THE MONARCH Premieres “Dark Heart Phenomena” at Metal Sucks

THE MONARCH 'Dark Heart Phenomena' - Cover Photo

The perfect balance of brutal and melodic…The Monarch delivers on “Dark Heart Phenomena”

See new video exclusively at Metal Sucks here:

https://www.metalsucks.net/2023/10/20/the-monarch-ex-soulfly-ill-nino-static-x-fear-factory-returns-with-dark-heart-phenomena/

The Monarch has released their first single “Dark Heart Phenomena” off of their upcoming full-length album. The brainchild of drummer Dave Kinkade, The Monarch also features vocalist Chris Clancy (Mutiny Within), guitarist Marco Martell (ex-Malevolent Creation), guitarist Marc Rizzo (ill Nino, ex-Soulfly) and bassist Tony Campos (Static-X/ Fear Factory, ex-Soulfly). The album was recorded by producer Vincent Ippolito (guitarist-Glacier) at Swift Road Studios in Arlington Heights Illinois and mixed & mastered by producer Chris Collier (KoЯn/Whitesnake/Prong) at CMC21 Productions in Las Vegas Nevada.

“Imagine the earth, the planet as a force, having a conscience. Mother nature in her own words.

The other perspective is my own, speaking on behalf of mankind. We are a cancer to ourselves as

we are constantly trying to kill each other off. The earth’s job is to sustain life and constantly shed itself from the bad in order to keep growing. When the earth starts to die, it speeds up the rejuvenation process…to keep order. Imagine the earth being able to tell us exactly what was wrong with humanity and give us all the abilities to fix it, but instead we choose to over medicate ourselves with media. We blind ourselves to the real problems in the world and thus, end up living a pointless existence. Killing each other over possessions and ideologies as we are sick, and we can never escape ourselves.” – Dave Kinkade

THE MONARCH is:

Chris Clancy – Vox

Marco Martell – Guitars

Marc Rizzo – Guitars

Tony Campos – Bass

Dave Kinkade – Drums, piano, choirs, synth

About THE MONARCH:

Formed in 2003, The Monarch is the brainchild of drummer Dave Kinkade. Although not quite commonplace having a band crafted by a drummer, that is just one of the many qualities that makes The Monarch stand out when it comes to modern day heavy metal. Kinkade’s sonic vision derives from the combining of elements from inspirational bands like Metallica, Pantera, Dissection and Opeth, and has turned The Monarch sound into a progressive, melodic form of timeless heavy metal with an “always epic” approach. Every song needs to live in its own world. Starting with that perfect “hook” riff for the verse and giving it a monumental chorus that will burn its way into the humming minds of even the most casual of listeners.

Although drafted 20 years ago, the project was always placed on the back burner for Kinkade to focus on already established bands including Soulfly, Borknagar, Arsis, Council of the Fallen, Divine Empire and Malevolent Creation. In 2012, Kinkade took an 8-year hiatus from music after his tenure as the drummer for Soulfly during their Enslaved album era so he could focus on family and eventually have lower back surgery, which plagued him for the years leading up after a bicycling injury when he lived in The Netherland in 2007.

In 2020, he decided to come back to playing music and chose to make The Monarch, his musical priority. 2021 saw the release of debut album “All the World’s Pain”, a collection of material that Kinkade had been writing since the formation of the band. Soon after the first release, writing for a follow-up album began. It was decided to continue with musicians not only of the highest caliber, but guys who had been around the block and know what months on end of touring feels like. Granted there were some talented players on the first album, but you cannot expect a guy with a career as an EMT and a family to put his life on hold to go touring.

As the crafting of new material progressed, Kinkade’s former Soulfly bandmate, guitarist Marc Rizzo (Ill Niño, Soulfly) approached him about playing music together again. It was agreed that The Monarch would be the ideal collaborative project, as Rizzo‘s aggressive, yet soulful, guitar style would be the perfect complement to the band’s sound. Soon after, bassist Tony Campos (Static-X/ Fear Factory) was invited into the fold as Kinkade, Rizzo and Campos had all previously worked together in Soulfly. Campos provides a punishing low end and would prove to be another perfect fit for The Monarch sound. Guitarist Marco Martell also joined the band shortly before the studio sessions began. Martell and Kinkade played together in Malevolent Creation (2005-2006) and share many similar influences. Topping off the lineup would be vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Chris Clancy (Mutiny Within) who had previously been approached by Kinkade about singing in the early 2000’s. Clancy’s experience and exceptionally well-rehearsed talent was welcomed to the band, and he is proving himself as one of the best singers on the planet through his performance on the album. The album was mixed and mastered by legendary producer Chris Collier (KoRn/ Whitesnake/ Prong). Now in the end of 2023, the band intends on supporting the release of the album by planning the live debut for 2024.