Au Champ des Morts – Dans La Joie (2017)

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Delivering one the of most brutal and yet melancholic releases of the last few years, today we have French newcomers Au Champ des Morts and their demoralizing debut release “Dans la Joie”. Featuring seven tracks of brilliant Black Metal, the band blends influences from outfits like Anorexia Nervosa, Shade Empire, etc. with some Post-Black Metal sprinkles thrown into the mix. If you are only going to buy one album this month, better make sure it is this one.

The mournful explosiveness of “Nos Decombres” perfectly sets the mood for this release. Mixing highly melancholic riffs with gut-wrenching vocals, this album opens with a killer bang. This opening track is loaded with raw emotions nearing its end, making it quite the experience… and it is only the first six minutes. Keeping things melodic and yet highly dissonant, the oppressive riffing of “Apres Le Carnage” brilliantly continues the album’s ravaging pace.

With Stéphane Bayle as one of the founding members of the band and handling vocals and guitars, we can see where the band’s Anorexia Nervosa’s influences come. However, this band is a whole other monster, keeping things super creepy and highly atmospheric as the punishing “Le Sang, La Mort, La Chute” clearly showcases. Things turn to Post-Black Metal with the dreamy “Contempler l'abîme” and “Dans La Joie”, both tracks deliver relentless brutality in terms of intense riffing, vocals and superbly tight drums while featuring some very mellow interludes while containing the band’s musical essence.

 Things continue to get weird with the trippy “L'Étoile du matin” and its spooky clean vocals perfectly paired with crushing guitar leads. As the album closes with the atmospheric piece “La Fin Du Monde” we can’t help but wonder how much better this band can get in the future. Filled with intensity and yet very melodic, “Dans La Joie” is one hell of a release that reminds us that not all Black Metal must sound the same and that there is still plenty under the sun to discover.

Band: Au Champ des Morts Album: Dans La Joie

Label: Debemur Morti Productions

Release: January 27th, 2017

Official Site Social Media

Genre: Black Metal

Country: France

Rating: 95/100
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