Zeal & Ardor is the mastermind of Swiss-American musician Manuel Gagneux. The experimental project is known for successfully blending black metal with African American spirituals, two genres that on the surface shouldn’t work.
The band released two full-length studio albums, 2016’s Devil Is Fine and 2018’s Stranger Fruit. Both albums deal with the premise of what would happen if American slaves embraced Satan instead of Jesus. This concept is used to provide commentary on America’s troubled history on race relations.
On October 23, the band will be releasing a new six-song EP entitled Wake of a Nation. In the past, Gagneux would be tight-lipped when discussing the meaning of specific tunes, but in the following statement, he decided to be more direct with this release.
“Wake Of A Nation’s intent and context should be obvious. I like to revel in ambiguity and in room for interpretation. This is not the case here. These six songs are a knee jerk reaction to what has happened to my fellow people in the last months.”
“Originally I was set to record an album scheduled to come out next year. As these songs were written due to the horrendous events that instilled them I decided to release them as soon as possible. Using the rich heritage and culture as a part of my musical identity it felt like cowardice to sit by and continue with my routine as if nothing happened.”
“This record is for Michael Brown, Eric Garner, George Floyd and the countless untold and nameless killed.”
“It is for the brave souls willing to take a stand and ready to risk their own wellbeing so that others may have theirs intact.”
Recently two tracks have been released from the EP, “Vigil” and “I Can’t Breathe.” Both songs are a departure from the dark metal sound of previous recordings.
“Vigil” has some musical similarities to Gagneux’s previous chamber-pop project Birdmask. There is no ambiguity with the lyrics, especially the chorus:
“I can’t breathe, it’s a cellphone, please don’t shoot, I need to get home, I’m on my knees begging please. So you’re just following orders. They just keep falling on us. How many more will it last? Why not just take all of us?”
“I Can’t Breathe” clocks in at just over a minute, but it is musically intense, and it effectively employs samples to get its point across. All proceeds from the sales and streaming of the song will be donated.