HEALTH – 25 June 2025 (Sala Wolf – Barcelona)

Just a couple of days after the official start of summer, with sweltering temperatures sweeping across much of Spain, American band HEALTH arrived in Barcelona as part of their tour to promote their latest album, Rat Wars (2023).The Los Angeles band, who had not performed in Barcelona since their incredible Pitchfork stage concert at Primavera Sound in 2015, attracted a diverse crowd of anime enthusiasts and classic metal fans to the Sala Wolf. The merchandise stand was packed more than an hour before the show began. HEALTH’s proposal, which perfectly blends industrial music, pop-style choruses, and the latest electronic and metal music, has gained followers through its inclusion in popular video games such as Grand Theft Auto V and Max Payne 3. However, it still has an overwhelming and mysterious sound that makes it difficult to reach mainstream audiences.

Jake Duzsik of HEALTH, Barcelona 2025 – Photo taken by Víctor Ramos Santafé for Indieofilo^©

With the intro of Neon Genesis Evangelion as a letter of introduction, the trio jumped on stage to perform ‘PAIN‘, one of the songs they created for the soundtrack of the video game Max Payne 3. Almost without a break and at a thunderous volume, we could see from the beginning of the setlist that the concert would showcase a wide range of their discography. With guitars and ripped synthesizers came ‘IDENTITY‘, ‘GOD BOTHERER‘ and ‘CRACK METAL‘, before the first great moment of madness of the night came with the recent ‘HATEFUL‘. After a few brief words from Jake in Spanish, which was more than worthy, the wildest rave would approach black noise with ‘ZOOTHORNS‘ and ‘PSYCHONAUT‘, before returning to their more melodic side with the distant ‘STONEFIST‘, one of their biggest hits when Jupiter Keyes was still in the band. This song showcases Jake Duzsik’s best vocal registers.

John Famiglietti of HEALTH, Barcelona 2025 – Photo taken by Víctor Ramos Santafé for Indieofilo^©

With a marked diminution of the volume in the hall, the concert appeared to lose momentum with ‘NEW COKE‘ and especially the more recent ‘FUTURE OF HELL‘ or ‘DEMIGODS‘, whose anguished atmosphere from the album failed to translate to the live performance despite the efforts of BJ Miller on drums. Despite being enthusiastically received by the younger audience, the experimental ‘Major Crimes‘ also seemed to fail in its attempt, while ‘Unloved‘ proved to be the most electronic track of the night, combining elements of Pet Shop Boys and Ministry.

BJ Miller of HEALTH, Barcelona 2025 – Photo taken by Víctor Ramos Santafé for Indieofilo^©

The concert took a completely different direction with the performance of an excellent Deftones cover, ‘Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)‘, which was the perfect prelude to the magnificent ‘Ordinary Loss‘, a new song that showcased John Famiglietti’s spectacular bass playing and electronic beats. From here, with the audience clearly on their side, came their recent collaboration with Lauren Mayberry of CHVRCHES on ‘Ashamed‘, whose chorus was sung loudly by the audience. ‘TEARS‘ was slightly marred by a few minor glitches in Jake‘s vocals, while ‘WE ARE WATER‘ stood out as the best track of the night, with an impressive drummer providing a thunderous sound that had the front rows of the room immediately starting to pogo.

Jake Duzsik of HEALTH, Barcelona 2025 – Photo taken by Víctor Ramos Santafé for Indieofilo^©

The band warned that they didn’t believe in the bullshit about leaving to come back later. They also said there would be no encores. The farewell can only be classified as majestic. First came the completely overwhelming and oppressive ‘Feel Nothing‘, which showcased the band’s more industrial side. Then came the most compact track from their latest album, ‘DSM-V‘, which could easily have been played at the opening party for the film Blade (1998). This track surprised audiences with its catchy electronic chorus.

John Famiglietti of HEALTH, Barcelona 2025 – Photo taken by Víctor Ramos Santafé for Indieofilo^©

After just over an hour, the concert ended, leaving us all wanting more. After almost ten years without being able to enjoy the Los Angeles band, 65 minutes were not enough. This is one of the few criticisms that can be levelled at an otherwise remarkable night, together with the low volume of some songs. It was brilliant, both musically and in terms of the dazzling light show that seemed to hit your brain with every snare or bass drum hit. Not to mention the perfect combination of Duzsik’s voice and Famiglietti’s electronics. Their next visit, whether to a concert hall or a festival, is hopefully not going to be another ten years away…