol. 4 :: Slaves of Fear’ recently to favourable reviews, continuing to gain traction in the noise-rock scene. This was also the first album without guitar and synth player Jupiter Keyes, who’s been with the band since their inception in 2005. Despite no Keyes, HEALTH shines on Vol. 4 and delivered a fantastic album.
HEALTH’s London performance was a somewhat intimate show to their last London show which was the O2 Brixton. The Oval Space is a much smaller warehouse-style venue making a perfect fit for the band’s music. They played a strong set predominantly of singles from Vol. 4 and their previous album ‘Death Magic’ and had the crowd really engaged and active. They have a dedicated fan base and many people around me knew nearly all the words to most of the songs.
Their performance was heightened in energy by the lighting and huge amount of dry ice the venue was pouring out. It was so smokey inside you could barely make out their faces. The dry ice was a nice touch as it complements the bands industrial sound and unpredictability. Their light show was something else entirely. The band came on in dim red lights and as they started to play, bring strobe lights were used to blind the audience. I don’t think I’ve ever seen store lights that bright before.
HEALTH’s London show was the third to last on their European tour and while some bands seem to wither towards the end of a tour, HEALTH kept the energy and tenacity and gave a wild performance.