Man I love it when a record you click on to review simply because you're buddies with the publicist turns into one of your favorite albums of the year. Monarch have released what I predict will be a major sleeper hit for 2017 with Never Forever. A massive sonic achievement out on Profound Lore with colossal long form songs, devastating guitar tone, high art concepts and so much more, Monarch have taken the crown. A record reminiscent of the breakout success of last years Cult Of Luna & Julie Christmas's Mariner, this is an absolute masterpiece.
Here's the thing about Monarch, yes they tap into the Pallbearer, Cult Of Luna & Julie Christmas, Jex Thoth niche with their epic guitars and grandiose arrangements, but they also are unafraid to be their own thing. That's my fancy way of saying that they snuck in a goddamn KISS cover under the name "Diamant Noir" (Black Diamond in French). How many other fucking doom bands would have the balls to do that? Not a lot. How many fans are going to catch the sheer ballsiness of what they pulled off there? Similarly: Not a lot. But that's fine, because in a nutshell that represents exactly how goddamn good Monarch are. They can do something completely off the wall and tacky and still prove that they are goddamn geniuses.
It's incredibly easy to get lost in Never Forever. Monarch have done something incredibly difficult and special with this release and something that I'm not going to soon forget. The temptation, and really, what I'm going to do, is come back to this record time and time again because again, Monarch have torn me a new one here. This is an album that ebbs forward with a sludgy brilliance and that which reminds us time and time again that doom metal has endless new ground to cover. If you can't get into this then the genre never was for you.
Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/Monarch-121146434822/
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