Zeal & Ardor isn’t just a band; it’s a living and breathing entity. Like any other sentient being, it consumes, evolves, and transforms from one season to the next. It has only sharpened its claws, lengthened its teeth, and steeled its nerves over the years, growing more undeniable and unpredictable in the process.
After delivering the gentle, harmonious new song “To My Ilk” on the announcement of their astonishing, forthcoming new album “Greif” last month, today the Swiss iconoclasts delight in flipping the table over-delivering snarling, staccato new single “Clawing out.”
Ringleader Manuel Gagneux proclaims, “We like to surprise people. So, of course, after releasing our softest song to date with ‘To My Ilk,’ we want to create some whiplash with ‘Clawing Out!’ Not satisfied with a mere heavy riffed song, we elected to borrow some elements from other musical styles to further the impact. Revel with us in righteous violence — justificatum malum factum.”
Watch a visualizer for the track below.
This week, Zeal & Ardor were also honored to win a coveted, prestigious Swiss Music Prize, the highest national recognition in the field of music in Switzerland, at the award’s 11th edition. Designed to reward outstanding and innovative Swiss musical creations and bring it into the limelight, candidates are selected from all regions of Switzerland across all musical disciplines.
Manuel divulges, “It’s rare that we get a prize that holds such esteem as this one does. Not just due to it being a national one, but because of the staggeringly talented alumni we have the privilege of calling our peers. It feels immensely validating and flattering. Sincerely: Thank you.”
