Sepulchral Productions, 2014
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Forteresse:
1. Wendigo
Chasse-Galerie:
2. Le Bois des Belles
Monarque:
3. La Griffe du Diable
Csejthe:
4. Murmures Nocturnes
Side Forteresse: here
Side Chasse-Galerie: ...coming eventually...
Side Csejthe: here
Side Monarque:Finally making my way through this entire split. As I've said in my other reviews for the projects, this is one of the best splits around. Limited to 500 copies on two 7" vinyl and I own #69. Every band involved has submitted absolutely stellar tracks and Monarque is no exception.
As with "Lys Noir", this isn't really a new Monarque song. It first shows up in their live set "Under the Black Sun" from 2011, but has never received studio treatment. While this song is very good and beautiful, in its usual Monarque style, it does have some far more vicious and intense moments. This is probably why it never wound up in the "Lys Noir" recordings, it doesn't really match that aesthetic. "La Griffe du Diable" while having atmospheric moments, has a much more fiery and intense atmosphere. There's a level of viciousness to the song that doesn't fit with the melancholic beauty of "Lys Noir", but it certainly fits on this split! Here we have an excellent celebration of the Québec scene and Monarque is certainly a major representative of that sound for me.
Sepulchral Productions, 2013
Genre: Black Metal
1. L'appel de la Nuit
2. Vigor Mortis
3. La Quintessence du Mal
4. Solitdue
5. Mes Condoléances
6. Au Seuil des Ténèbres (Frozen Shadows Cover)
7. Comme les Vers; sous la Bannière du Lys Noir
Finally we have a new full-length from the world of Monarque. However, if you've been following their musical career and releases none of this is new material. The only new thing we have is the Frozen Shadows cover song. What "Lys Noir" really gives us is stellar production quality of these songs that were demoed before. Given the fact this easily hit my top 10 this year, the songs clearly needed studio renditions.
"Lys Noir" builds mostly off the "La Mort" demo, which is by far the best material I've heard from Monarque, so it should come as no surprise that when their best material gets full studio treatment everyone is entranced. Even though the recording quality is vastly upgraded from their previous studio efforts, they've still managed to maintain that organic feel to their music. Nothing is overly digitized, as we hear with a lot of modern recordings. No, Monarque, like many of the Black Metal bands all over stick to a far better recording concept and it really makes the feeling so much more tangible. While "La Mort" is raw and harsh by comparison, the studio versions have a far more pristine edge to them, but the harshness of the guitar tone is still maintained quite well. What we really get is a much better mixing job, letting all the elements really shine through in a far more balanced fashion. The demo is good enough, but it's not even close to on par with the quality we get here. Still, there are some that prefer the raw unbridled nature of Black Metal and "La Mort" really serves that purpose perfectly and I'm really glad I have both recordings, to be honest. "Lys Noir" comes as far more accessible and it is no wonder the scene was all a buzz when this was released. I, honestly, enjoy both versions, but this one will always stand out quite a bit more. I think a lot of tracks have been embellished a little more, because I feel they are a lot more elaborate and involved than just what we heard on the demo.
"Lys Noir" is definitely one of the must hear albums out there. I highly recommend picking this up if you enjoy the likes of atmospheric Black Metal. This is, essentially, the progression I wanted their sound to take as they developed over the years. It's really wonderful to see that realized and I'm excited to see where Monarque will go from here.
Profane Wax, 2012
Genre: Black Metal
1. Vigor Mortis
2. Deathcrush (Mayhem Cover)
So, this is one of the cooler, yet sadder aspects of my Monarque collection. The packaging for this is so neat. The cover pic above is a rather large, almost poster like size. Inside is housed a Monarque patch and clear vinyl record. The record is an 8" vinyl and it's actually a square. I've never seen anything like this, so it's very unique in my collection. With that uniqueness comes limitation and here the vinyl is limited to 50 hand-numbered copies and I own #46.
