Review Summary: Drone metal infused with a haunting French beauty
Lonesomely walking slowly down an empty boulevard during a downpour of rain feeling dejected and directionless, knowing there is nothing left to lose. Creeping through an abandoned house during the night and quivering at every rustle, every knock and every creak. Enlightened and wholesome, like everything is going to be alright and you’re in a safe place. Nothing. Everything…
Such are the images that Monarch! (referred to as Monarch here on out) illustrate over their eighth album,
“Never Forever”, through their singular style of ritualistic drone metal. Over 67 minutes, the French quintet guides their audience on a bleak journey through an array of dense distortion, ethereal atmospheres and despondent melodies that wrap you in a cold embrace more coherently than any of Monarch’s albums have done to date. Indeed, drone metal is not for the faint-hearted, and
“Never Forever” is still a challenging listen to the untrained senses, however, what Monarch have accomplished is creating a dynamic drone album that maintains interest by tentatively dipping into other genres. This album does not feel like an endurance test. Instead, it sets out to do exactly what it intends and doesn’t linger on each note longer than necessary.
Monarch is able to conjure various images through their music and
“Never Forever” focuses more on a tangible atmosphere than the usual amp-worshipping antics the vast majority of drone bands concentrate on. After a creepy introduction reciting the famous ‘Warriors, come out to play’ quote from
The Warriors on “Cadaverine”, moody guitars, anchoring bass, slithering vocals and churchlike electronics lurking in the back of the mix all intertwine into one rhythm. So much happens at any given time that the band manages to create an amorphous atmosphere. One moment dejected riffs take the forefront, then ethereal vocals take precedence and lighten the mood followed by scratching electronics that sound like a plague of rats scurrying over the synthesiser. For a genre that specialises in a lack of dynamics, a drone band that displays unpredictable qualities is an admirable trait.
Throughout the album, the interplay between the guitar melodies and Emilie Bresson’s corresponding vocal harmonies emerges on frequent occasions with hypnotic effects. Across the oceanic “Lilith”, expansive electronics and hazy distortion develop during the softly spoken vocals while strained riffs and weighty bass materialise during the hostile threats of Emilie’s asphyxiating shrieks. Overall, melancholy is the core expression in
“Never Forever” and Monarch’s music-makers adhering to each other’s movements means that the album remains at a consistent level of intensity. A third of the way into the 15-minute opener, “Of Night, With Knives”, Emilie echoes a slow ululating chant into the dark, stalked by intermittent drum beats and prowling bass. However, her ghostly coos contort into demonic howls, yet, on this occasion, the instrumentation doesn’t alternate which enhances her scathingly raw delivery. Moreover, there is a palpable sense of intimacy during “Song to the Void” due to either the brilliant production job put into the album or her actually whispering so closely to the microphone (or both) that you can hear lips smacking between the words, like she is hiding right behind you as the thrumming, repeated verses lull your synapses.
Monarch also manages to keep their integrity intact when flaunting an elongated cover of KISS’s “Black Diamond”, appropriately titled “Diamant Noir”, complete with agonising feedback and wolf cries. It goes to show that even when covering upbeat bands such as KISS and The Runaways, Monarch is able to incorporate their own style and make whatever they put their hands-on sound immersive. Many might overlook this album based upon it’s challenging duration and the drone tag that accompanies it, however, give
“Never Forever” its due time and it will reward.
