Zeal & Ardor – GREIF
Redacted Records
9,0/10,0
Brief:
Zeal & Ardor is a Swiss avant-garde metal band started and led by Manuel Gagneux, a Swiss-American musician who had previously created a chamber pop project called Birdmask. Formed in 2013, the band mixes sounds of African-American spirituals with black metal. Zeal & Ardor isn’t just a band; it’s a living and breathing entity. Like any other sentient being, it consumes, evolves, and transforms from one season to the next. Its shape may change though its spirit remains the same.
In 2017, Zeal & Ardor embedded itself deep inside of popular culture with the seminal full-length debut, Devil Is Fine. In between touring worldwide, the band progressed across Stranger Fruit [2018] and Zeal & Ardor [2022]. The latter incited unanimous tastemaker praise.
Decamping to Marc’s studio Hutch Sounds in Switzerland, the record came to life in just five months. The frontman excitedly leveraged the talents of his cohorts, featuring three voices for the first time and emboldening the sound from every angle.
Ethereal glockenspiel sets the tone for the lead single “Fend You Off.” This dreamy melody belies a seething intensity, which boils over on a crescendo uplifted by a trio of voices in arresting harmony. As the riff kicks into high gear, Manuel repeats, “There’s a thorn in my side.”
His menacing delivery barely cracks a whisper on the vicious “Clawing Out.” It bludgeons and bruises with an infectious insidiousness conjured on the chorus as everyone shouts in unison.
Then, there’s “Hide In Shade.” It channels the collective’s signature black metal stomp with a vital volley of extreme emotions. “I still wanted to have a classic Zeal & Ardor moment,” he proclaims. “It’s a gateway song.”
The title, GREIF, is inspired by an annual tradition in Manuel’s hometown of Basel, Switzerland. A mythical hybrid creature parades through the streets for the children in symbolism of the Basel’s working people balking at the oppressive elite on its other side. Given the animal’s amalgam of energies and physicality, the name proved apropos.
Tracklist:
- the Bird, the Lion and the Wildkin
- Fend You Off
- Kilonova
- are you the only one now?
- Go home my friend
- Clawing out
- Disease
- 369
- Thrill
- une ville vide
- Sugarcoat
- Solace
- Hide in Shade
- to my ilk
Main Focus Tracks:
- the Bird, the Lion and the Wildkin
- Fend You Off
- Kilonova
Other Recommended Tracks:
- are you the only one now?
- Clawing out
- Sugarcoat
- Hide in Shade
Line-Up:
Manuel Gagneux – lead vocals, guitars, keyboards, synthesizer, programming
Tiziano Volante – rhythm guitar, lead guitar
Lukas Kurmann – bass
Marco Von Allmen – drums
Marc Obrist – vocals
Denis Wagner – vocals
Comments:
Metal, progressive, post-black or rock, Zeal & Ardor skillfully mixes genres in this GREIF, an album to be ranked among the best releases of the year 2024. Near perfection!
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Selected Discography:
Devil Is Fine – 2016
Stranger Fruit – 2018
Zeal & Ardor – 2022
Greif – 2024.
Photo Credit: Noemi Ottilia Szabo