Now, the sad part about this is that this vinyl will not play. I don't know if I have a defective copy or what, but it won't play through the full songs on either side. The only way I've been able to hear anything off this vinyl is due to a youtube upload, which only plays half of "Vigor Mortis" and a little of the "Deathcrush" cover. This is not ideal, but I wish I could hear both songs in full. We first heard "Vigor Mortis" on the "La Mort" demo and hear we are treated to a better quality version. The "Deathcrush" cover actually reminds me a lot of Ophthalamia's version, which appeared years ago on the "Nordic Metal" compilation. Both are definitely outstanding version!
Obscure Abhorrence Productions, 2012
Genre: Black Metal
Sorcier des Glaces:
1. Macabre Sunset Over the Northland
2. A Blaze in the Northern Sky (Darkthrone Cover)
3. Unholy Path to Immortality
4. The (Night) Throne
Monarque:
5. Le Feu et le Sang
6. Éloge De La Malveillance
7. Sacrifice (Bathory Cover)
Side Sorcier des Glaces: ...coming eventually...
Side Monarque:
Adding to Monarque's growing list of splits has brought them to working with Sorcier des Glaces, another one of my favorites from Québec. Luckily this is pressed on CD and seems readily available for the public to consume.
Monarque opens their side with "Le Feu et le Sang", which we first heard on the live tape "Under the Black Sun" and the studio version of this song is everything I ever hoped it would be! I can see why they opened the festival with such a good song. The second track is something that showed up on the "Diatribe" EP in 2010. Given the limitation of that EP, I can see why a re-recording of the song made sense here. I wish they would put out the other song, so we could at least hear it somewhere. However, perhaps it didn't make sense atmospherically with the other two tracks on here. Monarque closes their set with a Bathory classic. Monarque's version came out quite good, preserving that harsher quality, but still an upgrade from the original 80's recording. I think the way Monarque records strikes a good balance between the raw/audible, so this worked really well for an old Bathory song.
Sepulchral Productions, 2012
Genre: Black Metal
Monarque:
1. Le Rite du Misanthrope
Crépuscule:
2. À Marée Basse, dans les Abysses
Side Créspuscule: ...coming eventually...
Side Monarque:
Monarque heralds in the new year with a great split with Créspucule. Pressed on 7" vinyl and limited to 500 copies. Two versions were made, the first 100 are on translucent green vinyl and the other 400 are standard Black vinyl. I have the standard version. It also has an insert with lyrics from both bands.
Monarque offer up an interesting and mid-paced song for the most part. I feel like the song has more of a droning Ambient feel compared to a lot of their other material. They do a pretty good job with this, since their style has been trending in much more of an atmospheric vein and this is just more of an extension of that. It would be interesting to see them sift some of these styled songs into their recordings instead of just doing straight ambiance sometimes. The track has a far more ethereal quality than some of their prior material.
Les Productions Hérétique, 2011
Genre: Black Metal
1. Le Feu et le Sang
2. Fier Hérétique
3. L'Abysse aux Charognes
3. La Griffe du Diable
4. Ces Immondices
5. Vermines
6. Le Grand Devil
7. Vent du Nord
8. Aux Confins des ses Abîmes
Here we have another live recording of Monarque and this is quiet a long set, which is quite cool in its own right. This is a sound board recording from Under the Black Sun Festival which is in Germany. As usual with these cassette releases I'm sure these are limited, however, no limitation is actually stated on the tape. It's probably limited to 100 copies in the usual LPH fashion.
The recording quality from this show is actually pretty good! For a soundboard recording everything came out quite well and I was very impressed. I feel like a lot of these recordings are often a craps shoot, because who knows if the band sounded great that night etc. Monarque actually open their set with an entirely new song and it sounds spectacular. This needs a studio version as soon as possible! I don't know why, but it feels like this live set really hit harder than some of the Monarque songs on their album. Take "Fier Hérétique", for example, it's a fine song on album, but I feel like it really hit hard in this live setting. Probably goes to show the strength of the crowd reaction to Monarque's music. The set list consists of a lot of great Monarque songs, sadly "La Mort" was probably still in the writing process and Monarque hadn't been able to work this into their live set in time. It would have been great seeing how people reacted to the tracks of "La Mort", but I guess that's for a future live release! They close off their set with one of my favorites "Aux Confins des ses Abîmes", which is an excellent closer.
