Monarch!
Mer morte

Very often, extreme music sets the objective of attempting to describe, through sound, human suffering, anguish, and pain. It is not an easy task and very often results in failure, but when focusing on extreme music, there is a genre that fits this task very well: drone/doom.

Monarch! is a French band that released this "Mer morte" in 2008 for Crucial Blast, a single 34-minute track of pure sonic agony. Nothing new under the sun; those who feed on Sunn O))), Eagle Twin, or Grief will certainly not scream in amazement in front of the French ensemble's catastrophe, yet... there's a "but", because this CD is truly unhealthy. The guitar is so thunderous that it sounds as if it's being played in a cave. Throughout the piece's duration, there are eerie whispers and sharp screams reminiscent of Berlioz's remake at the beginning of Shining, and the singer (a girl) screams her desperation from afar, erased by the fog. The drums are merely a damned metronome that occasionally marks a time so stretched out that it loses its meaning amid feedback and groans. Very slowly, everything rolls into a slimy, slippery nothingness where the only tension is that of the self-shattering (very interesting in this sense is a brief building part of the piece where they remind us of the Naked City of Leng Tch'e). In short, to frame the trio's proposal (I believe, as the lineup is not listed on the CD), it can be said that it's not far from that of Moss but more oriented towards sludge, muddier in the literal sense of the word. Excellent music for those who love these sounds, however, for those who can't stand them and decide to endure half an hour of great boredom, this CD or any of the aforementioned groups is a must (but they must buy the original though...).

P.S.: a mention goes to the really lovely black cardboard digipack with gold lettering...