By Rich Hobson
You need only listen to the progression in sound between ‘Devil is Fine’ and ‘Stranger Fruits’ to recognise that Zeal and Ardor have immensely benefitted in the transition from a one-man studio project to full band. Tighter, more complex and with a wider diversity in sound between the project’s black metal leanings and roots blues foundation, Zeal and Ardor possess a mastery of atmospherics which verges on the edge of cinematic, their songs painting a vivid picture of a world that (maybe) never was. That makes ‘Live in London’ – their first live release – a fascinating proposition, giving fans a chance to check out the band at a primordial point of development, still very much coming into a performance style that could see them top massive bills in future.
Few bands go in on creating a live record so early into their careers – particularly when they only have two official releases to their name – but considering just how important that transformation has been for Z&A, it makes perfect sense to see them making the jump at this point. What’s more, the companionship between ‘Devil Is Fine’ (seen by project mastermind Manuel Gagneux as more proof of concept than full release) and ‘Stranger Fruit’ lends itself perfectly to exploring the songs blending together seamlessly, almost creating a new chronology in the releases. It doesn’t hurt the songs themselves are pure gold; the run of ‘In Ashes’, ‘Servants’, ‘Come on Down’, ‘Blood in the River’, ‘Row Row’ and ‘You Ain’t Coming Back’ is as potent as modern metal gets.
Considering just how early they are into their career, Z&A already have some gold-plated songs in their stable, and the renditions on this record show them at bare-bones emotive levels. Gagneux’s vocal is commanding, soulful and vicious all at once, the delivery sounding isolated against the wall of sound created by the band. While this doesn’t do massive amounts to change how the songs sound on the record, there is something inherently organic about hearing the band in this form, and in particular the screamed vocals are communicated much clearer – and with far more venom – live than on initial release.
As well as reimagining older tunes, ‘Live in London’ also features a few new tracks to add to the already-impressive Z&A back catalogue. The first of these, ‘We Never Fall’ is pretty much exactly what we’ve come to expect from the band; an addictive vocal hook, dainty blues guitar-work and breakouts of full black metal nastiness. But, the real clever nugget in there is the repeated refrain “I say lordy-lordy-lord don’t cut my hair”, which seems tailor-made for audiences to roar back at the band in total defiance, whilst still fitting perfectly with the historical narrative the band have constructed.
‘Hold Your Head Low’ veers into territories that feel almost New Orleans-jazz influenced, the haunting tone of the guitar chords set against a harmonised ‘ooooh-oooh’ vocal drenching the listener in thick atmospherics. But it’s when the black metal passages kick in and the guitars introduce something almost reflective of big-band/symphonic elements when you realise just how expansive this project can be; without even introducing any new instruments into the mix, Zeal and Ardor are transforming their whole sound, and the thing comes off almost like a black metal take on James Bond.
‘Cut Me’ stands out as one of the heaviest Zeal and Ardor tracks produced to date, building out from a speedy instrumental open and rampaging forward from there, perfectly matched to the lyric “I have a son/his name is rage”. It is incredibly interesting that none of the band’s new songs sound quite alike to the others; it signposts that the maverick evolution that first spawned Z&A is nowhere near over yet, and there are still many ways the band could go to completely change their sound.
At 22 tracks, you’ll get more than your money’s worth from ‘Live in London’, not at all hurt by the fact this represents a concentrated dose of brilliance from the band. That they also saw fit to include new songs that indicate further progression from their first stage of evolution is a sign that Z&A aren’t here to fleece the fans, nor cash out while their popularity is high. Instead, what we have is a record which doesn’t necessarily feel like a definitive depiction of the band (as say ‘Unplugged in New York’ or ‘No Sleep Til Hammersmith’ were), but does feel like an important documentation of just how vital they are so early in the game.
- ‘Zeal and Ardor: Live in London’ is released tomorrow (Friday 22 March). You can get your copy HERE.
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