Metascore
73

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 22
  2. Negative: 1 out of 22
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  1. Aug 7, 2015
    91
    A monstrous album on which its electronic and industrial mystique has matured to represent an absorption of the band’s discography, injected with a serum of growth hormones.
  2. 90
    HEALTH have diligently crafted an astounding pop record...one which could be enjoyed for the next six years, if necessary.
  3. Aug 4, 2015
    84
    HEALTH have never sounded as focused as they do here. These are sounds that will grab you by the hair and drag you where you need to go. It’s control of a potentially unpleasant, entirely intoxicating sort.
  4. Dec 7, 2015
    80
    More than nihilism, the songs on Death Magic ultimately resolve that what’s important is loving and understanding each other because there’s nothing else. Going in that direction at the same time as their songs go in a much more immediately ingratiating one is a bold move for HEALTH, and here it pays off.
  5. Aug 11, 2015
    80
    The battle between melody and noise at the heart of 'DEATH MAGIC' is a fascinating one, and the twelve songs on which it plays out are damn near bulletproof. Welcome to the most terrifying pop album of 2015.
  6. Aug 7, 2015
    80
    How the listener takes Death Magic defines everything, but once again, even at their most open and exposed HEALTH completely defy definition.
  7. 80
    The shift toward less discord and more opportunity for a listener to sing along may initially throw off a seasoned HEALTH fan, but it is sure to introduce new ears to one of the most accessible noise bands of the last decade. [Sep 2015, p.98]
  8. 80
    Only the plodding ballad ‘Hurt Yourself’ fails to earn its place on the track list, and on the whole Death Magic makes a grander statement than its more rudimentary predecessors. It sounds like Health finally know what they want.
  9. Aug 3, 2015
    78
    After a while, even unremitting noise and relentless nihilism becomes rote and, frankly, kind of boring. Without the occasional beam of light, it's hard to actually appreciate how dark--or how good--a band like HEALTH can actually be.
  10. Aug 5, 2015
    75
    Here they are again, maybe smashing their usual double-header of noise album à remix album into both at once, for once, the edgy cuts and the cutting edge and—cinema, the uncanny valley, dead eyes, pure pop, DEATH MAGIC.
  11. Aug 12, 2015
    70
    For once, the band’s chemistry between melody and noise is the driving force of their sound, and for every beautiful moment that pops out of the record, there’s another disturbing or uncomfortable one to match it.
  12. Aug 10, 2015
    70
    There is the air of HEALTH now being at a cross roads. Their rampaging style of yore feels a little constrained and tamed by the booming production and ‘nice’ singing, but at the same time they are beginning to write some pretty stupendous ‘proper’ songs.
  13. Aug 7, 2015
    70
    Death Magic presents a 2010s version of HEALTH that fits in with the likes of the Soft Moon and Blanck Mass while delivering their most accessible music to date.
  14. Aug 7, 2015
    70
    Though some fans will no doubt be put off by the band's new direction, anything more than a cursory listen reveals that HEALTH haven't made some great leap into the pop void. Rather, they've more fully embraced something that was always inherent to their music in the first place.
  15. Aug 3, 2015
    70
    What always distinguished HEALTH was their ability to go off into a maelstrom of ominous disrepair, and losing sight of that leads its core sound to suffer regardless of whether they alter their approach.
User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 39 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 39
  2. Negative: 2 out of 39
  1. Aug 14, 2015
    6
    This albums conveys feelings analogous to what I'd imagine getting shot would feel like. But not getting shot in a tragic way, more of theThis albums conveys feelings analogous to what I'd imagine getting shot would feel like. But not getting shot in a tragic way, more of the getting shot in an action movie as the film goes in and out of slow-motion with a huge amount of quentin-tarantino-esque fake blood sort of way. Full Review »
  2. Aug 13, 2015
    9
    This is pure bubble gum pop. If said bubble gum contained shards of glass. And was magical. Also preoccupied with the apocalypse.

    Many
    This is pure bubble gum pop. If said bubble gum contained shards of glass. And was magical. Also preoccupied with the apocalypse.

    Many likes. Would recommend.
    Full Review »
  3. Aug 7, 2015
    8
    The next step for HEALTH who dazzled me on the Max Payne 3 soundtrack and made me interested in their sound and wonder where they would goThe next step for HEALTH who dazzled me on the Max Payne 3 soundtrack and made me interested in their sound and wonder where they would go next. Although I see why it could be polarizing and not for everyone, I think this album is on point. I could only see them getting stronger from here. Full Review »