HEALTH Talk Chaos, Children, Chilli Shots And “Ordinary Loss”

Interview by Ali WilliamsHEALTH’s Jake Duzsik jumped on the mic with HEAVY Mags Ali Williams for a chat that somehow managed to zigzag between parenting woes, anime fandom, video-game virality, and a man chugging a can of chilli. Fresh off the release of their new single Ordinary Loss, and gearing up for their next record Conflict DLC, out December 11, Jake admits life is a whirlwind—not just because the band is deep in album mode, but because he’s also navigating the emotional rollercoaster of raising a five-year-old. From wiping his own butt (“a milestone worth celebrating,” laughs Jake) to nightly story time, his kid is in that fleeting golden stage where parents are still gods. Jake is already mourning the day he’s no longer the coolest human in the house. But don’t worry, he hasn’t gone soft. If you thought HEALTH’s promo stunts were wild, Jake confirms they used to be much worse. Their previous antics included: hiding golden tickets in vinyl copies, sending fans bags of their guitarist’s cat hair, signing test pressings in blood, and the ultimate? Flying a fan to the US to hang out and stay at their own home for a weekend and smoke sativa at Magic Mountain. They also had a guy chug a can of chilli like it was a shot of bourbon to announce previous releases. Jake says the band fully intended for Ordinary Loss to emotionally flatten listeners—in the uplifting, cathartic way HEALTH does best. Early reactions suggest it’s hitting fans right in the feels, which is the only metric that really matters in the algorithm-ruled hellscape of modern music discovery. Although HEALTH would love a viral hit (“it’s a lottery nobody understands,” Jake notes), they measure success by whether the die-hard fans feel it. And so far, they do. Their second-most streamed track on Spotify didn’t come from an album at all—it blew up thanks to a massively popular video game, then an anime adaptation on Netflix. The band has fully embraced their anime-gaming-nerd-culture fanbase, which Jake describes fondly as “amazing.” He even admits that this older track is still the most likely candidate for a future viral blow-up simply because it has so many cultural tentacles. While Conflict DLC doesn’t feature major guest vocalists, the band does keep one emergency contact on speed dial: Willie Adler of Lamb of God. When in need of a riff that could level a small city? They pick up the “red rock phone,” Willie answers, and the result becomes songs like the brutally heavy Vibe Cop.HEALTH will be back in Australia in September 2026, leading Jake to reminisce about the band’s last Aussie tour, which was equal parts magical and miserable. Thanks to our famously insulation-optional buildings, he discovered that Australian winter venues can be colder than a Seattle basement. He even booked a fancy Brisbane hotel with a rooftop pool—only to discover the pool was roughly the temperature of a soft-serve freezer. Lesson learned. Culturally though? Jake says Australia feels more like California than anywhere else in the world—laid-back, beachy, outdoorsy, and chaotic in all the right ways. For Jake, making music is still the only job he ever wanted. He’s grateful HEALTH has allowed him to live that life for most of his adulthood, and he hopes their songs continue to give listeners something meaningful—whether that’s emotional release, escape, or just a soundtrack for scrolling weird anime clips on TikTok. Tour info and tickets for their 2026 Australian tour can be found on the bands official website. Their new album release can be downloaded on all available platforms from December 11.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.