Black metal and blues, surely such an odd pairing shouldn't work. It almost doesn't, it's downright bizarre, but something about it just keeps me coming back. 

Zeal & Ardor kind of started off as a joke. When Manuel Gagneux asked 4chan which genres he should blend, they said black metal and...ahem...n-word music. 

Mixing black metal and American slave chants, Gagneux came up with one of the most unique releases of the year (technically last year, but it was re-released in 2017). There are some weird transition tracks, and it's only 25 minutes long, but he's onto something here. 

The black metal influence in the music is not that prominent, and what's there are pieces from the hipster black metal movement of late. Lyrically, the anti-Christian aspects of black metal are well represented (i.e. Devil is Fine). It's quite brilliant the way he takes spiritual chants, and flips the script lyrically.

I look forward to what he'll do next over the next few album cycles.