Monarque: Lys Noir (2013)

I have covered Monarque a couple of times recently.  Of course their 2019 EP made it to the top of my Best EPs of 2019 list and I raved about their 2009 full-length as well.  Needless to say, I have really taken to this band.  To date, this album is Monarque's last full-length.  This is a band that releases a fair amount of material (at least until 2014), but not many full-lengths.  In fact, this is just the third full-length for the Canadian black metal band.

The music here is what I have come to expect from Quebec black metal bands: surprisingly beautiful sonicscapes featuring cascading riffs and biting vocals.  The first half of the album is exceptional, but the second half kind of drops the ball a little bit.  That seems to be common with the band.  It is not that the second half is bad, absolutely far from it, it just does not quite hold up to the standards set forward by the first half.

In general this release seems a bit more laidback than the high-energy black metal of the 2019 EP and the much harsher and colder 2009 album.  This one is more somber and melancholic and the riffs reflect it.  The vocals are as aggressive as ever, but it is a slightly more melodic output here.  Not that that is a problem, mind you.

Monarque continues to impress me.  This one is a bit different, of course all of their releases have been somewhat distinctive, but it is nevertheless a damn good album.  Monarque is one of my favorite bands that I have discovered recently and each release I find reinforces that.