VOL. 4 :: SLAVES OF FEAR
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LP / Format
Loma Vista / Label
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CRITIC REVIEWS
96
There’s literally not a dull moment to be found here, every track is lean and expertly written, averting a moment’s hesitation and keeping you in it from start to finish. Vol. 4 :: Slaves of Fear is a career-defining achievement that proves patience and planning can hold rewards.
90
On their newest album, Vol. 4 :: Slaves of Fear, this amalgamation also results in HEALTH's most ominous, brooding, and diverse effort yet—and consequently their best.
80
It’s a heavy record for heavy times, but another intriguing example of what the trio can achieve, even when they’re burdened with the weight of the world on their shoulders.
80
Forever the outlier, the relentless experimentation of HEALTH, and the absolute resistance to the conventional always seemed to leave the trio way off the map. Today though, as the world itself shifts violently to stranger, darker positions, it makes sense to have HEALTH as a landmark.
80
With genres and pigeonholes left smouldering in their wake HEALTH are very much in a league of their own.
80
The lyrical paranoia dovetails beautifully with the raw, bone-scraping arrangements to powerful effect, challenging listeners in both intensity and message. It feels like the record HEALTH were supposed to make.
80
Slaves of Fear isn’t perfect, but then I’m not sure it’s trying to be. It’s all over the place, but is also strangely connected. It’s good, just leave me alone now - I need a lie down.
80
Sometimes, Vol. 4 :: Slaves of Fear feels almost too successful at what it sets out to do, but as bleak as it gets, there's something special about its empathy and honesty.
75
With each album, edition of DISCO or video game soundtrack, they improve on their own formula, becoming a more cunning machine. Not bad for a band that started in such a primal state.
70
The grimness of the lyrics works, and for fans of HEALTH and their style this is a worthwhile listen.
70
We might not be living in the futuristic world we were once promised just yet, but we can still rely on HEALTH to push music out of its present-day comfort zone.
60
The endless sense of melodrama robs the record of its potency, the impact of that pounding sonic template diminished through its constancy. The sense of doom is familiar, the sound of the band’s new record even more so.
50
‘Vol 4.’ is not without its own brand of death magic, but with such a potent past to their name, the band have failed to sustain what once set them apart.
34
HEALTH used to make lithe, multifaceted songs that wrapped daring pop melodies in bristling noise; now, they seem content to complain into a murky hybrid of trip-hop and metal.
THIS RECORD FUCKING BANGS
Get ready to have your eardrums annihilated nonstop for 40 minutes by the noise/trap banger. This thing is front to back amazing. Filled to the brim with high octane, experimental tracks that absolutely had me floored!
HOLY FUCK, MAN
Favs: PSYCHONAUT, BLACK STATIC, RAT WARS, SLAVES OF FEAR, FEEL NOTHING
Least Fav: NC-17
Get ready to have your eardrums annihilated nonstop for 40 minutes by the noise/trap banger. This thing is front to back amazing. Filled to the brim with high octane, experimental tracks that absolutely had me floored!
HOLY FUCK, MAN
Favs: PSYCHONAUT, BLACK STATIC, RAT WARS, SLAVES OF FEAR, FEEL NOTHING
Least Fav: NC-17
Industrial Imagine Dragons
Most of the songs just feel like unfinished ideas. NC-17 is clearly the MVP.
Most of the songs just feel like unfinished ideas. NC-17 is clearly the MVP.
Oh hell yes. As soon as that noise scared the shit outta me on PSYCHONAUT, I immediately had a goofy smile on my face. This shit FUCKING slaps. In a weird way, this is what I was hoping Bring Me The Horizon's latest record was going to be, but much nosier, fun, punchy and damned interesting. It's got the pop/trap tinged hooks, synths to make it dancable in a dark disco, and the thunderous drums and the heavy bass makes it have a gut punch impact that a record like this should have. It's like if ... read more
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Track List
- PSYCHONAUT
- FEEL NOTHING
- GOD BOTHERER
- BLACK STATIC
- LOSS DELUXE
- NC-17
- THE MESSAGE
- RAT WARS
- STRANGE DAYS (1999)
- WRONG BAG
- SLAVES OF FEAR
- DECIMATION
![Black Sabbath - Vol 4: [Super Deluxe Edition]](https://cdn2.albumoftheyear.org/200x/album/333546-vol-4-super-deluxe-edition.jpg)
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Added on: December 6, 2018