The Pitch: Swiss-American songwriter Manuel Gagneux's highly lauded experimental black metal project Zeal and Ardor recieves a new release through MVKA. Set in an alternate history where slaves rebel against their Christian slavers through Satanic rituals, Devil is Fine combines the unlikely (but equally powerful) forces of traditional chain-gang spirituals with BM.
What I Like: By far one of the most innovative things I have heard since I was introduced to Sigh's Imaginary Sonicscape. While these disparate worlds seem like they should not come together, Manuel's vision brings them perfectly in line. As he himself has stated, there is a certain rebellion and bubbling fury to the songs sung in the fields during the darker moments of American history that does gel with the ideas that spawned the 2nd wave of black metal. In fact, church burnings were a direct response to feelings of repression and marginalization by a larger religious group. As always, I am not approving of such an extreme act or minimizing racism, but the parallels are there.
In terms of the music itself, I just can't get enough of the haunting singing and 4:4 crack of the chains on tracks like "Devil is Fine" and "Come on Down." Even when the black metal elements are portrayed only in the lyrics, the songs are plenty dark and heavy. There will be explosions of grim violence; but also music box tunes and electronic experimentation. This project has an opportunity to once more redefine what it means to be black metal, or perhaps metal in general.
What I Don't Like: There are some slips in the flow that I hope will come together better as the group matures. Gagneux is juggling a lot of elements and they don't always come together as perfectly as I would like. High expectations is all.
The Verdict: A riveting performance that perhaps captures the desolation and darkness of slavery better than ever before. Now that the project has been rounded into a full touring band, I am also hoping to catch them live at some point. The concept of seeing "Blood In The River" on stage is too juicy to miss. Listen to the unreleased song "Don't You Dare" below.
Flight's Fav's: Devil is Fine, Blood In The River, Come on Down
Spotify: http://spoti.fi/2lRnJW6
CD: http://www.smarturl.it/devilisfineCD
LP: http://www.smarturl.it/devilisfineLP