The above keywords could describe any number of countless albums; I have probably reviewed ten such albums this year alone. One does not pick up an album of this nature and expect innovation, but neither should this be an excuse for churning out the same recycled riffs in hastily constructed and poorly thought out songs, relying on their self-proclaimed 'trueness', zero production and cacophonous guitars to disguise their marginal talents.

Monarque avoid this trap, as although he adheres to the genre conventions with religious zeal, there is one important yet essential caveat: the songs are well arranged and composed, and the riffs are not nearly as generic as I had feared. Monarque will not be the Quebecois black metal poster boy, but does assist its spread beyond the Francophone universe.