Wikipedia

Devil Is Fine

Devil Is Fine is the debut studio album by Swiss avant-garde metal musician Manuel Gagneux, under his alias Zeal & Ardor. Initially released independently in April 2016, it was re-released by MVKA records on March 27, 2017. The album received critical acclaim, and was included on many publications' year-end best of lists.

Devil Is Fine
Studio album by
Zeal & Ardor
ReleasedApril 15, 2016 (2016-04-15) (Original)[1][2]
February 24, 2017 (2017-02-24) (re-release)[3]
Genre
Length24:37
LabelSelf-released (original)
MVKA, Reflections Records (2017)
ProducerManuel Gagneux
Zeal & Ardor chronology
Devil Is Fine
(2016) 		Stranger Fruit
(2018)
Singles from Devil Is Fine
  1. "Devil Is Fine"
    Released: November 17, 2016[6]
  2. "Come On Down"
    Released: January 16, 2017[7]

Background

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Gagneux started Zeal & Ardor in response to two messages left to him on 4chan by two different users. One of these users suggested that he fuse "black metal", while another suggested "nigger music"; in response, he started Zeal & Ardor, which features elements of both black metal and African-American spirituals.[8][4] Gagneux later stated the band came from the question of "what if American slaves had embraced Satan instead of Jesus?".[9] The album is a follow-up to Zeal & Ardor's 2014 self-released demo album Zeal and Ardor.

Devil Is Fine was first released on Bandcamp in 2016 and re-released by MVKA on February 24, 2017.[10][11] Gagneux wrote and recorded the album himself.[12] Gagneux was also inspired by Gestalt theoretical psychotherapy.[13] Gagneux used a loud and clipping sound level to get a Lo-Fi retro quality to the recording.[14]

Gagneux recorded the album on his laptop, using "a simple microphone".[15] He plays all the instruments, and programmed the drums.[15] "I only used bad equipment, but that was also an advantage" he said of the lo-fi recording methods.[15]

A limited edition vinyl box set was released, featuring the album, stickers, a T-shirt, a pendant, pins and a poster, packaged in a wooden box.[16][17] Limited white vinyl editions were also available. Both releases were handled through Reflections Records.

The song "Devil Is Fine" was used in a trailer for the second season of WGN's Underground,[18] as well as in the first gameplay trailer for Tom Clancy's The Division 2.[19]

Album art

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The album art, designed by Gagneux and Noé Herrmann, features a photograph of Robert Smalls, a slave who freed himself and 17 other slaves during the American Civil War by commandeering a Confederate transport ship.[20] Superimposed over the image of Smalls is The Sigil of Lucifer, sometimes referred to as the Seal of Satan.[21]

Gagneux described his reason behind the cover in a 2018 interview,

There's the embracing of the self and the ego, and being at peace with the fact that you have needs and wants, and the pursuit of those to a degree where you get as close to fulfilling yourself without stepping on other people's toes... That's why I chose Robert Smalls for the cover of the first album. He was very determined about what he wanted – freed himself, freed others, stole a ship, became a politician. It's pretty extreme.[22]

Song information

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Manuel Gagneux composed and performed the album in its entirety.

"Devil Is Fine" features the lyrics "little one gotta heed my warning, devil is fine" and features the sound of clanking chains.[5] The vocals are similar to the Delta blues style.[23] "In Ashes" is described as "(blending) righteous hollering with blastbeats".[4] "Come On Down" features tremolo guitar playing, and is described as having folk and gospel influences merged with black metal.[4][5] "Children's Summon" features a refrain referencing the previous track,[24] and lyrics about "going home to the flames".[4]

"Blood in the River" features layered vocals and a lo-fi sound to emulate slaves singing.[5] It features lyrics including "A good god is a dark one, a good god is the one that brings the fire."[5] "What is a Killer Like You Gonna Do Here?" is described as having a "jazzy, vamping beat."[4] It features lyrics that "both threatens and questions violence" and a slap bass sound.[24]

The three "Sacrilegium" tracks on the album serve as interludes. "Sacrilegium I" is an electronic and drum and bass influenced track,[5] "Sacrilegium II" and "Sacrilegium III" feature the sound of a music box and xylophone alongside synthesizers.[5][24][23]