If you're a fan of live recordings, this is actually an extremely good one. This is probably the best live recording of Monarque so far, so if you can track down a copy you'll be rather pleased.
Darker than Black, 2011
Genre: Black Metal
Evil Wrath:
1. Légion Anti-Humaine
Monarque:
2. Vermines
Side Evil Wrath: ...coming eventually...
Side Monarque
After an incredible demo Monarque returns to split territory. This time we have a new split 7", and with all the releases in between I feel like it's been a long time since they've done a 7"... but it's only been about a year. I'm sure this release is limited, but no limitation is listed on the release. However, some places claim it is limited to 300 copies.
Now this isn't a new track from Monarque, some of you may remember the bonus track found on "Messe Noire", which was the only studio related track. Here we have a much more expanded version of the song. It opens with nearly a minute of samples to create an atmosphere. My only real complaint would be that it feels like those samples create a more sinister atmosphere, before launching into some very good Black Metal. Monarque's music, to me, doesn't really fall under the truly sinister spectrum. It's almost too melancholic to be thought of that way. While I'm sure "Vermines" is no less hateful, it's just not nearly as vicious and violent like some Black Metal bands can achieve. I'm not saying Monarque should go for this sound, that would change everything I love about Monarque and the Black Metal developed on "Vermines" is in line with their sound and it is certainly excellent. The expanded song is quite well done and I'm glad they decided to give it further treatment.
Les Productions Hérétique, 2011
Genre: Black Metal
1. L'Appel de la Nuit
2. Vigor Mortis
3. Solitude...
4. Mes Condoléances
5. Comme les Vers
6. Ruines...
Finally, I think we are running into an era where Monarque is running out of old material to re-release, so here we have a new demo. It's entirely new material! There have been two pressings of this on cassette, both are limited to 100 copies. The first pressing is hand-numbered, but the 2nd is not. I own the 2nd pressing, because I was a little late finding Monarque.
Listening to this... I am definitely excited for the next Monarque release. This demo is excellent. Monarque have definitely been trending their music in the direction I felt really made their core writing perfect. The atmospheres and layering here feel so much more elaborate and deep compared with their earliest material. Listen to how incredible the atmosphere in "Mes Condoléances" sounds. This is a far cry from the early days of Monarque and I think that track really shows their newer songwriting prowess. The overall production quality is actually pretty good, the only time this decreases is with "Comme les Vers", which sounds a bit more raw than the other tracks.
An excellent demo in the end, I really look forward to hearing what's in store for us next from Monarque. It seems like they have quite a bit of new material to work with right now... and we're all still waiting on that next full-length.
Les Productions Hérétiques, 2010
Genre: Black Metal
1. Nous, prophètes de l'Interdit (Intro)
2. Éloge de la malveillance (Gloire au Chaos)
3. ANTI: Un portail funèste (Anti-Human)
I never thought I'd wind up with a copy of this in my hands, but here it is. I finally tracked one down. This comes in a a very tiny envelope, because this is on a 3" CD-R and limited to 99 copies. This is a small little sample of what Monarque has been working on. "Éloge de la malveillance (Gloire au Chaos)" would later appear on the split with Sorcier des Glaces. The demo version of the song is really well done, as I've come to expect from Monarque's in process material. The two other tracks did not appear on anything else. The first is the intro, which expect to be some sort of ambience to really showcase the main track. I was surprised to see "ANTI" is a solid nine minute Noise/Ambient track. It's more on the Noise end of things, which kind of really kills my interest in it. So, even if you're a die-hard Monarque fan, you really aren't missing out on too much. The version of "Éloge" on here is a little different and I feel like the Ambient elements in the background are a little different than the final version and has a solid minute more to the song. Even with this difference, I'm not sure I can say it's different enough to really warrant missing out on this demo version. Either way, I'm rather happy to have this version and finally track down this EP.
