Written By Caine Blackthorn
Black metal meets electronic horror as Zeal & Ardor revisit the song that started it all, with Carpenter Brut turning their breakthrough anthem into something entirely different.
Ten years after “Devil Is Fine” introduced the world to Manuel Gagneux’s uncompromising musical vision, the song has been dragged into another dimension.
The Zeal & Ardor Carpenter Brut remix of “Devil Is Fine” arrived October 9 through MVKA, accompanied by an official visualizer. The collaboration brings together two artists who have built their reputations by refusing to stay within the boundaries of conventional genre labels.
For Zeal & Ardor, it’s a return to the song that helped establish their identity. For Carpenter Brut, it’s an opportunity to dismantle an already unconventional composition and rebuild it through the lens of dark electronic music.
Zeal & Ardor Carpenter Brut Remix Reimagines a Breakthrough Anthem
When “Devil Is Fine” first appeared in 2016, it introduced an approach that was difficult to categorize.
Gagneux combined the aggression and atmosphere of black metal with the musical traditions of African American spirituals, blues, and work songs. The result was provocative, historically conscious, and unlike much of what surrounded it in heavy music.
Rather than treating those influences as decorative elements, Zeal & Ardor made their collision fundamental to the project’s identity.
Now, Carpenter Brut has taken that same composition into a different musical landscape.
Known for his horror-inspired synthesizers, electronic rhythms, and cinematic intensity, the French producer brings another set of influences to a song that was already built on musical contrasts.
The remix transforms the original through driving electronic beats and synthesizer textures while retaining its recognizable vocal identity.
It’s a fitting collaboration between artists whose music rarely respects genre boundaries.
Manuel Gagneux and Carpenter Brut Discuss the Collaboration
Gagneux has expressed particular enthusiasm for the reinterpretation, even suggesting that it could surpass the original.
The Zeal & Ardor frontman praised Carpenter Brut’s abilities and embraced the possibility of hearing his own composition transformed by another artist.
Carpenter Brut, meanwhile, described the challenge as bringing “Devil Is Fine” into his own sonic world without abandoning the spirit of the original.
That balance is what makes the collaboration interesting. The two artists approach darkness from very different musical traditions, yet both understand how atmosphere, tension, and rhythm can shape a composition.
Devil Is Fine X Celebrates Ten Years of Zeal & Ardor
The remix follows the release of Devil Is Fine X, a remastered reissue of Zeal & Ardor’s 2016 debut.
The anniversary edition includes five previously unreleased bonus tracks, revisiting the material that established Gagneux as one of heavy music’s more distinctive creative voices.
Zeal & Ardor’s most recent studio album, GREIF, arrived in 2024 and continued the project’s evolution beyond its original black-metal framework.
The band also recently headlined Switzerland’s Up In Smoke festival, maintaining its presence on the live circuit while revisiting the origins of its recorded catalog.
Carpenter Brut Continues His Leather Trilogy Legacy
Carpenter Brut has also been busy with his own musical universe.
His album Leather Temple, released through No Quarter Prod/Virgin Records, concludes the Leather trilogy, a series defined by retro-futuristic electronic production, horror aesthetics, and relentless rhythmic intensity.
With international performances continuing throughout 2026, the producer’s collaboration with Zeal & Ardor adds another unusual entry to a catalog that has consistently crossed between electronic and heavy music audiences.
Watch Zeal & Ardor’s “Devil Is Fine x Carpenter Brut”
A decade after its original release, “Devil Is Fine” remains a composition capable of accommodating radically different interpretations.
The new remix is more than an anniversary exercise. It demonstrates how material rooted in one particular musical vision can find another life when handed to someone with an equally distinctive creative identity.
Zeal & Ardor and Carpenter Brut have approached the same darkness from different directions. This time, their paths intersect.
Watch the official “Devil Is Fine x Carpenter Brut” visualizer below.
Lineup
Manuel Gagneux – vocals, and guitar
Tiziano Volante – Guitar
Marc Obrist – Vocals
Denis Wagner – Vocals
Lukas Kurmann – Bass
Marco Von Allmen – Drums
About The Author
Caine Blackthorn writes music news, trending topics, commentary, and feature pieces for Metal Lair with a focus on the shifting culture surrounding rock and heavy metal. From rising ticket prices and touring collapse to legacy artists, industry absurdity, and the changing soul of live music, his work blends sharp observation with the grit, humor, and frustration of the scene itself. Whether covering modern chaos or metal history, Caine approaches heavy music as something lived through, not simply reported on.
Read More From This Author:
METAL LEGACY PROFILES: CLIFF BURTON
The New Wave of Metalheads: How Gen Z Fell in Love With Heavy Metal
EVERY BAND IS NOW A CONTENT CREATOR
Digital DNA or Artificial Sacrilege? The Battle Over Ozzy’s Immortal Avatar
HAVE A METALHEAD COMPLAINT?
“People roundhouse-kicking” in the pit grinding your gears?
Gatekeepers questioning whether you’re “metal enough”?
Frustrated with getting hit in the head by peoples smelly shoes at a concert?
Whatever’s poisoning your particular corner of the metal community, file an unofficial complaint with The Metal Lair Complaint Department.
Vent your venom. Name the offense. Make your case.
Your complaint could be featured in next week’s issue of The Metal Lair Complaint Department.
No algorithms. No fluff. No watered-down corporate metal coverage.
Subscribe to Metal Lair and get weekly underground features, Seven Deadly Songs, Deep Cuts, interviews, and original metal journalism sent directly to your inbox.
Join the patrons of Metal Lair
MetalLair.net is a metal zine muttering to itself about seo and blastbeats at 3 AM powered by caffeine, riffs, a severe lack of sleep, and a dog wondering why the human is still awake.
Sometimes it’s Kevin passing out mid Seven Deadly Songs.
Sometimes it’s digging up forgotten records no one else is talking about.
Always, it’s built for people who actually live this music.
If that sounds like you, you’re already one of us.
Supporting Metal Lair means keeping it independent, loud, and real with no corporate filters, no watered-down takes. If you want to help keep it alive…
Become a patron of Metal Lair.