Zeal & Ardor
Zeal & Ardor | |
|---|---|
Zeal & Ardor in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Basel, Switzerland / New York City |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Labels | MVKA, Radicalis, Sub Pop |
| Members |
|
| Past members |
|
| Website | https://www.zealandardor.com/ |
Zeal & Ardor is a Swiss avant-garde metal band started and led by Manuel Gagneux, a Swiss-American musician who had previously created a chamber pop project called Birdmask. Formed in 2013, the band mixes sounds of African-American spirituals with black metal.
Initially a solo project, the band signed with MVKA Records in 2016 and expanded to a full lineup, with Gagneux on vocals and guitar, backing vocalists Denis Wagner and Marc Obrist, guitarist Tiziano Volante, bassist Mia Rafaela Dieu, drummer Marco Von Allmen. Dieu was later replaced by Lukas Kurmann. Zeal & Ardor have released the albums Devil Is Fine (2016), Stranger Fruit (2018), Zeal & Ardor (2022), and Greif (2024), as well as a demo album Zeal and Ardor (2014). In 2020, they released their first EP, Wake of a Nation.