‘Devil is Fine’: how a racist 4chan comment led to one of the most perplexing albums of all time
The internet can be an awful place. When Manuel Gagneux, a musician from Sweden, posted on 4chan that he wanted to make a new album where he fused two genres and was open to suggestions, he wasn’t ready to be on the receiving end of a racist comment, but that’s precisely what happened. Internet users came forward with their suggestions, as one requested ‘Black Metal’, and another ignorant user offered up ‘N****r Music’.
Black metal is an extreme version of metal music that Gagneux was already familiar with. It is a very niche genre that takes the fundamentals of metal but provides fast tempos and a shrieking vocal style. It comes from thrash and death metal and is a genre that Gagneux was happy to use for his project.
With the latter racist comment suggesting her use, ‘N****r Music’, rather than ignore it and look for something else, Gagneux opted to call the commenter’s bluff. He took the term to mean Black spiritual music that was sung by slaves. In doing so, he took the term at face value, going back to its origins and incorporating the music that was popular when the racist term was commonplace.
Gagneux came up with the stage name Zeal & Ardor and set to work on making his album Devil Is Fine. The record used both the proposed genres to establish a style and sound and the theme for the album. Gagneux decided to ask the question, “What if American slaves had embraced Satan instead of Jesus?”. And with that, Devil Is Fine was born.
The album is a triumph. Combining up-tempo black metal with rhythmic chanting, it feels like you are part of a soundtrack to be summoned to. The album art is a good representation of what listeners can expect from the record as Gagneux has used an image of Robert Smalls, a slave who freed himself and 17 others by commandeering a Confederate transport ship, with satanic imagery superimposed over the top of it.
This is creativity at its finest as the album, which would be a fantastic concept for a book or a movie, is instead given narrative in music. The execution with which the album is performed is enough to catch the listener’s attention as it is a sound unlike anything made before. Pair that with the story-like theme, and you have an album that is impossible to ignore. The record has received acclaim from music lovers all over the planet; however, it hasn’t been made without controversy.
Some people dislike the album because of the racist sentiment that inspired it, paired with the satanic imagery which is laced throughout. Many others dislike the contortion of black metal as it is a genre with devout fans who are hesitant to change its sound, even if those changes are done with artistic integrity and creative expansion in mind.
Overall, though, with this record, Gagnuex has created a project unlike anything ever made. He took a racist comment and used it to create something truly extraordinary. It was an album worthy of every second of its runtime and something that could easily find a place on the silver screen.
