Two very different musical worlds collide.
One of the fan-favorite tracks from Ghost's much-lauded 2015 full-length, 'Meliora', was and is their 1970's inclined, folkier-sounding hit, 'He Is'. Initially, the poppier but nonetheless solid anthem is a slightly slower and softer take on Ghost's progressive, classic rock sound. Well, that was until Los Angeles's Health got their hands on the song recently and had their electronic, noisy way with it.
Long gone are the original's laid back harmonized guitars and mid-tempo drums, the meshing together of its piano and strings, nor remain the uplifting, sing-along inducing choruses that secured it as a live staple for Ghost. In their place, widescreen washes of dark synths, cinematic bass, punchy percussion samples as well as massive amounts of reverb now stand; taking 'He Is' straight out of the Swedish band's camp and dropping it into a completely different sonic environment.
These are all, of course, the very musical elements that characterized Health's modern day classic, 2015's 'Death Magic' LP, with only some of Papa Emeritus III/Tobias Forge's vocals remaining from Ghost's original piece. Even then, the singer's stellar vocals here been layered over, pitched-shifted and messed with to further suit Health's own sonic framework.
You can listen to the remix you never knew you wanted or needed in your life over on Spotify before it eventually arrives on other platforms. Now, I don't know about you lot, but I much prefer this remix over the original, and I'm not just saying that as a big fan of Health's other work, either.
As a reference, be sure to check out the original version of 'He Is' below.
Health's latest compilation, 'Disco 3', is out now. Get it here and stream the incredibly bittersweet 'Euphoria' over here.
