HEALTH
Special Guests: Gost & Zetra
Venue: The Garage, Glasgow
Date: 17th October 2024
Review & Photos: Dave Buchanan
In the stacked-est of stacked bills, tonight’s show at The Glasgow Garage is, in a word…stacked. Having seen 2 of the 3 bands before, in small basement-type venues, I was absolutely hyped to see how they’d sound in a much bigger, and better equipped venue like The Garage. With an early kick-off and the dancefloor filling up fast, it was time to see how much Industrial punishment these speakers could handle.
ZETRA
For otherworldly alt duo ZETRA, it took a minute. With their brand-new (and fantastic) self-titled debut album in their back pocket, I could not wait to hear how these tracks would transfer to the live stage. But with a rather mucky front-of-house sound for the first few tracks, it was a frustrating start. Thankfully, by the end of Shatter the Mountain things start to clear up, and that gothic melancholy the band deliver so well really started to pierce through. From then on, ZETRA showed why they are one of the hottest bands on the Nuclear Blast roster right now, knocking out one hit after another from their raised podiums.
ZETRA’s mysterious persona isn’t one that comes with huge crowd interaction, but they clearly don’t need it. Tracks like The Mirror and Gaia, set against the dimly-lit backdrop, do all the talking. The biggest surprise for me was the choice of closing song. Opting not to go with the debut album closer, Miracle, the band instead bow out on the hauntingly epic, Sacred Song, from their 2022 EP, Sacred Songs. A great choice of climax to end the set and leave the crowd wanting more. For a band only in the early stages of their career, it’s exciting to think what lies ahead for ZETRA. The potential for greatness is, indeed, huge. 
(4 / 5)
GOST
It’s been nearly 8 years since I saw GOST on the Non Paradisi tour. Since then, GOST has gone from strength to strength, developing his early synthwave sound into a more sonically crushing experience, as well as inking a record deal with the legendary Metal Blade Records. Not only that, but GOST is now joined on stage by a live bassist, adding to the visual assault I was about to witness. And to be honest, I don’t think I was quite prepared for the 40-minutes of audio savagery GOST delivered tonight.
The GOST live experience now is a far cry from what I saw back in 2016, with every element of the live show now elevated to new levels of apocalyptic discordance. Tonight we get an onslaught of tracks, plucked from the GOST back catalogue, stretching as far back as the 2015 ear-crusher, Behemoth. And even though the GOST sound has evolved over time, newer tracks like Levithian and Obituary weave in perfectly, and sound utterly menacing in the process.
Music aside, you can’t help but love the sinister aesthetic on stage from GOST; the long boots and heavy leather get-up, the satanic skull mask, and the deep red lighting, like something from a Giallo movie. It all works incredibly well, and even though there are only two members on stage, it never feels like something is missing. We even get some vocal snippets added into the mix as the band touch on the 2021 release, Rites of Love and Reverence. But things could not have been brought to a close in more dramatic fashion, as GOST unleashes the title-track from his latest release, Prophecy. The pulsing bass, twisted synths and elephantine drums thunder over The Garage P.A. bringing the set to a mammoth conclusion, validating the fact GOST was made to be playing bigger stages. 
(5 / 5)
HEALTH
Los Angeles industrial rock band HEALTH deliver the final instalment of auditory decimation tonight, and with over two decades of experience, it’s hard not to be impressed with the level of detail and showmanship HEALTH put into a live show. Every part of the set tonight feels coordinated to deliver the biggest sonic punch it can, even down to the lighting choices, interludes and opening intro of A Cruel Angel’s Thesis (Yōko Takahashi song).
The band give the crowd their money’s worth this evening and then some, ripping out a 20 song set, pulling songs from almost 15 years worth of releases. Having reviewed the bands latest effort, RATWARS, I was probably most excited to hear that material live, however the more drum heavy cuts from 2015s DEATH MAGIC and 2009s GET COLOUR sounded utterly monstrous. The highlight for me, though, was the double gut-punch of FUTURE OF HELL & DEMIGODS – just a masterclass in Industrial music; commanding drums, chaotic synths and churning guitars, all set to the haunting vocal tones of Jake Duzsik.
As devastating as the HEALTH sound can be at times, they also show a real nuanced and understated side on the likes of Major Crimes, as featured on the Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack, and adding their signature, brooding sound to a cover of Deftones’ Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away), which raises excitement levels from the crowd. Bringing the night to a close with the stomping mechanical groove of DSM-V was a genius move, though, and Jake’s final line of “Hear me now, you demigods, either lift me up or let me burn” was a fitting end to an incredible set. (5 / 5)
