Monarque

Monarque with Csejthe and Pagan Ritual:
Saturday April 18, 2009 at The Annex Wreck Room

Show Rating: 3 Strongbow required to make it enjoyable

The warmest weekend of 2009 so far may not have been an appropriate backdrop for an evening of black metal featuring Monarque and Csejthe at the Annex Wreckroom. The good weather and early show may have been the reason for the low turnout as from the quality of music Toronto should have had the venue as packed as it was at the bands recent show in Montreal.

Local band Pagan Ritual opened the evening. They are definitely one of the better opening bands I’ve seen in a while. The group provided great sound and energy to the small assembled group. Without even enough time to finish a drink, next up with a beautifully melodic set was Quebec’s Csejthe. They traded in the corpse paint for some mood enhancing candelabra. Sadly, their attempts at doing some harmonizing vocals came out as barely audible. Anyone who gets a chance should be checking this band out.

Somehow black metal sounds prettier when growled in French. Headliners Monarque took the stage before 9 pm so they could make it out by the 10pm curfew. I was one of the few adversely by the smoke streaming off the stage throughout the entire set. The set included a Judas Priest cover. Monarque is set to return to Toronto in the coming months. This time more people should get their ass out and attend.