Project Description

ZEAL & ARDOR

+ ENCIRCLING SEA

+ SULDUSK

@ Stay Gold

23/02/19

(Live Review)

Reviewer & Photographer: Anne-Laure Marie

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February 2019 is the first time Australia and New-Zealand will have seen Zeal & Ardor travelling to their shores. While technically the band exists since 2013, originally as the solo project of Manuel Gagneux, its notoriety expands not long after the release in 2016 of his first album Devil is Fine and see the one-man band transform into a full lineup in 2017. It is an understatement to say that they were particularly awaited and Australia could not be more honored to see Zeal & Ardor year of touring starting here.

The live show took place at the Stay Gold, one of Melbourne’s newest venues situated on Sydney Road in Brunswick. The night started with Suldusk, the dark neo folk project of beautiful Emily Highfield. The chamber metal ensemble delivered an enchanting acoustic set, meshing guitars with the sound of cello and jumbe and Emily’s voice ranging from a soft whisper to a deep harsh voice that would echo in the whole venue, mesmerizing the crowd who quickly and naturally came closer to the stage to enjoy the mystical set.

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Second act of the night was Encircling Sea. I remember this band when I attended Melbournian extreme metal festival Malign Rites back in July of last year. Not being familiar with them I would lie if I said I remembered each song played that day, but what I did remember was the powerful energy emerging from the post-black metal band, keeping you captivated for the whole set. Their set took place this time in a nearly pitch black venue, the small stage being illuminated only by white neon lights strapped on the floor, and only offering drummer Matt Radford a space at the forefront so close to the audience. Although peculiar, this rather intimate set up only increased this captivating energy unique to the band that blew us away all throughout their performance.

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Time is finally here to welcome Zeal & Ardor. The lights shut down, the crowd can’t contain the excitement, cheering up for the band who will progressively make their entrance on Sacrilegium I. They stand still in the dark, all of us on our toes waiting for them to start when they finally launch the set with In Ashes, to then go on for over an hour alternating songs from Devil is Fine and Stranger Fruit. Having only released two albums, where each song doesn’t go past three and a half minutes, in a set of an hour and fifteen,  Zeal & Ardor nearly gave the impression they offered a show of both albums in their entirety – 17 songs out of 25 have been played that night. What a treat! And what a performance. If you think the band is wild on their record, can you imagine for an instant how wild they are on stage? Manuel Gagneux along with vocalists Denis Wagner, Marc Obrist and guitarist Tiziano Volante were possessed by the music, singing and sweating their energy out. They delivered a flawless powerful set, where each song with no exception was sang along by the crowd, with no break in between, even for a bit of talking. Manuel Gagneux had made a point that this is not what they were paid for, implying they were here to give their musical best for us to remember.

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This night will definitely be remembered and we only wish for them to come back, sooner rather than later, and wish them a successful rest of the tour. Please discover each artist’s work at the end of this review!

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Check out Anne-Laure Marie‘s full gallery of the show here

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