Zeal & Ardor Create Unforgettable Experience at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire [Photos]

Since releasing their debut album, Devil Is Fine, in 2016, avant-garde black metal outfit Zeal & Ardor have gone from strength to strength. Bringing black metal to a wider audience, Zeal & Ardor main man Manuel Gagneux has created a band who, for the last eight years, has consistently pushed the boundaries of their sound winning plaudits across both the industry and the music-buying public.

Many of those fans are packed into Shepherds Bush Empire as the band arrives in London to support their critically acclaimed August-released new album, Greif. Forming most of their twenty-song set, along with material from its self-titled predecessor, Zeal & Ardor lead with the album opener “The Bird, The Lion and The Wildkin,” a track which sets the mood for the rest of the evening. “Götterdämmerung” demonstrates the more aggressive side of Zeal & Ardor’s personality, while recent single “Kilonova” shows off their more experimental side.

The perfect environment to display the depth of their sound, experiencing Zeal & Ardor in the live arena takes their music to a different level. From jazz to black metal to folk, Gagnuex has masterfully crafted a sound that taps into so many different moods, and emotions, so much so that you come away from an experience like this one, with an almost new view point on the band.

Wrapping up the night with “I Caught You” and “Clawing Out,” Zeal & Ardor have crafted a setlist which effortlessly demonstrates the depth and variety of their sound. Gagneux also showed why, despite being almost impossible to pigeonhole, Zeal & Ardor are capturing the hearts and minds of anyone who crosses their path.

Joining the masses at Shepherds Bush Empire, our photographer, Lorna Leahy, brought back this awesome gallery of images.

Zeal & Ardour Set List:

The Bird, The Lion And The Wildkin
Wake Of A Nation
Götterdämmerung
Ship On Fire
Erase
Gravedigger’s Chant
Tuskegee
Blood In The River
Kilonova
Run
Golden Liar
Sugarcoat
Death To The Holy
To My Ilk
Feed The Machine
Devil Is Fine
Trust No One
Built On Ashes
I Caught You
Clawing Out

Zeal & Ardor (w/ Zetra) @ Shepherds Bush Empire (London, UK) on September 22nd, 2024

35 photos