Zeal & Ardor debut rage-fuelled new track Götterdämmerung

Zeal & Ardor
(Image credit: Katja Ogrin / Getty)

Zeal & Ardor have released a new track, Götterdämmerung – the fourth to be taken from their forthcoming self-titled album, due next year.

The band are renowned for their blend of black metal and black American spirituals and folk music and Götterdämmerung leans heavily on the, well, heavy end of that spectrum. 

Götterdämmerung is our most bare bones song yet,” says frontman and founder Manuel Gagneux. “No gimmicks, no frills, no distractions, just rage. Most of it is in German commanding your attention and heralding the dawn of a new point of view. This is Götterdämmerung.”

We’re a bit rusty on our Satanic German verse, but the phrase “Götter dämme” roughly translates as 'damn gods' (or maybe goddamn). The song certainly sounds biblical – or lacking thereof – in its post-apocalyptic riffing and black metal vocal incantation.

Götterdämmerung follows on the heels of the record’s three previous singles Run, Erase and Bow, but feels like the most punishing and exciting offering thus far.

We’re also starting to detect more of a progressive or tech-metal influence in the tight rhythmic guitars forming the backbone of all of these tracks, but most obviously on Götterdämmerung.

The album arrives in February, but in the meantime, you can catch Zeal & Ardor playing support on Mastodon and Opeth‘s joint headline tour next month.

Zeal & Ardor’s self-titled album is released on February 11, 2022. Pre-order Zeal & Ardor here.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**

Join now for unlimited access

US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year

UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year 

Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Prices from £2.99/$3.99/€3.49

Matt Parker

Matt is a staff writer for GuitarWorld.com. Before that he spent 10 years as a freelance music journalist, interviewing artists for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.