Zeal and Ardor in Rockefeller, Oslo, today. You listen to their different songs and it is a different band every time. How can you miss that? You can’t.

Konvent was a familiar name, they have played in Oslo quite recently. Backdrop shows a logo and two heads that look exactly like Heilung’s Maria Franz. The guitar sounds very sludgy, but it is when the vocals start, my jaw drops. Fantastic growls!! If I was asked a definition of a fat sound - Konvent would it be, - this is exactly the case. A very well-played doom metal with fascinating tempo changes.

One of the songs has a bass intro - it sounds very fuzzy - resembling Nuclear Death by sound (but better). Higher scream vocals (that are not really that high - just a tad higher than the main extra low growls) are phenomenal as well. Doom festivals - watch out for these danes, - book them!

Meanwhile, Konvent are coming to Norway right away - just a month after this gig - for two dates - and then go to the Misery Index tour support. Should I have a bet on them having headlining tours soon after?

Zeal and Ardor is a band and many bands in one. Very good sound with massive, groovy bass, yet they have no bassist onstage. Manuel Gagneux fronting with guitar and two microphones (one for harsh, one for clean vocals), Tiziano Volante on another guitar, Denis Wagner and Marc Obrist on extra vocals and Marco Von Allmen on drums. Interestingly, it is two microphones for Manuel, but a very minimalistic pedal setting in the front - I see just a couple of pedals and something that looks like a DI box.

Not only do I love how the vocals play together, but also Manuel plays quite uneasy things on guitar while singing at the same time - making it look simple.

Wikipedia’s “avant-garde” does not describe Zeal and Ardor. It is hip-hop, (metal) country, hardcore, dubstep, folk, acapello, nu metal, black metal parts, other blends of electronics, pop with Adele vibes… and this is not even a full list of how insanely diverse it is. But what is most surprising is how well it all fits together! There are bands playing eclectic music that gets boring by blending too many genres - instead of entertaining, - but for Zeal and Ardor nothing is too much - it is a mix that makes me want to see what happens next.

Ratata, Wake of a Nation, Götterdämmerung, Ship on Fire, Erase, Grave Digger’s Chant, Fend You Off, Kilonova, Blood in the River, Run, Tuskegee, Row Row, To My Ilk, Sugarcoat, Death To The Holy, Devil is Fine, then Une Ville Vide intermezzo, then Trust No One, At The Seams, Don’t You Dare, I Caught You and finally Clawing Out.

It is a lot of songs and the best ones (to my taste) come closer to the mid-set, - it literally gets better and better. This sequence is also different from the previous gig in Denmark, - which is also impressive.

This is brilliant! A must-see act. As I have stated above, it seems like these guys do love all kinds of music and you need to check them! I personally liked it more than on the recordings - it feels much more natural in the live setting, so if you haven’t gotten into them, but they are around - go see them. I definitely will, and I hope that next time they also have a live bassist.