Critical reception and commercial performance

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Already Heard     [27]
Invicta Magazine3/10[29]
It Djents6/10[30]
Louder Sound     [26]
Metal Storm9.5/10[25]
New Noise magazine     [31]
The Soundboard4/10[28]
Spin7/10[8]
Stormbringer     [32]
Uncivil Revolt9/10[23]

At release, Devil Is Fine received mostly positive reviews. Later on it received more critical acclaim, being placed on several publication's best of lists at the end of the year. Noisey ranked the album 6th on their top 100 albums of 2016 list.[33] Metal Insider ranked the album 6th on their top 10 metal albums of 2016.[34] Loudwire placed the album 6th on its ranking on the 25 best Metal Albums of 2017.[35] Metal Hammer placed the album 5th on their top 100 albums of 2017 list.[36]

Rolling Stone listed it as one of the best metal records (so far) of 2017 in a June review, stating "Arguably, nothing released this year is as strange, inscrutable or wonderful than Devil is Fine... Gagneux folds field recordings and soul samples, obsidian guitars and music box melodies, blastbeats and legitimate bass drops into a wild-eyed chimera. It is admittedly imperfect and unreasonable, with the genres sometimes spliced so haphazardly that the stitches show. It suggests, though, a dream world of infinite possibilities."[37] Unwinnable named the album their metal album of the year in 2017.[38]

In 2022, Metal Hammer described the album, stating “we’d heard nothing like it: centuries-old slave chants blasphemed by black metal tremolo, bubbling electronica, dusty blues, Gothenburg melodies, and baroque Nick Cave-iness.”[39]

Before being re-released on a label, the album sold over 1000 copies on Bandcamp by the end of 2016.[5]

The album charted #17 on the Swiss Hitparade charts.[40]

Accolades

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Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Noisey Top 100 Albums of 2016
6
[33]
Metal Insider Top 10 Metal Albums of 2016
6
[34]
Loudwire Top 25 Metal Albums of 2017
6
[35]
Metal Hammer Top 100 Albums of 2017
5
[36]
Unwinnable Best Metal Albums of 2017
1
[38]
Metal Assault The Best Metal Albums of 2017
19
[41]
Treble Zine Top 66.6 Metal Albums of the Millennium
66.6
[42]
Spin 25 Best Metal Songs of 2017: "Come On Down"
20
[43]
CVLT Nation Albums of the Year 2016
10
[44]
WSOU Radio Top 15 Metal Albums of 2017
15
[45]
Kerrang! Saw Law's top 10 Albums of 2017
1
[46]
FreqsTV Top 10 Albums of 2017
5
[47]
The Haystack Top 50 Metal Albums of 2017
6
[48]
Medium Nick Heisenberg's Favorite albums of 2017
2
[49]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Manuel Gagneux

Devil Is Fine
No.TitleLength
1."Devil Is Fine"3:13
2."In Ashes"2:39
3."Sacreligium I"2:00
4."Come on Down"3:20
5."Children's Summon"3:09
6."Sacrilegium II"2:21
7."Blood in the River"3:33
8."What Is a Killer Like You Gonna Do Here?"2:15
9."Sacrilegium III"2:44
Total length:24:37

Personnel

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Zeal & Ardor
Production
  • Noé Herrmann - art design

Chart performance

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Chart (2017) Peak
position
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[40] 17

