Live Review: Zeal & Ardor, Lake Malice | KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton | 12/11/2022
Taking over Wolverhampton's relatively new, but already well-regarded, KK's Steel Mill is an eclectic mix of trap, electronic, metal and gospel music in what's sure to be a night to remember.
Lake Malice
They may not have been offered the tour in the best of circumstances (original supports Heriot were forced to withdraw from the final dates due to illness), but Brighton’s Lake Malice are determined to put on the best show they can on such short notice. While the initial mix leaves something to be desired with quiet vocals and occasionally quiet guitar, the band themselves deliver in spades. Though they may only have a few songs released so far and this is their biggest show to date, there’s no hint of nervousness from the quartet onstage, even if they do admit to it. Guitarist Blake Cornwall bounds around the stage clearly having the time of his life while vocalist Alice Guala offers a fearsome array of snarls, screams and soaring cleans. Tearing through a short but intense set from opener Magic Square to the closing Blossom, as well as playing soon-to-be released single Black Turbine, they make an extremely compelling case as ones to watch with their bold, trap-meets-metal-meets-core take on the genre.
Score: 8/10
Zeal & Ardor
They might be down two members but Zeal & Ardor are nothing short of showstopping regardless. Opener Church Burns threatens to engulf the packed crowd before Götterdämmerung goes off with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer with its charging riffs and vitriolic screams. In stark contrast to the intensity of their music, frontman and band mastermind Manuel Gagneux is disarmingly affable. Though infreuquent, his between song patter is always cheery and more than a little self-deprecating (“I don’t talk much because after a little bit, it gets really dumb,” he drily remarks at one point).
During songs though, he’s a force to be reckoned with. From gospel chants or melodies to harrowing black metal shrieks, he’s a striking presence, as is their bassist who makes full use of the wide stage, often facing off Gagneux or their second guitarist. The crowd adore it all; cheering, clapping, opening pits and even the odd person riding on shoulders, they’re all having the time of their lives. Midway through, Gagneux announces they’ve been recording the show, but there’s a twist; the recording can be bought as something of an official bootleg for 24 hours, but after that it’s gone for good. As ideas go it’s a fascinating one, allowing buyers to have a unique piece of concert history for themselves that’s only available to attendees.
All good things must come to an end, though Gagneux does it in typically wry fashion. After a sublime Devil Is Fine, he simply asks the crowd if they can skip the usual band walking off and back on again for the encore; the crowd enthusiastically assent and are treated to three more songs. It culminates in the still-unrelased traditional closer Baphomet with its tongue in cheek “Big man D got horns to show, wings so black I don’t see them anymore” and the band signing off with a “hail Satan!” before taking a well-deserved bow. Zeal & Ardor seem to be simply incapable of a bad show and tonight is absolutely no different – a raucous, celebratory and blasphemous evening well spent.
Score: 10/10