Obscure Abhorrence, 2010
Genre: Black Metal
Monarque:
1. La Quintessence du Mal
2. Le Grand Devil
3. Cancer Maldroit
4. Aux Confins de ses Abîmes
5. Oubliettes
Neige et Noirceur:
6. Hymne III
7. Hymne VI
Side Neige et Noirceur: ...coming eventually...
Side Monarque:
Finally, we have a release with some new material from Monarque! After all the re-releases and live material it was certainly about time we heard something new. Unfortunately, this isn't a straight full-length, instead Monarque splits with another great band Neige et Noirceur. This isn't all new material, indeed, "Aux Confins de ses Abîmes" is from the 2008 split with Mortualia. I'll hardly find reason to complain about this, since I did say earlier I wanted to have this track on a CD somewhere and now I have it.
On this release, we really get two new Black Metal songs. The two opening tracks are the fully new material and it is extremely impressive work. They've really figured out away to manage the way their style wants to handle atmosphere. It really is a solid progression that, I think, started to show up more with "Aux Confins de ses Abîmes", which is why this track really fits well on this release. "La Quintessence du Mal" is a great track, but at only four minutes, it feels a little on the shorter side. So, things feel like they end before getting extremely immersed. Strangely "Le Grand Devil" is quite a long song, but with very few sections with vocal accompaniment. It really does build a rather deep atmosphere. These two songs really do a good job showing the growth of Monarque's compositional prowess and all I can say at this point is that I really hope a new full length is coming soon. The other two tracks "Cancer Maladroit" and "Oubliettes" are both instrumental more ambient styled tracks. I do wish there was a bit more new Black Metal songs, but I can understand the limitation with this being a split and all. Anyway, this is absolutely worth getting considering the quality of the material.
Sepulchral Productions, 2010
Genre: Black Metal
1. L'abysse aux Charognes
2. Vent du Nord
3. Mes Blessures
4. Le Revenant (Mortifera Cover)
5. Vermines
See, if you missed out on the earlier live material from Monarque, more was sure to show up! Here we have a concert recorded in Québec in 2010. As usual with most Monarque releases, it seems, this is limited to 1,000 hand-numbered copies and I own #668.
This live show has a rather big change for Monarque, and I can see why the recording and release was a worthwhile endeavor. On here they bring a second guitar on stage, which really rounds out their sound very well. This is far stronger than the other live recordings we've ever heard before. The recording quality is very good throughout, so this really does an excellent job of capturing a Monarque live show. The set list is pretty good, I'm not a big fan of "Labysse aux Charognes", but the rest of the songs came off quite well. They close their set with "Le Revenant" by Mortifera and they do a great job with this. The closing track "Vermines" is a totally new song, but it sounds rather like a demo version of the material. It's quite a good song, building the atmosphere we've come to expect with the newer Monarque material. It seems Monarque have a lot of new material kicking around, but their releases are mainly only covering older material lately or live stuff. I really hope some new recordings are waiting for us in the very near future at this point.
One of the added features of this Ep is that you can put it in your CD drive and actually watch the live performance! They did a pretty decent job with the recording. It has a very "do it yourself" feel, but it's more than one camera from the back of the venue at least! So, in that regard the show recording actually came out pretty well.
Ewiges Eis Records, 2010
Genre: Black Metal
1. Fier Hérétique
2. Vent du Nord
3. Un Passage dans las Vallée
4. Extinction
5. Marche Funèbres/Aliénation
6. Lycanthrope
7. Cortège Macabre
8. La Vallée des Larmes (Black Book Rehearsal)
9. Je ne suis Pas (Demo)
10. Marche Funèbre (Demo)
11. Funérailles dans la Vallée...
If you missed out on the original pressing of "Fier Hérétique" now is your chance to get your hands on it. Like the original pressing though this is limited as well. However, this time around it's limited to 666 hand-numbered copies and I own #62. For the collectors of the band, they've added on some bonus tracks, so that you wouldn't just be mad it was a re-release.
