Band:	Zeal & Ardor
Album:	Devil Is Fine
Style:	Avantgarde black metal
Release date:	April 15, 2016
A review by:	Windrider

01. Devil Is Fine
02. In Ashes
03. Sacrilegium I
04. Come On Down
05. Children's Summon
06. Sacrilegium II
07. Blood In The River
08. What Is A Killer Like You Gonna Do Here?
09. Sacrliegium III

Once in a while there comes a time when new ways open up for music. Frontiers are being torn down and ideas can stream freely, going on a journey that takes them through many discussions and lets the creator experience both hatred and admiration. It always takes its time until a new sound is essentially established and the occasions where one can witness the birth of a new style are rare. So we are truly fortunate drunkards to live in the time where Zeal And Ardor release their second album to date, Devil Is Fine.

Everyone has probably heard of the slave music of African American people, called spirituals. And most people that are reading this review now (that includes you!) should at least once have been in contact with black metal yet. Even though spirituals are in a way also "black" by nature, those two genres couldn't have a greater distance in-between them, at least that's what most people thought until now. Now Zeal And Ardor come along and merge them in a way that feels like something has been missing all the time. Actually, they even add a third ingredient to the melting pot, namely electronic and ambient music.

But let's get more into details. Most songs on Devil Is Fine are based on the spiritual-like chorals sung by mastermind Manuel Gagneux, using a loud and clipping sound level to get a certain retro sound in a natural way. This is then paired with modern guitars, bass and drums in a (black) metal style, using heavy riffs, tremolo picking, double bass etc. Some occasional shrieks are thrown in and synth melodies complete the picture. But wait, there's more. Looking for pseudo prayer call like one knows from the muezzins, a bluesy '60s guitar solo or techno beats? Here you get it all. And all of it is done incredibly well, giving so many different feelings to the only 24 minutes of the record that one could arguably say there is more content and value than in many hour long albums.

The tracks are rather short but I suppose that's the only way they properly work, making each piece a distinct and unique approach to this style. Another interesting point are the lyrics. What sounds like holy and godlike gospel themes is in fact of truly satanic meaning, where Gagneux sings of praising the devil and the death of people. The funny thing is that at first sight that's not obvious at all, for the vocals itself act like it's all perfectly natural and spirituals have always been satanic. Best line in my opinion is the rhythmic "The riverbed will run red with the blood of the saints and the blood of the holy".

As a conclusion, Zeal And Ardor are without doubt contenders for the album of the year, although I don't know in which category. But it certainly won't get any blacker than that. Now I better get my humor back on the cotton fields.