The black metal, blues, and African-American fusion of Zeal & Ardor's music is the brainchild of musician Manuel Gagneux. He moved from his native Switzerland to New York, and took up the moniker Zeal & Ardor, having previously released music under the name Birdmask. The chamber pop of his Birdmask recordings is a far cry from the darker, heavier music he created for his Zeal & Ardor debut Devil Is Fine. He released the record in 2016, and Gagneux claims the project was kickstarted by a thread on a music board on the website 4Chan, on which he posted anonymously.