Live Report: Zeal & Ardor bring genre-bending heaviness to The Academy

If modern rock music originates in blues, which itself finds its roots in gospel and slave songs, then few bands personify this deep connection as well as Swiss band Zeal & Ardor and their distinctive brand of rock / metal, flavoured with powerful African-American southern soundscapes.

From the first tune of the night, ‘the Bird, the Lion and the Wildkin’, its military-march percussion and low, menacing whistles, followed by the first of many bone-rattling distorted guitar drops of the evening, the message is clear: Zeal & Ardor have formed a niche for themselves in the metal genre – one that is incredibly effective and compelling.

Zeal & Ardor at The Academy. Copyright by Curtis DeSmith.

Bluesy elements shine through the entire hour and a half run of the set, like on the deliciously heavy ‘Ship On Fire’ or the gut-wrenching ‘Erase’ or ‘Gravedigger’s Chant’, where intricate guitar solos and head-bang worthy rhythms meet slow-paced tempos and metallic sound effects – for a discography that is so incredibly unique that it would be a disservice to try and categorise it.

Rather impressively for the genre it falls in, the set also manages to stay incredibly clean sounding from start to finish, both instrumentation and vocals crisp, measured and yet impossibly rousing: there isn’t a single note out of place, but do not expect to leave the Academy with your ears-drums intact.

Zeal & Ardor at The Academy. Copyright by Curtis DeSmith.

Zeal & Ardor manage to balance a careful duality of melodic flair and noise-forward metal sound, best exemplified by lead-singer Manuel Gagneux’s absolute powerhouse of a performance, where smooth vocals meet deep growls – and usually on the same tunes, such as ‘Run’ and ‘Tuskegee’. The rest of the band is just as deserving of praise, both capable of mysteriously longing arpeggios and ferocious blasts of noise.

A great gig, however, cannot only be measured by the quality of its sound, but also through the showmanship of the act. If there is one word that perfectly describes the group‘s stage presence, it would be: theatrical. With their black cape-covered faces, the careful use of red and green light work, making the musicians appear more like apparitions than actual human beings, and their unrestrained dancing, Zeal & Ardor deliver a gig that is not only absolutely mesmerising, but also thoroughly entertaining.

Zeal & Ardor at The Academy. Copyright by Curtis DeSmith.

In another tour de force, the Swiss outfit offer all encompassing depth and emotional heaviness while still maintaining an incredible sense of fun. Where the double-pedaled rhythms of ‘Row Row’ urge the heart to pick up the pace, breathless and begging for release, tunes like the iconic ‘Devil Is Fine’ take their time, sitting deeper in your rib cage with every-shouted out words, gritty guitar lines only a poignant addition in a tune that could not be more representative of Zeal & Ardor’s entire thesis statement: African-American traditions is where all of our modern music is rooted. And what an homage the six-piece has offered their forefather.