History

The band was founded in 2002 in Bayonne

Bayonne

Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. In 2005, they released their debut, a double CD with three tracks. Since then the band have released new albums almost annually; additionally, they have also released various EPs

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

, singles and splits

Split album

A split album is a music album which includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There have been singles and EPs released in the same nature, which can be referred to as split singles and split EPs respectively...

 with Moss

Moss (band)

Moss is a three-piece English doom metal band that formed in 2000. Influenced by H. P. Lovecraft and the occult, songs usually average the 20 minute mark and incorporate dense and otherworldly atmospheres...

, the Grey Daturas

Grey Daturas

Grey Daturas were a noise rock band from Melbourne Australia known to have formed on stage at their debut live performance at The North Melbourne Town Hall Hotel, in August 2001. The band's final live performance coincided with the closure of the original Tote Hotel in Melbourne on Friday 15...

 and Elysiüm

Elysium

Elysium is a conception of the afterlife that evolved over time and was maintained by certain Greek religious and philosophical sects, and cults. Initially separate from Hades, admission was initially reserved for mortals related to the gods and other heroes...

. Monarch have released with various labels, mainly with the Spanish Throne Records

Throne Records

Throne Records is an independent record label of extreme metal located in Gijón, Asturias, Spain. It was created in 2002 by Uge, after the dissolution of its previous hardcore/punk label...

 and have recently signed with US label At A Loss Recordings that will release their new record, Omens. Monarch have toured frequently outside France; in the beginning of 2010 they played alongside Wolves in the Throne Room

Wolves in the Throne Room

Wolves in the Throne Room is a black metal band based in Olympia, Washington.Their sound is influenced by Scandinavian black metal, doom metal, dark ambient, crust punk, and folk music...

 in Australia, and 2010/2011 Monarch toured North America, Japan and Australia.

Music

The band states Noothgrush, Corrupted, Burning Witch

Burning Witch

Burning Witch was an American doom metal band from Seattle, Washington, active between 1995 and 1998.-History:Burning Witch formed on Capitol Hill, Seattle in early 1995. After the breakup of the doom/death band Thorr's Hammer in 1995, Stephen O'Malley, Greg Anderson and Jamie Sykes formed Burning...

 and The Melvins

The Melvins

The Melvins are an American band that formed in 1983. They usually perform as a trio, but in recent years have performed as a four piece with two drummers. Since 1984, singer and guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover have been the band's constant members...

 as influences, but emphasizes with the note "but mainly Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...

" the special importance of the classic metal band. Their 2010 album stresses this through its title, "Sabbat Noir", French for Black Sabbath. Eduardo Rivadavia from Allmusic sees their sound as similar to Khanate

Khanate

Khanate, or Chanat, is a Turco-Mongol-originated word used to describe a political entity ruled by a Khan. In modern Turkish, the word used is kağanlık, and in modern Azeri of the republic of Azerbaijan, xanlıq. In Mongolian the word khanlig is used, as in "Khereidiin Khanlig" meaning the Khanate...

 and Rigor Sardonicus, but often harsher. British magazine Rock-A-Rolla considers the band to be rooted in modern doom metal

Doom metal

Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...

. The band have repeatedly covered punk

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 bands as Discharge

Discharge (band)

Discharge is a British hardcore punk band formed in 1977 by Terry "Tezz" Roberts and Roy "Rainy" Wainwright. They are often considered among one of the very first bands to play hardcore punk, and to mix punk with metal...

, Disclose

Disclose

Disclose were a Japanese D-beat band from Kōchi City, heavily influenced by Discharge. Their sound heavily replicates Discharge's style, with an increased use of fuzz and distortion guitar effects. The subject matter is also similar to Discharge, in that the songs' themes are primarily about...

 and Turbonegro

Turbonegro

Turbonegro is a Norwegian punk rock band that was initially active from 1989 to 1998, and later reformed in 2002. Their style combines glam rock, punk rock and hard rock into a style the band describes as "deathpunk"....

.

Concept

Since their founding the band's concept did not change drastically; guitarist Kaïdine described as follows: "The main idea was to play slow and loud as fuck. We were all playing in fast bands so we wanted to play something very different, something new and challenging for us." Monarch tracks are quite long, roundabout 20 minutes, and to date the longest is the song "Amplifire Death March", which is 58:27 minutes long and was released in 2006 as part of a split. The track length causes the band to release albums almost annually.

Songwriting

Their songwriting is not systematic, leaving room for random events and improvisation. The interaction with the amplifiers is very important; bassist MicHell states: "The raw material we work with emanates directly from our amps. […] In that sense there’s actually a physical dimension in our songwriting: seeing how the amps will respond differently according to how we position ourselves in front of them to achieve, for example, a more droning effect, or harsher feedback… So we can’t really write a song unless we’re in front of stacks of loud amps.”

The instrumentation is quite minimalistic. Guitarists and bassist are working with amplifiers by Sovtek

Sovtek

Sovtek is a brand of vacuum tube owned by Mike Matthews's New Sensor Corporation and manufactured in Saratov, Russia. They are often used in guitar amplification and include the popular variants of the 12AX7, EL84, EL34, and 6L6 models...

