Zeal & Ardor Discover Who They Are
11 February 2022 sees the release of Zeal & Ardor’s new album, their third via the Brighton-based MVKA. Tellingly, it is entitled “Zeal & Ardor”.
“With this eponymous album we have arrived at the sound I have always imagined this project should have”, says Manuel Gagneux, the man who dreamed up the gospel/death metal-fusion concept of Zeal & Ardor after a challenge from a contributor on an online forum. He has not only written everything on “Zeal & Ardor” himself but also played all instruments except drums. Gagneux calls the results “very experimental”. The gospel elements are a little less prominent than before, the rhythms, on the other hand, have become more furious, sometimes playing with an intriguing fast/slow dynamic. What is also striking is the vast palette of sounds Gagneux finds space for within the raging storm of his music.
The sense of anticipation which precedes the album is amply illustrated by the fact that Zeal & Ardor have made the cover of the 9 February issue of the British metal magazine Kerrang! “On the eve of their brilliant, self-titled third album, they’ve become celebrated as one of metal’s most forward-thinking bands” they write. The British edition of Metalhammer, too, has Gagneux on their cover, calling him a “genre-bending genius”.
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