The first five tracks are found on "Fier Hérétique" and the first new track we run into is "Lycanthrope", which is mostly an instrumental track that begins with an ambient nature that eventually turns into acoustic guitars. Some of you may recognize "Cortège Macabre" from their first 7" split with Blackwinds. I still think the guitars are overly fuzzy and I wish they had put "Aux Confins des ses Abîmes" on here, because I would have loved to have that on CD. Next we have some demo and rehearsal tracks to finish off the album. The rehearsal tracks are actually quite good. The demo version of "Je ne suis Pas" is great and was awesome to hear and I liked this version a bit more than what showed up on the re-recording. It's probably the same version featured on the "Désécration" compilation from 2008. The final new track, "Funérailles dans la Vallée..." is another ambient styled piece, which is actually very well done and I quite liked it as the outro.
In the end if you missed out on "Fier Hérétique" and consider that a must have, you won't go wrong with this. The additional tracks are actually very good additions, in my opinion. They really sit in the original feel of the debut.
Les Productions Hérétiques, 2009
Genre: Black Metal
Côté Traditions:
1. Intro 2008 / Ces Immondices
2. Aux Confins des ses Abîmes
3. Le Vent du Nord
4. La Vallée des Larmes
Côté Sacrifices:
5. Intro 2009 / Mes Blessures
6. Je Ne Suis Pas
7. An Eternal Kingdom of Fire (Judas Iscariot Cover)
As you can see by my cover I missed out on the original edition of this in 2009, instead I own the 2011 repress. As with all LPH releases, I'm sure this is limited to some number, but it was never disclosed how limited it was. It has an entirely different cover than the original press. Both covers are pretty nice though.
This material is a raw audio rip from various camera footages. The recording quality actually isn't that bad and you can hear the band quite well. Since only a single guitar is used live, there are aspects that don't hit quite as majestically, but they actually do quite a good job live with only one guitar. The recording quality on the 2008 material is probably the best, the 2009 material is a bit messy. The worst quality rip is the Judas Iscariot cover. It sounds like the the performance went very well, except the quality of the recording is quite a bit worse.
This tape is, likely, only for the die-hard fans of Monarque. Honestly, if you missed out on this release, I wouldn't be that disappointed. This is the second live release in the course of a year, so I imagine there will be more to come!
Sepulchral Productions, 2009
Genre: Black Metal
1. Ouverture
2. Ces immondices...
3. Mes bleassures
4. Un essaim de corbeaux
5. Je ne suis pas
6. L'abysse aux charognes
7. Non-rédemption
8. La vallée des larmes
9. Noirceur
When a new Monarque full-length was imminent, I wasn't really expecting this. This is mostly a re-recording of Monarque's demo. The production is in line with the last split though, so I imagine it's quite an improvement. I have never heard the original demo material, so I can't really compare.
As this is a re-recording of their demo, the guitar work is far less elaborate than their newer material was trending over the past year. It's a lot more in line with "Fier Hérétique", but I feel that "Ad Nauseam" has a level of majesty and intrigue that "Fier Hérétique" lacked. I can see why some people who heard the demo were a little disappointed in the debut full-length. "Fier Hérétique" had its moments, but not nearly as many as "Ad Nauseam" clearly had. Even though the guitar work is far more simplistic and there is almost no layering, the core riffs are extremely well done.
It wasn't enough just to re-record the demo songs, they've actually added quite a few new songs. The first to show up "Je ne suis pas" isn't that new of a song as it appeared on the "Désécration" tape in 2008. Naturally this song is quite in line with the style of "Ad Nauseam". After this "Labysse aux charognes" kicks in and this is night and day difference, starting with a Thrashier riff before breaking into a blasting section with a rather droning riff and going into some serious Darkthrone worship eventually. The real sad part about this track is that it truly has some beautiful moments, but these Thrash sections with the catchier Darkthrone style, really pull me out of any atmospheric space "Ad Nauseam" was building. I really wish they would revisit this song and focus more on the atmospheric sections, since that takes up the majority of the time anyway... I would really love to see this track salvaged and rebuilt somewhere else.The other new song "Non-rédemption" sounds like it could have easily appeared on the earlier material, and this brings back to some state of normalcy for the Monarque style.