, Acoustic

Acoustic Control Corporation

Acoustic Control Corporation was a manufacturer of instrument amplifiers, founded by Steve Marks and based in Van Nuys, California. Its original location was a shack on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California....

, Orange, Hiwatt

Hiwatt

Hiwatt was a British company that manufactured amplifiers for electric guitars and electric basses. Starting in the late 1960s, together with Marshall and Vox, the company contributed to the sonic image popularly termed "British sound"....

, Sunn

Sunn

Sunn Amplifiers, are a brand of musical instrument amplifiers.- History :In early 1963, the Kingsmen, a band based in the U.S. state of Oregon, became known for the song "Louie, Louie". After its hit single, the band soon embarked on a fifty-state national tour...

 and Marshall

Marshall Amplification

Marshall Amplification is a British company, founded by drummer Jim Marshall, that designs and manufactures music amplifiers, brands personal headphones/earphones , and, after acquiring Natal Drums, drums and bongos. Marshall amplifiers, and specifically their guitar amplifiers, are among the most...

 plus fuzzbox

Fuzzbox

A fuzzbox is a device for deliberately introducing distortion in music.Fuzzbox may also refer to:* We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It or Fuzzbox, a 1980s English pop-punk quartet* FuzzBox, a video-game developer that developed Cyber Org...

es. The singer uses delay

Delay

- Law :*To delay payment of a debt, a crime in the United Kingdom- Telecommunications and broadcasting:*Broadcast delay, a practice of time-shifting transmissions*Delay encoding, a radio transmission technique...

- and reverb-pedals.

Reception

After the reissue of Mer Morte, Lords Of Metal called the band a "deep black minimalistic, slow, humongous doom monster". Maelstrom called Monarch 2007 in a review of Dead Men Tell No Tales "soon-to-be doom titans", emphasizing the album to be a challenge for every doom metal fan, though "it's worth it, as Monarch! have some fantastic music".

Reviewing the same album, Heathen Harvest

Heathen Harvest

Heathen Harvest is an Internet publication devoted to music criticism, music news and interviews. Its focus is on underground and post-industrial music, including ambient, metal, folk, classical, gothic, industrial and various forms of experimental and avant-garde music.The site, which was...

states that it by no means bad, but calls Monarch a copycat of pioneering bands like Boris

Boris (band)

is a Japanese experimental rock band, known for often combining and switching between different music genres including drone metal, sludge metal, noise rock, psychedelic rock, ambient and pop...

, Pelican

Pelican (band)

Pelican is a post-metal quartet from Chicago, Illinois.-Biography and description:The band is known for its dense combinations of different melodies and extended track lengths. Its distinctive sound draws from stoner rock, doom metal, post-rock, and other influences...

, Isis

Isis (band)

Isis was a Los Angeles, California-based post-metal band, founded in Boston, Massachusetts, with a career spanning from 1997 to 2010...

 and Khanate. German metal.de called the 2007 album Speak Of The Sea "meaningless drone tracks, which basic idea almost too obviously and thus bold was stolen from Khanate".

Vampster was impressed 2010 by the album Sabbat Noir and Monarch's "undeviating path to dissolve any music into noise" and states that "neither Switchblade

Switchblade

A switchblade is a type of knife with a folding or sliding blade contained in the handle which is opened automatically by a spring when a button, lever, or switch on the handle or bolster is activated A switchblade (also known as an automatic knife, pushbutton knife, switch, Sprenger, Springer,...

 nor Black Shape of Nexus, Corrupted, Black Boned Angel

Black Boned Angel

Black Boned Angel is a Wellington-based drone metal project of New Zealand experimental musicians Campbell Kneale and James Kirk . Originally a duo with Kirk, recently Black Boned Angel has expanded to include Jules Desmond...

, Nadja

Nadja (band)

Nadja is a duo of Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff . Nadja began in 2003 as a solo project for Baker to explore the heavier/noisier side of his experimental/ambient music performed mainly on the electric guitar...

 or Moss deliver more vehement antimusic than Monarch". Beside the band's extremism the reviewer is recognizing something new too: "This is what sludge is going to be, when one keeps moving along way outside drone doom, to try something different. […] The fact is neither drone nor doom can be more extreme without turning to pure noise. Monarch pay tribute to Black Sabbath also by making earth shaking music and in trying something new with a lot of courage and a portion of madness not to underrate […]".

Village Voice called a New York concert in November 2010 "a focused, intense performance, utterly lacking the catharsis that's metal's usual stock-in-trade".

Discography (selected)

• 666, Album, 2005
• Elysiüm / Monarch, Split, 2006
• Speak of the Sea, Album, 2006
• Die Tonight, Album, 2007
• Dead Men Tell No Tales, Album, 2007
• Mer Morte, Album, 2008
• Sabbat Noir, Album, 2010
• Sortilège, EP, 2011

External links

• Bipart video of a concert of Monarch on July 28, 2007 in Basetxe, Valle de Trápaga-Trapagaran
  Valle de Trápaga-Trapagaran
  Trapagaran in Basque or Valle de Trápaga in Spanish is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northern Spain.-External links:*...
  
  , Spain:
• Part 1
• Part 2