ALBUM REVIEW: Monarch - "Never Forever"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full length

Date Released: 22/09/ 2017

Label: Profound Lore Records

Monarch orchestrates layers upon layers of sound that roil gently like a dirty bayou. Bresson's vocals – from plaintive wisps to growls and beyond – make Monarch unlike anything else you hear in doom or drone. Such innovation is why the outfit has cultivated a devoted following throughout their extensive career. Never Forever" gives you a side of Monarch that is rarely seen, and is indicative of a fearless performance. Drone is seldom this accessible, or distinguished.

“Never Forever” CD//DD//LP track listing

1. Of Night, With Knives

2. Song To The Void

3. Cadaverine

4. Diamant Noir

5. Lilith

The Review:

“Sabbracadaver”, the 2014 release by Monarch, was widely hailed for its original sound and vision. This moodiest of doom bands comprised songs that were dissonant yet transcendent. Vocalist Emilie Bresson's bold and rangy performance was among the release's celestial surprises.

Its work of three years back is hardly a flash in the pan, however. The lavish praise Monarch has received from many for their seven previous full lengths, four EPs and other recordings is much deserved. The French ensemble's brand of drone doom is enterprising in a subgenre that can feel like a musician is not trying that hard. In contrast, Monarchorchestrates layers upon layers of sound that roil gently like a dirty bayou. Bresson's vocals – from plaintive wisps to growls and beyond – make Monarch unlike anything else you hear in doom or drone. Such innovation is why the outfit has cultivated a devoted following throughout their extensive career.

"Never Forever" gives you a side of Monarchthat is rarely seen, and is indicative of a fearless performance. Their five-song opus ticks in at around an hour, featuring songs that strike to the very essence of drone while skirting a melodic, albeit despondent, tempo. Drone is seldom this accessible, or distinguished.

"Of Night, With Knives" plunges you into "Never Forever" as a 15-minute journey to the depths. Its two minutes of slow build hurls you into exactly what makes Monarch so great – dread-soaked guitars, downtempo witness-to-the-execution bass and the shrieks, whispers and growls of Breeson commanding it all at once. The beauty of the cut is its many dimensions. A third or fourth listen and you will notice more than the layered background vocals behind the shouts, but also the syncopation of the drums alongside the ups and downs. You catch a variety of other complexities in "Cadaverine," which begins with clinking bottles ala the 1979 film The Warriors and beautiful singing, only to swoop in with a black cloak of sound. Similar to previous selections, this nearly 18-minute centerpiece melds ethereal vocals and an arrangement that harkens images of a funeral, only to unfold into interloping snarls and shuddersome bass. The conflicting energies in the song seem to circle about five minutes in. The sheer heaviness of the encounter makes it feel like a life-and-death experience. Although it would be cruel to mention the apparent victor, it is doom, so you can likely guess.

Beyond this creativity, what makes "Never Forever" such a superlative recording is Beeson's dissimilar microphone attack. The death growl comes as easily as the empyreal coo, as the spoken declaration flows as the gut-wrenching clamor. This convergence is in wicked display on the album's standout track, "Diamant Noir," and the closing, "Lilith." As well, the music itself is devastatingly good. It too is diverse as drone doom can be, with chords feeling as musical as some of the greats. By the time you make it through all 20 minutes of the concluding cut, Monarch's status will only grow richer.

"Never Forever" is available to preorder/buy here

Band info: facebook