Zeal & Ardor isn’t just a band; it’s a living and breathing entity. Like any other sentient being, it consumes, evolves, and transforms from one season to the next. Its shape may change though its spirit remains the same. Founded and fronted by Manuel Gagneux, it has only sharpened its claws, lengthened its teeth, and steeled its nerves over the years, growing more undeniable and unpredictable in the process.
After gathering tens of millions of streams and earning widespread critical acclaim, this beast proves as dynamic and dangerous as ever on its fourth full-length album, GREIF.
“Zeal & Ardor is very much a thing in transit,” Manuel observes. “It’s definitely a restless organism that I have the privilege of raising.”
He’s done a hell of a job raising it so far…
Zeal & Ardor isn’t just a band; it’s a living and breathing entity. Like any other sentient being, it consumes, evolves, and transforms from one season to the next. Its shape may change though its spirit remains the same. Founded and fronted by Manuel Gagneux, it has only sharpened its claws, lengthened its teeth, and steeled its nerves over the years, growing more undeniable and unpredictable in the process.
After gathering tens of millions of streams and earning widespread critical acclaim, this beast proves as dynamic and dangerous as ever on its fourth full-length album, GREIF.
“Zeal & Ardor is very much a thing in transit,” Manuel observes. “It’s definitely a restless organism that I have the privilege of raising.”
He’s done a hell of a job raising it so far…
In 2017, Zeal & Ardor embedded itself deep inside of popular culture with the seminal full-length debut, Devil Is Fine. In between touring worldwide, the band progressed across Stranger Fruit [2018] and Zeal & Ardor [2022]. The latter incited unanimous tastemaker praise. Beyond applause from NPR, Paste, Brooklyn Vegan, Alternative Press, and many others, Metal Hammer highlighted its “near perfection” in a “4.5-out-of-5 star” review, while The Line of Best of Fit hailed, “Zeal & Ardor continue to assert their versatility.” The band graced the cover of KERRANG!, while the record landed high in the charts in multiple countries globally.
However, Manuel decided to switch up the process for GREIF. Rather than creatively fly solo, he welcomed his bandmates into the studio. As such, the musicians—Tiziano Volante [guitar], Marc Obrist [vocals], Denis Wagner [vocals], Lukas Kurmann [bass], and Marco Von Allmen [drums]—spread their wings alongside him.
“The guys basically gave this project seven years of their lives on tour, so it felt odd to be the only one on the albums,” he says. “The sound is more of an analog to what we do on stage. You get the same idiots, just on vinyl,” he laughs.
“We've really evolved into a tight-knit unit,” adds Marc. “Before Zeal & Ardor, we were basically strangers, but we're like a little family now. Each member brings his own unique flavor to the mix, and we all try to make Manuel’s songs better in our own way. The most interesting part for me was the new approach of how we work together in the studio.”
Decamping to Marc’s studio Hutch Sounds in Switzerland, the record came to life in just five months. The frontman excitedly leveraged the talents of his cohorts, featuring three voices for the first time and emboldening the sound from every angle.
“I wanted to expand upon what we had and introduce new colors,” he goes on. “There are angry and accusatory moments, but there’s also some solace and happiness. I’m widening the palette of colors we have to paint with. These are avenues we haven’t tried.”
Tiziano concurs, “This album feels like a warm homecoming into a place of uncertainty. What could be
described as the start of another era artistically is probably more of a coming to life of
a bigger beast in the form of a more communicative and better organized collective.”
Ethereal glockenspiel sets the tone for the lead single “Fend You Off.” This dreamy melody belies a seething intensity, which boils over on a crescendo uplifted by a trio of voices in arresting harmony. As the riff kicks into high gear, Manuel repeats, “There’s a thorn in my side.”
“Whereas prior albums were more community calls-to-action, this is a personal quest,” he reveals. “‘Fend You Off’ is about how you can be defensive to a person who’s being toxic to you. You’re swallowing your tongue up until the moment you can’t do it anymore.”
On “Kilonova,” the bass and guitars mimic the anxious thump of a heartbeat, locking into a head-nodding rhythm awash in delay. Chants pierce the fray, bleeding into a breathy refrain.
“A ‘Kilonova’ is when two supernovas collide,” he states. “It’s the type of grandeur I’m after.”
His menacing delivery barely cracks a whisper on the vicious “Clawing Out.” It bludgeons and bruises with an infectious insidiousness conjured on the chorus as everyone shouts in unison.
“It’s one of the heaviest songs I’ve ever written,” he affirms. “It has a hardcore kick. Lyrically, ‘Clawing Out’ is about finding your way out of a rut. You’re in a shitty situation, and you’re fighting back.”
“Disease” hinges on a smoky drumbeat as a blues guitar lead cuts through a thick bass groan, climaxing with a mantra. “It’s a little more rock ‘n’ roll,” he comments. “I’m taking risks, because I don’t want to make the same song over and over.”
Then, there’s “Hide In Shade.” It channels the collective’s signature black metal stomp with a vital volley of extreme emotions. “I still wanted to have a classic Zeal & Ardor moment,” he proclaims. “It’s a gateway song.
The ride concludes on the plaintive and poetic “to my ilk.” Loose blues guitar snakes around strong claps as Manuel’s voice echoes through a choir. “It has another level of emotion, and it came out just the way I imagined,” he remarks.
The title, GREIF, is inspired by an annual tradition in Manuel’s hometown of Basel, Switzerland. A mythical hybrid creature parades through the streets for the children in symbolism of the Basel’s working people balking at the oppressive elite on its other side. Given the animal’s amalgam of energies and physicality, the name proved apropos.
“The GREIF is a lion, a snake, and a bird,” he notes. “During the parade, he turns his backside to the aristocrats and sticks it to the man. It reflects where we are.”
Leaning into a signature hybrid of its own, Zeal & Ardor elevates once again.
“We invite listeners to hear the full spectrum of the different sides and sounds that make Zeal & Ardor,” Tiziano leaves off. “There are some gorgeous moments, but it packs in a lot of intensity and charm. In Manuel’s songwriting and the process with every member, there’s a certain intentionality as well as an element of randomness and accident. I can’t wait to see people’s reactions.”
“Zeal & Ardor is my passion, my self-realization, and my friends,” Manuel concludes. “It’s basically what allows me to continue to be this weirdo for a job! It’s basically everything to me.”
