Sky-crushing blood-letting music
B. Parker | oh | 10/25/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A friend at a record store lent me a copy of this (with the verbal warning "this is dark *%#@, dude"), and I was so enthralled, on my next visit I bought my own copy. One of the best moments of musical discovery for me, ever. It even surprised me to find out they were a French group. But hey, if anyone knows despair, it's them right?
In the last few years I've really started digging darker, more densely textured HEAVY stuff to listen to: Melvins, Boris, Khanate, Sunn O))), Sleep, etc. I think I can honestly say MONARCH! blows a lot of them away. You have this howling sludge riffage, constantly creating tension that is released by the astounding screams of lead singer Emelie. I would put her up against any death or sludge metal howler out there. Just devastating, intense. The whole thing sounds like the audio recording of a gang rape-dismemberement. It doesn't let you come up for air, it just keeps hammering away at you, for pretty long periods of time (especially on Disc 2). The thickness and density of the feedback on this is just amazing. Lyrics are provided, but if you're wading through this insanely harrowing, feedback-drenched tarpit riffage, you don't need to know what she's screaming about. In this and many other respects, Emelie and this music reminds me of Eyehategod.
If you say that you worship at the altar of HEAVY, you must own this. Press "Play," light a candle, and start planning out your killing spree.
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