One of my favorite records of all time is Death Magic, released in 2015 by HEALTH. It’s also one of the stranger records I’ve ever come across - it doesn’t really have a genre. It’s primarily pop music with some noise thrown in, with lyrics that are incredibly dark. I think we’ll call it “Death Pop”. Yea, that works.
What strikes me most about Death Magic is it’s truth. There’s no fluff. It calls it like it is, and although I can see how it comes across nihilistic, I find it cathartic. These days, most art is created to cover the truth, to metaphorically represent truth or to simply avoid truth. Death Magic goes straight for the jugular with zero apologies. Let’s look at some of the lyrics written by front man Jake Duzsik:
From STONEFIST:
We're never going backwards
We're never growing young (not in our hearts)
We're never coming back here
Remember, love's not in our hearts
From MEN TODAY:
All the dirt
It owns us now
What we were ends
In the ground
From FLESH WORLD (UK):
We're here
There's nothing else
We're not here to find ourselves
Follow your lust
There's no need for forgiveness
Do what you want
Don't hurt the ones you love
From COURTSHIP II:
You hurt so much, you hurt someone
You hurt someone for what you want
From LIFE:
We lie awake at night
We're tired of waiting
Yeah life, is pain
But I'm afraid to die
I don’t know what I want, know that I don’t know what I want
No, nobody knows, nobody does, nobody knows
From L.A. LOOKS:
Are we torn like this?
Are we stuck in our skin?
Am I sick of myself?
I'll never be anyone else
I want another life
(Don't hold your breath)
I want another chance
(But you can't swim)
I want another life
(Don't hold your breath)
I want to try again
(But you can't swim)
You get the idea. Death Magic is a deep dive into all the things that keep us up at night - death, pain purposelessness, cheating, excessive drug use and godlessness. It really covers it all, and it reminds us that at the end of the day we’re fucked, so we might as well enjoy the ride and try not to hurt people…
PSYCH!
If you think that’s my takeaway from all of this, you aren’t familiar with my writing. The best part about Death Magic is it’s a satire. I don’t care if HEALTH intended it that way or not, that’s how I hear it (personally I think they did - they’re smart dudes and the juxtaposition between sleek pop production and doomsday lyrics is certainly ironic). The actual moral of the story is that nihilism and hedonism are two sure-fire paths to unhappiness. Either way you go leads to inevitable torment.
I also think there’s a more hidden metaphor that applies here. When nihilism and hedonism are wrapped in a blanket of beautiful sounds and melodies, they sound pretty damn good. They’re intoxicating. They just feel right. Isn’t that how they show up in real life? Hedonism is obviously compelling with it’s promise of pleasure, but I’d argue that nihilism is the same. There’s a certain sadistic pleasure that comes with the belief that nothing matters and everything is meaningless. Both of these ideologies are offshoots of the God complex - “I’m God, I want it so I’ll have it now, and I decide how this universe works.” I would know because I’ve lived a life run by both.
The truth is, we have no fucking idea what’s going on. I’m not going to tell you how to live your life, but from personal experience hedonism and nihilism don’t end in gumdrops and rainbows. They end in despair and pain. There is so much more to this life than we understand or realize - miracles, impossibilities and magic all exist if we only choose to open our eyes to them. When I listen to Death Magic, this is what I think about (I’m a sick fuck).
Take a listen if you’re so inclined, and together we’ll laugh in the face of darkness. At the end of the day, it’s the best thing we can do.