Last year, Zeal and Ardor’s debut album, Devil is Fine, wound up on quite a few year-end lists, this author’s included. Now it’s going to be getting a physical release worldwide via UK label MVKA on February 24th, and the brainchild of Swiss musician Manuel Gagneux has fleshed itself out into a full band lineup. Formed after Gagneux asked 4Chan users to give him two genres and he’d combine them. One douchebag said “nigger music” and another said “black metal.” he thought about it, and created the album. As the press release says:
His approach draws on an alternate history and stems from two thoughts: Christianity was imposed upon American slaves, just as it was imposed in Norway, and black metal in the ’90s grew as a rebellion to monotheism. What would have happened if American slaves had rebelled in the same way? Or put bluntly: What would satanic spirituals sound like?
Brooklyn Vegan notes that his full band consists of “Marco on drums, Rafi playing the bass, Tizi wielding a guitar and Marc and Denis singing.” The band recently had their first live performance at Lausanne, Switzerland’s Couleur 3 studio. They’ll be touring Europe around the Roadburn Festival, and will be playing what’s so far their only US show at Psycho Las Vegas. Check out the live performance of the song below, and the (mostly European) tour dates below.
Apr 14 Czar Fest Basel, Switzerland
Apr 19 Le Glazart Paris, France
Apr 20 Underworld London, United Kingdom
Apr 21 Roadburn Festival Tilburg, Netherlands
Apr 22 Urban Spree Berlin, Germany
Apr 2 4Roxy Prague, Czech Republic
Apr 2 5Hydrozagadka Warsaw, Poland
May 3 Magnolia Milan, Italy
May 4 L’Usine Geneva, Switzerland
May 5 Kyttaro Athens, Greece
May 18 The Great Escape Festival Brighton, United Kingdom
May 19 The Great Escape Festival Brighton, United Kingdom
Aug 20 Psycho Las Vegas, NV
