Mastered by Orchid’s Will Killingsworth at Dead Air Studios, L’Amour Au Temps De La Peste is the sophomore release of punk veterans, Potence. The screamo / crust hybrid delivered an LP, which is definitely worth writing about. So, scroll down and read what Juliane thinks about it.

“Punk is love” the band says. In times like these - with so many imbalances which remind of times of plague and cholera with all its ugliness - love and punk are essentially important. Just in time before the presidential election these French punks piped their energy into eight songs, giving strength to keep going despite all the Le Pens, Trumps, and so forth. In case of Potence “punk” names the attitude rather than the musical focus. Though French screamo with a thick crust edge might be considered as a special kind of punk. So, who is this band that mastered an admirable debut LP after just one demo in 2015?

Remember Daïtro? Yes, it’s their former singer Aurélien you hear. But the other members Anto, Nico, and Sylvain too aren’t new to the scene. Each of them plays in addition in crust bands like Géraniüm, Human Compost and Black Code. The sound which fuses into Potence makes perfectly sense keeping in mind Géraniüm and Daïtro: screamo-influenced crust. Or vice versa. Even if the band only formed in 2014, you hear the great experience joined together in this Besançon and Strasbourg based band. Three of the four songs on their demo made their way on the LP, including the name giving “L'Amour Au Temps De La Peste”.

Let’s look closer into this record with the medieval inspired cover design. The first song jumps directly in your face with 90s influenced guitar work and serious crust parts getting you headbanging and moshing around before you’ll know it. In the last third the song calms down with a spheric violin sound for a short moment, just to speed away again until the end. That design also works well on the following tracks, giving you a moment to catch your breath now and then before urging you to go wild again. Hard to name a favorite track, maybe number four “Le Discours de ta Méthode” mixing heavy riffing and desperate throat ruining vocals with lots of tempo variation and superb melodies? Not to speak of the fifth and seventh track, both with Converge-worthy uptempo drumming and intense breakdowns. Or “Le Conte du Facisme Ordinaire”, with a just epic build up. Potence got me and the volume can’t be high enough. Sorry neighbors. Or not, they should be heard!

I already had the pleasure to see Potence at Fluff last year, and soon they are touring Europe again so don’t miss out on them and definitely check out this LP, which is available via various labels including Contraszt! Records, Impure Muzik, Music For Liberation, Walking Is Still Honest, Subversive Ways and Dingleberry Records.