Zeal and enthusiasm
GRIPPING
Has Zeal & Ardor’s novelty worn off by now? Well, yes, objectively speaking it has – the black metal/slave spirituals thing that Manuel Gagneux based the project on hardly matters anymore. But even up until their self-titled album in 2022, the air of evil mysticism continued to hover around, if not completely. For an initial thesis that drew its boundaries pretty clearly, Zeal & Ardor have achieved a lot in their specific creative lane without falling too far back into their earliest foundations. GRIPPINGis simply missing… a lot. Even the qualities that have become synonymous with Zeal & Ardor are gone, in the form of a half-rework full of glaring gaps. Perhaps that’s fitting for a release named after a mythical chimera from a tradition from Gagneux’s Swiss hometown, but not if you expect one of modern metal’s most compelling names to continue on that front.
You’d be hard-pressed to call this a mostly “metal” release. That’s not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself when half of Zeal & Ardor’s DNA is blues and gospel music from literally hundreds of years ago, but it’s also a matter of mood. The music doesn’t have to be traditionally heavy when it’s associated with tortured souls crying out for demonic redemption. GRIPPINGis, in its constant departure from the fixation of its creators on their original theme, almost weightless in comparison. It comes closest to the shuddering tension that Kilonova or Scrape out; otherwise it is more flabby and ineffective than Zeal & Ardor ever were, even on The devil is doing well than the earliest attempts to hold his ideas together with rubber bands. There are emaciated imitations of Stone Age queens in Illness And Thrillor songs like Defend like And Sugar coating that sound like more obvious concessions and undercutting. Even in an average blues-rock form, when they may tastier, there are several steps on GRIPPING that simply go too far for what they’re worth.
The whole thing is all the worse when you consider how successful the alchemy of Zeal & Ardor has been in the past. As an independent listening experience away from all that, GRIPPING meanders a bit too much, but the direct comparison makes it all the more annoying. There is no longer the hellfire in the belly that was always the most important part, making for a colder, less eruptive listening experience. Production-wise, it is also the most sterile Zeal & Ardor release that has ever felt, more tailored to his atmospheric fits or an esoteric folk conclusion like to my kind. Integrate the same approach into something like Go home, my friendand it transforms from a ghostly chain anthem into something that’s basically just a weird synth passage over stomping commercial rock. Also, Gagneux’s voice is much more direct now, and while he’s a great singer when it comes to a friend’s blues howl, not even he’s lucky enough to escape Zeal & Ardor’s new malady.
It goes without saying that the novelty has worn out. But GRIPPING is an almost devastating way of making that point, by letting Zeal & Ardor collapse so quickly and without much resistance. Its greatest crime is how disappointing it is, a trait you’d never ascribe to this act even at its sloppiest. Zeal & Ardor being finished is not a good image, and obviously not something they can easily break free from. One might almost assume that pure intrigue could save them from the brink. anythingbut apparently not. It seems as if a blind spot has been found, and GRIPPING can’t help but be swallowed up by it. Not much zeal or Passion with this. • LN
For fans of: Queens Of The Stone Age, Me And The Man, Birdmask
“GREIF” by Zeal & Ardor will be released on August 23rd on Redacted Records.
Dark calm
End time signals
After more than 30 years of career, the Swedish band Dark Tranquility continues to push forward their musical development. End time signals, and in themselves as an ensemble. While Aspects harks back to their 1990s compositional style, new musical directions and rejuvenated energy, partly due to a recent lineup change, show their latest offering End time signals Treat yourself to new flavors without losing sight of the core of Dark Tranquility.
The presence of technical instrumentation is immediately noticeable upon first listening. End time signals. The track list is stylistically balanced, switching between energy levels and moods as well as tones and textures in a way that flows naturally and manages to capture your attention. The album’s opener Shivers and emptiness brings a striking, progressive-sounding introduction before exploding into Dark Tranquility’s melodic death sound. Complex riffs, agonizing rhythms and wild, raw vocals unleash an onslaught in which tantalizing melodies are woven. Descending into the depths, the relentless Unforgivable attacks from the shadows with its heavy sound.
The darker and harder Drowned out voices is an oppositional departure from the previous track Not nothing and his distinctive interplay between prog and melodic death. Drowned out voices isn’t devoid of clean vocals or compelling electronics, but the focus is predominantly on the band’s heavier side before the two styles eventually merge for one last hurrah. One of us has left, the band’s tribute to Fredrik Johansson wouldn’t be out of place on a soundtrack. The cinematic opening has a captivating quality with a haunting undertone, while the orchestral instruments, played by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, have an otherworldly quality. Clean vocals add a more human, intimate aspect to this epic setting.
Renegade eyes, sees a slight parting of the grey clouds. After the dystopian Our separation, This element remains in part, but the catchy hook of the vocal melody and the synths of the chorus contrast the harsh vocals and distorted guitars with an uplifting feeling. The penultimate track, A darker sun, returns to the shadows with a thunderous introduction, intensity and a dark undertone. False reflections sees End time signals ends with melancholic serenity, a final ballad that is intimate, personal and powerful in its quiet and gentle style. • Human Resources
For fans of: Insomnium, The Halo Effect, At the Gates
“Endtime Signals” by Dark Tranquility is out now on Century Media Records.
Frozen mode
DEMODE 2
You can hear the sonic booms of Frozemode as they move along at such a fast pace. A year and a half of uninterrupted ascent has positioned them as a tribal union-in-waiting, with an alt-rap indie sound that has taken them everywhere. And that’s quite literal too; the last few festival seasons have proven that no booker spurns Frozemode. There’s clearly an inescapable impulse here that it’s only a matter of time before everyone gets on board, so why not speed up that process with a new batch of tracks? Having momentum is a very real factor when you’re The far ahead.
And unlike their multidisciplinary creative colleagues who pay lip service to not being pigeonholed without producing results, Frozemode are the real doers. Or at least they can seem that way, given five songs they can spontaneously skip over and redraw their own boundaries. Clearly they are not starving for inspiration –ASBO BOYS is fast, powerful punk rap between the older Jamie T and Soft Play; KURAMA is a piece of dark drill darkness, provided with additional guitar power; MAN NEAR stumbles around his loose, slanting horns and sets accents with bolder accents. The whole thing is marked by the smaller, isolated production style that characterizes this kind of work, only the results are in his favor since it’s not such an obvious crutch.
It certainly doesn’t hurt that Frozemode’s three frontmen are essentially carrying the whole thing on their own. Each has a distinctive timbre, but the excitability they share is evenly distributed. The vibe is very much that of a group of friends banging out tracks with the express purpose of having fun. There might be the odd weighty beat here and there, but overall Frozemode is the kind of upbeat, forward-driving band that you rarely get bored of. DEMODE 2 is by no means overwhelming to listen to; it hops along just as well as its predecessor. Sure, it would be nice to follow the lines laid out a bit more – especially when each of these songs is stylistically distinct – but that’s obviously something to be addressed later. For now, with a wealth of ideas fueled by an endless supply of enthusiasm, you couldn’t ask for anything better.
So, frozen mode is very worthy recipients of the hype they receive. They are cool and contemporary without trying too hard to prove it, and the path they have been blazed on could become unbeatable in time. In a time when the average genre blurrers feel so monotonous and boring, a snappy shock from something like DEMODE 2 is a much-appreciated tonic. Here is all the evidence as to why Frozemode keeps going further and faster. • LN
For fans of: NOISY, Bob Vylan, SNAYX
“DEMODE 2” by Frozemode is now available on 8996 Records.
Words from Luke Nuttall (LN) And Holly Royle (Human Resources)
