Au Champs De Morts (French for : In The Field Of The Dead") is one of the single best up and coming black metal bands I've listened to in years. Dans La Joie (In Joy) is a logical follow up on the bands stunning debut, 2014's Le Jour Se Leve (The Day Rises). The compositions have a unique sense of black metal brilliance and hint at the bold future of a band who have the potential to rapidly expand the sonic possibilities of a genre. Dans La Joie is an album that forces you to sit down and really sink about the power of the genre and the breadth of the work can't help but to captivate the listener. These are songs that craft potent melodies and hint at bold futures, they grow on you and encourage repeat listens but also pummel forward with an old school rage that you can't help but to admire. Au Champs De Morts represent a beautiful fusion of old and new, never getting lost in pretentious bullshit and always keeping it as fierce as possible.
That being said, don't think that Au Champs De Morts aren't afraid to get lost in the magic of the genre and create some of the most ethereal musical moments in French black metal history. One need look no further than the intro of a track like 'Le Sang, La Mort, La Chute' (loosely translated: Blood, Death, The Fall) to see the influence of frontman Stephane Bayle's previous band, the quasi-legendary Anorexia Nervosa. The mix between almost tortured sounding cleans that sometimes come out feeling shouted and harsh growls creates a sort of antediluvian aura which adds to the sheer transcendence of the mix. This entire thing seems strangely rooted in the works of bands like Bathory or even Darkthrone. The band is wholly aware of their own epic leanings but they are also fond of diving into the more punk rock sides of things and driving the nails in, one bloody step at a time.
With beautiful production and nigh on perfect constructions it's hard to find real faults in Dans La Joie. What I will say though is that I feel like the band at times has missed opportunities to make strong songs truly great, beyond that at times it feels like Au Champs De Morts are still unsure of what they want to do. The balance between more ferocious forms of black metal and trippy clean parts if not quite worked out and at times the sectional nature of the music can feel a little bit clunky. That being said, this is an album that is a significant cut above literally everything else out there right now and it's hard to not want to invest as much time as possible into it. From the ashes of countless great bands Au Champs De Morts has proudly risen and given us tracks that we can find meaning in, tracks that elevate the entire genre and encourage us to keep pushing that envelope, because even within the darkness there is light.
Score: 8.5/10