They keep "La vallée des larmes", which is a smart move given the nature of this song. It's a far slower pace and very atmospheric, so it really shines as a closer to an album. While this re-recording had some up and down moments, I can really see why people raved so much about the demo. I can also see why that would demand a re-release of the material at some point, so I am really glad they did this.
Obscure Abhorrence Productions, 2008
Genre: Black Metal
Monarque:
1. Aux Confins de ses Abîmes
Mortualia:
2. Death Serenity
Side Mortualia: ...coming eventually...
Side Monarque:
After hearing the last split, I was looking forward to whatever Monarque had in store for us next. Another split is what we hear first, with another very good song. This is also pressed on 7" vinyl and limited to 500 copies. There is no hand-numbering on this. The packaging is very basic and there is nothing inside the sleeve.
For this split Monarque submit another far more atmospheric and melancholic track. They're definitely incorporating lead guitars sections far more than ever before, which is really giving their music that extra element to make it special. This is the piece I felt was missing on "Fier Hérétique", and this is how I wanted them to build on that foundation. "Aux confins de ses abîmes" is a fairly mid-paced track, but it is one of the most beautiful. When the acoustic guitar breaks in, it really creates a wonderful musical space for the following harsh Black Metal to break into. The guitar tone is quite a bit cleaner this time around, which serves to make the atmosphere far more immersive this time around. I really hope this is the direction of Monarque's next full-length and I want a whole album of this type of material!
Zyklon-B Productions, 2008
Genre: Black Metal
Blackwind:
1. The Strayings of Inexistence
Monarque:
2. Cortège Macabre
Side Blackwind: ...coming eventually...
Side Monarque:
Unfortunately, I'm missing the tape that comes between the debut and this split, so my collection picks up here. This is Monarque's first split on vinyl. The packaging opens up to feature the lyrics on the inside. This release is limited to 300 hand-numbered copies and I own #112.
Monarque's contribution to the split is very good. I actually feel like its quite a difference compared to what was first displayed on "Fier Hérétique". "Cortège Macabre" feels a lot more well thought out, it has moments of pure melancholy and beauty. It's not a blast beat driven song, instead it falls more into the realms of a Forteresse blend of atmosphere. A blasting section doesn't even show up until about five minutes in, but the riff it develops doesn't take away from the majesty of what came before at all. The one, and only, complaint I could furnish to this is that the guitar distortion is far too fuzzy. Some fuzz in the distortion is okay, but for things this majestic having a slightly cleaner distortion feels a little better. In the end though, this is, ultimately, quite an impressive track and I really hope this is a deeper composition direction for the future of Monarque.
Mankind's Demise Records, 2007
Genre: Black Metal
1. Intro: Ces charognes éparses
2. Fier hérétique
3. Le vent du nord
4. Passage dans la vallée
5. Extinction
6. Marches funèbres
7. Outro: Isolation
Since the only version I have of Monarque's demo is the re-recording, I'm going to start with their debut release. Two years after their demo Monarque brings us "Fier Hérétique" with all new tracks. Nothing from the demo has been re-recorded here. This album is actually rather difficult to track down today and I admit I did not get this when it first came out, but was lucky enough to find someone selling their copy. One of the reasons this is challenging to find is because it is limited to 500 copies.
"Fier Hérétique" sits somewhere in the realm of melodic Black Metal and atmospheric... it is tough to say which, exactly. However, these elements are generated by fairly conventional means and, in that regard, this is really nothing I haven't heard before by other bands in the 90's. However, Monarque have a great deal of promise, for their writing is pretty good at this stage. There's a clear, underlying, beauty in the passages that Monarque creates and at times lead sections kick in to give a riff a far more soaring nature. Even amidst all of this, this album still doesn't really grasp me like others have in the past. There is nothing off-putting, but their isn't enough truly stand out moments to keep me really fiending for more in the same way other compositions have.
In the end, this is still quite a good debut. The stand-out moments, really do stand out quite a bit and hopefully Monarque can harness that even more in their future releases. However, with the lulls between excellence, the album doesn't really reach that soaring beauty that I would really want to hear. Definitely a project to be watching for future releases. A solid foundation has been laid, let's see what they do with it from here.
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