ZEAL & ARDOR never fail to pull from interesting and unusual sources, and ‘greif’ is no different.
Words: Linsey Teggert.
As a child, Manuel Gagneux would gather with the other inhabitants of his hometown of Basel, Switzerland, to marvel at The Vogel Gryff parade. This annual folk tradition has its origins in the Middle Ages and features the main characters of the Vogel Gryff (griffin), Wild Maa (the Green Man or Wild Man) and Leu (Lion) dancing, floating down the Rhine, and partaking in cheeky antics that are meant to represent 'sticking it to the man'.
"It's this hundreds of years old tradition representing when workers' unions united their weapon inspection day, and that weapon inspection day is essentially what's happening," explains Manuel. "You have this costumed person on a raft on the river while canons are fired, and he joins the griffin (the greif) in the 'poor' part of the city, where they proceed to show their backsides to the 'rich' part of the city and do silly dances. It's basically class warfare when you think about it, just presented in a charming way."
It's a wonderfully weird tradition that is unique to the Zeal & Ardor frontman's birthplace, and it represents the band's fourth full-length 'GREIF' on many levels, largely signifying a step towards the personal for a band that has tended to lean into a sense of dark mystique, with Manuel solely steering the project he founded. 'GREIF' marks a new chapter in Zeal & Ardor's constantly evolving journey, with Manuel inviting his touring bandmates into the fold, welcoming them into the studio and making them fully-fledged members of Zeal & Ardor, essentially democratising the band.
"We all saw The Vogel Gryff as kids, so this is something that ties us all together from our childhood, a small common denominator of us all. The griffin is a hybrid creature, part lion, part snake, and part bird. It's an amalgam of more than one animal, and seeing how we all played on this record, it's kind of like us being an amalgam and a griffin of sorts."
"There's nothing more personal than something you've experienced in your childhood"
Manuel lights up when talking about his band mates like an excited child, describing Tiziano Volante (guitar), Marc Obrist (vocals), Denis Wagner (vocals), Lukas Kurmann (bass), and Marco Von Allmen (drums) as "excellent people" who he gets "giddy" about going on tour with.
"To me, Zeal & Ardor is at its best when we play live, and that is due to those guys playing their instruments and giving their energy to it, so I figured it was a no-brainer to have them on the record. They're in on the bigger decisions, and everyone knows what's going to happen a little more in advance. These people have given eight years of their lives to my silly idea, and I think that merits some valuation and appreciation."
Much like the characters of The Vogel Gryff parade, Manuel's decision to solidify the band into a fully fleshed-out beast is his way of 'sticking it to the man.' "The others still have day jobs because as 'the writer', I get all the royalties," Manuel admits. "That's about to change with this record. I'd like us all to be able to do this silly screamy thing professionally.
