HEALTH - Live In Brisbane!
Live Music is in Good HEALTH
Friday 18th September 2026
Written & Photographed by Tom Wilson
I first saw HEALTH at Knotfest and they were stunning. Wedged in the middle of a lineup of metalcore, their dark music felt, ironically, like a ray of sunshine, combining the romantic croon of DEFTONES with the harsh bite of Broken-era NINE INCH NAILS to create something truly extraordinary which fans have called “cum metal”. Ready for some more irony? There are a couple of nasty bugs getting around that dropped a lot of us who covered ELECTRIC CALLBOY the previous weekend, which I’ve nicknamed the “TANZANEID Fever”, so we’ve had to check and see if we were healthy enough … to see a band called HEALTH. The universe has a sense of humour.
Things aren’t off to a good start when I arrive at the Tivoli and see a giant line of people stretching down the street. Doors were supposed to be at 7pm, but that was more than half an hour ago, and we can still hear soundcheck booming from inside the venue. A crew member comes out and addresses the crowd, telling us that they are sorting some audio issues, and trays of cool drinks are brought out and distributed to the line, which is a nice gesture. We finally get the all-clear, and the night begins as the lights go down and KING YOSEF takes to the stage.
Backed by a live drummer and a guitarist with a bank of samplers and other tech stacked in front of him, eponymous vocalist Tayves Yosef Pelletier is racing back and forth across the stage like a hardcore vocalist, bellowing into his mic over a scratchy wall of industrial noise, as dirty-sounding guitar samples hit like sledgehammers, and the PA sounds like it’s on the verge of exploding as Molting Fear rattles the walls. By the time they sign off with the title track from latest album Spire of Fear, he’s dripping with sweat, and standing over the crowd with his monitors hanging from his ears sucking in breath like he’s just finished a title fight in the UFC … and won. Awesome.
If there’s ever a band who will make you reflexively check your hearing protection, it’s PERTURBATOR. If you remember seeing the “blood rave” scene from Blade as a kid and thought, that looks awesome, then you’ll be right at home in front of these two. The lights are dark and malevolent, making for terrible photos but an incredible vibe (I guess they don’t call it “Lightwave” after all), and it feels like the Tivoli has been transformed into a cyberpunk nightclub.
The crowd is in rapture as epic synths unfurl over the pounding of live percussion, as PERTURBATOR’s drummer Dylan Hyard beats the everloving shit out of a transparent kit, and James Kent sends the audience into hysterics with the slightest gesture of his hand.
Music fans of every genre are eating well right now. The world has its problems, but there has never been as much awesome music coming out as there is right now, and getting to see a band like HEALTH at the height of their powers is not something to take lightly. They take to the stage in a haze of light, before the distorted heartbeat of their industrial metal pulses to life with VIBE COP, and Jake Duzsik’s melancholy croons stretch over our heads. The silhouette of John Famiglietti twists and writhes behind his decks as the full weight of their dystopian industrial rock crashes down on us, and tracks from their recent Conflict DLC go down a storm.
Jake takes to the mic to sing the praises of KING YOSEF before announcing that they’re about to play their last song. “This is the last song. I don’t mean that in indirect, not truthful way, where we’re going to play, then we’re going to leave and go right behind there – there’s a little room – and then come right back. That seems a little silly. This is the last fucking song.” The answering roar says that the crowd is ready. “I would love to be able to promise that we’ll all be here again together, but nobody knows what’s going to happen to everybody, so we’re here now, and that’s what we have. Thank you.” B.J. Miller starts hammering on the drums like he’s opening Raining Blood, and the pulsing DSM-V brings their set to a close … but that’s not enough for Johnny Health, who announces “I’m coming in” before diving into the crowd and surfing all the way to the back of the venue.
An amazing show. Here’s to your HEALTH!
Check out the full gallery here.