Zeal & Ardor

Zeal & Ardor’s brand of blackened avant-metal sounds like ghostly transmissions beamed from alternate dimensions. For singer, guitarist, and composer Manuel Gagneux, delving into the uncanny is precisely the point. Born in 1989 to a Swiss father and African American mother who are themselves musicians, Gagneux initially created eccentric indie pop under the name Birdmask before kick-starting a bold project that merges black metal and occult philosophy with vocal chants and otherworldly atmosphere inspired by African American spirituals and archaic blues music. Zeal & Ardor’s debut, Devil Is Fine, arrived in 2016 and quickly developed a cult following thanks to its mysterious aura and artwork referencing both antebellum slavery and esoteric symbolism. Subsequent releases maintain the intensity of Gagneux’s original vision while also keeping listeners on their toes. Arriving in 2020, the Wake of a Nation EP is far more political, making the anti-racism defiance informing previous releases the central theme. Zeal & Ardor made yet another bold leap with their 2022 self-titled album: The industrial-inspired set unleashes a tension between beauty and rage so emotional that it places the group right alongside Deafheaven as a truly moving voice in 21st-century heavy metal.