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Zeal & Ardor - Zeal & Ardor



7.9 | 186 votes |
Release date: 11 February 2022
Style: Avantgarde black metal

Owners:

60 have it
12 want it


01. Zeal & Ardor
02. Run
03. Death To The Holy
04. Emersion
05. Golden Liar
06. Erase
07. Bow
08. Feed The Machine
09. I Caught You
10. Church Burns
11. Götterdämmerung
12. Hold Your Head Low
13. J-M-B
14. A-H-I-L

The Best Alternative Metal Album Of 2022

Additional info
Recorded by Marc Obrist and Manuel Gagneux at Hutch Sounds.
Mixed and mastered by Will Putney at Graphic Nature Audio.

Staff review by
musclassia
Rating:
7.8
Devil Is Fine was the blueprint for the Zeal & Ardor sound, and Stranger Fruit was the realization of that sound. Zeal & Ardor is the critical next evolution.

Read more ››
published 13.02.2022 | Comments (14)

Found in 43 lists
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Comments

Comments: 12   Visited by: 510 users
15.09.2021 - 16:01
hyper

Buckle up ladies
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11.02.2022 - 15:25
Rating: 8
iMorphball

First time listening to these guys and wow, what a breath of fresh air.
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11.02.2022 - 20:02
Rating: 9
Duck Dodgers

Great album!
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14.02.2022 - 02:03
Rating: 9
Uxküll

They don't miss.
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"Nullum unquam exstitit magnum igenium sine aliqua dementia [there was never great genius without some madness]."

Best of Metal A-Z: http://metalstorm.net/users/lists.php?user_id=158339
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18.02.2022 - 09:04
Rinbel

None of their previous albums got to impress me but I enjoyed them a lot. This one however was a total letdown and kinda bored me. Any formula gets out of steam pretty fast if you dont use it to make great songs, and that's what I´m missing here: great songs. Most of them feel terribly predictable, the fussion came down to just a succession of unrelated parts of african soul/gospel, screams and repeat. "Emersion", "I Caught You" or "J-M-B" could be the b sides of a rookie band, definetly not what I expect from these guys in terms of quality. The absence of memorable moments, the uncreative generic metal riffs, the lack of rythm and internal cohesion make this album their weakest effort for me.

I´m so sorry to write this down because "Z&A" was one of my most anticipated albums this year and the singer's voice is so fucking awesome. Maybe next time.
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19.02.2022 - 05:36
Rating: 5
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
This band really isn't for me. The mix of repetitive metalcore riffs (It feels like half of this album is a breakdown) and modern metalcore style production is enough to make me wince. As stated above, the incohesive songwriting really doesn't help this album. It feels like the songs are broken into separate parts and they don't seem to flow together very well. I'm sure this was intentional, but it doesn't really work IMO.
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14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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25.02.2022 - 15:02
Crème fraiche

I enjoyed this one a lot more that I thought I would have. Was liking the non-metal parts more than I imagined I would. Felt fresh! Need more time to digest.
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09.03.2022 - 22:25
Rating: 6
Rogodop

This one is probably their weakest since the first album. Definitely doesn't live up to Stranger Fruit but still has some bangers. It is quite inconsistent.
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24.03.2022 - 15:53
Rating: 9
Samot

Just WOW!!!
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Um, Dois, Três, Quatro! Yeah! PORRA!!!
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11.06.2022 - 08:35
Rating: 9
tintinb

Run and Death to the Holy are such great songs back to back. This may not be as good as their previous album but it's still a great release anyways. I would definitely delete the emersion song though, just doesn't go with the general theme of the album.
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Leeches everywhere.
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06.11.2022 - 13:03
Rating: 7
gavdann

I love the experimental nature of this band.

Also I can't help but think those who are complaining about repetitive metalcore riffs and predictable songwriting didn't actually listen past the first few songs. This album is even more of a mish mash of styles than his last. I like less of it, but I'm equally as impressed by it because originality is very rare.
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30.11.2023 - 15:25
Rating: 9
miekka18

Very original and awesome album and style. They were super good live.
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