Firewake

Zeal and Ardor

December 7, 2022

Metal / Black Metal / Melodic Death Metal / Rock

Zeal & Ardor is an experimental/black metal project by Swiss/American artist Manuel Gagneux. In 2013, Gagneux asked users of 4chan for suggestions of disparate genres he should try splicing together. One response was to mix black metal with old American slave songs, an idea that inspired Gagneux to launch Zeal & Ardor and continues to drive the project today. Initially intended only as a one-off recording, the project grew legs, first with a full-length debut album, Devil Is Fine - which streamed in the millions - then a spot at The Netherlands’ prestigious Roadburn festival in 2017. In 2018, the band released their second album Stranger Fruit, which found an audience far beyond the world of metal: The Guardian newspaper called it "extraordinary and brilliant," Metal Hammer applauded its "sheer musical brilliance," and the UK's largest free newspaper Metro declared Stranger Fruit their #2 Album of the Year. In October 2020, amidst a provocative and stimulating 18-month profound period of reflection, the band quietly shared the striking 6-track EP, Wake Of A Nation. The band’sintense self-titled third album was released in February 2022. Today, Zeal & Ardor are an avant-garde metal force, hugely respected for their artistic fearlessness and off-the-wall creativity in a scene so often unwilling to break its own chains Gagneux says "’Firewake’ was written a while ago, but didn't thematically fit on the last record. I really like the atmosphere of it and am happy to have found a proper home for the track. The bilingual aspect of it mirrors the high contrast in energy found in it. I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed recording it!"