Zeal & Ardor - Zeal & Ardor (2022)

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Zeal & Ardor - Zeal & Ardor (2022)

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ZEAL & ARDOR might well be the very definition of eclectic. Feeling like the musical equivalent of Jack Skellington‘s Christmas ‘what’s this?’ experiment, Manuel Gagneux has toiled away over test tubes and vials to bubble and boil away yet another potent concoction of intelligent and unique ideas. Their eponymous full-length is now imminent, and frankly it highlights the band as some of the most prolific and exciting musicians on planet earth.

In reality this is nothing new. They have been dabbling with the diverse for quite some time now, ever since 2017’s Devil Is Fine. Notoriously blending black metal with the groove and finesse of neo-soul, they benefit from both the bleak power and the bright, songful colour that the two genres offer. Pulling together two completely polarised elements of the musical spectrum like a guitar wielding black hole, physics have been defied once again as ZEAL & ARDOR prove themselves to be true masters of the avantgarde.

Music should challenge, both in style and context. As groove and anguish is mixed in perfect measure throughout the album, we are exposed to something that sounds like the Devil’s gospel, switching from copious amounts of groove to thundering black metal segments in the blink of an eye. Perhaps more reliant on synths and samples than previous records, it still allows Gagneux to demonstrate his instrumental genius as he once again plays every instrument except for the drums. How it all pulls together is the ultimate rhetorical question but it works, and all the strings tie neatly together to create an album more cohesive than it has any right to be.

The title track opens up in ethereal fashion before marching into Run and then Bow which both make fantastic use of synths and organic instruments in a heavy/soulful blend that carries us along like white-water; frenetic, calm and moving all at once. It’s a headbanging singalong extravaganza, with Gagneux seemingly having mastered the art of unleashing hell when called upon before diving deeply back into soulful calm. The riffs continue to tumble through tracks like Erase, while others like Golden Liar focus much more on the blues.

It’s the perfect canvas to unleash Gagneux‘s unbridled rage upon, exploding into metallic chaos at will. Feed The Machine is probably the best example of this, jumping off the Richter scale with demonic howls before settling into earworm hooks and delicate vocal passages. This is ZEAL & ARDOR at their most prolific, combining everything they do well into a single epic track. Götterdämmerung mixes German lyrics amongst the English, adding even more identity into the mélange.

This album feels like a natural progression for ZEAL & ARDOR. It is the most complete album they have written and feels like the benchmark that they will move forward with. They are a band on the precipice of major success, generally deemed to be one of Europe’s most promising collectives and well and truly living up to that claim. They will continue pedalling their message to the masses and we are all very fortunate to be a part of their journey.

Rating: 9/10

by Daniel Fella, distortedsoundmag.com