References

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  1. ^ "Zeal & Ardor". www.facebook.com.
  2. ^ Coughlan, Jamie (June 4, 2016). "Zeal And Ardor Interview: "I Kinda Yell Satanic Stuff In A Gospel Voice". Overblown.co.uk.
  3. ^ "Listen to Zeal & Ardor's 'Devil Is Fine' Album: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Kelly, Kim (7 July 2016). "The Real Story Behind the Spiritual Black Metal Blues of Zeal & Ardor's 'Devil Is Fine'". Noisey. Vice. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Zeal and Ardor - Devil is Fine [Things You Might Have Missed 2016] - Angry Metal Guy". 23 December 2016.
  6. ^ "Devil is Fine, by Zeal and Ardor". Zeal and Ardor. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Come on Down, by Zeal and Ardor". Zeal and Ardor. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  8. ^ a b Joyce, Colin (29 July 2016). "SPIN Metal Report: Vektor Deliver Neo-Thrash's Masterpiece and Inter Arma Explore Outer Space". Spin. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  9. ^ Bennet, J. (August 31, 2017). "Slavery and Satanism: Inside Zeal & Ardor's Controversial Take on Black Metal". Revolver.
  10. ^ Hartmann, Graham (14 January 2017). "Zeal & Ardor's Satanic Black Metal + African Slave Music Could Be the Next Big Thing". Loudwire. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  11. ^ Titus, Christa (17 February 2017). "Listen to Zeal & Ardor's 'Devil Is Fine' Album: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  12. ^ Morton, Luke (2 February 2017). "Zeal & Ardor are channelling black metal and the American slave trade". Teamrock. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  13. ^ Friedman, Ph.D, Michael (April 18, 2017). "The Gestalt of Zeal and Ardor". Psychology Today.
  14. ^ "Zeal & Ardor – Devil is Fine (Album Review)". Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  15. ^ a b c ""New York forced me to be original" - SUISAblog.ch". 28 February 2017. Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  16. ^ "Zeal And Ardor: Devil Is Fine LP (Box set)". 19 October 2016. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  17. ^ "Reflections Records on Twitter".
  18. ^ UndergroundWGN (3 March 2017). "WGN America's Underground "The Devil is Fine"" – via YouTube.
  19. ^ "Zeal & Ardor Song Used In Trailer For 'The Division 2' Video Game - Theprp.com". 11 June 2018.
  20. ^ "Zeal and Ardor: Slave Songs in Black Metal – Dining with Dana". diningwithdana.net.
  21. ^ Dedman, Remfry (February 20, 2017). "Zeal & Ardor – Devil is Fine: Album Stream". The Independent.
  22. ^ Hann, Michael (22 May 2018). "Zeal and Ardor: meet the black metal bluesman who brands his fans". the Guardian.
  23. ^ a b c "Album Review: Zeal & Ardor, Devil Is Fine ~ Uncivil Revolt". 7 September 2017. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  24. ^ a b c "Zeal & Ardor - Devil is Fine". 30 January 2017.
  25. ^ "Zeal & Ardor - Devil Is Fine review - Metal Storm". www.metalstorm.net. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  26. ^ "Zeal & Ardor - Devil Is Fine album review". 24 February 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  27. ^ "Review: Zeal and Ardor - Devil is Fine - Already Heard". 10 February 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  28. ^ "ALBUM REVIEW: 'Devil Is Fine' by Zeal & Ardor". 23 February 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  29. ^ "REVIEW: Zeal & Ardor – Devil Is Fine (Album) - Invicta Magazine". invictamag.com. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  30. ^ "REVIEWS: Zeal & Ardor -"Devil is Fine" - It Djents". www.itdjents.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  31. ^ "Album Review: Zeal and Arbor - Devil is Fine - New Noise Magazine". 14 August 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  32. ^ Hoffmann, Daria (February 26, 2017). "ZEAL & ARDOR - Devil Is Fine" (in German).
  33. ^ a b "The 100 Best Albums of 2016". 7 December 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  34. ^ a b "Metal Insider editor Bram Teitelman's Top 10 of 2016Metal Insider". 15 December 2016.
  35. ^ a b "25 Best Metal Albums of 2017". Loudwire. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  36. ^ a b "Metal Hammer's 100 best albums of 2017". 15 December 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  37. ^ "Best Metal Records of 2016 So Far". Rolling Stone. 27 June 2016.
  38. ^ a b "The Best Metal Albums of 2017 - Unwinnable". unwinnable.com.
  39. ^ selftitled
  40. ^ a b "Swisscharts.com – Zeal & Ardor – Devil Is Fine". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  41. ^ "Best Albums Of 2017". 11 December 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  42. ^ "The Top 66.6 Metal Albums of the Millennium". www.treblezine.com. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  43. ^ "The 25 Best Metal Songs of 2017". 11 December 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  44. ^ "CVLT Nation's Albums of the Year for 2016 -". 22 December 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  45. ^ "The WSOU Staff's Top Fifteen Metal Albums of 2017 - MetalSucks". 11 December 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  46. ^ "The Kerrang! Staff's Top 10 Albums Of 2017 — Kerrang!". Kerrang!. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  47. ^ "Randy's Top 10 Albums for 2017 - It's About to Get a Little Prog in Here - FreqsTV". 31 December 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  48. ^ "Top 50 Metal Albums Of 2017". Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  49. ^ Farruggia, Nick (30 December 2017). "Favorite albums of 2017".
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