MONARCH OF MONSTERS

If you'd told me a few years ago that a My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fanmusic album would end up being my favourite album of 2024 I don't really know what my reaction would have been, but I suppose it is true that your favourite anything chooses you, rather than the other way around. Despite not having seen the cartoon that the vast majority of her music is inspired by, I have been following the work of Zelda Trixie Lulamoon, better known as Vylet Pony, ever since someone recommended me her majestic 2022 progressive pop anthem "I've Still Got Something To Teach You". As I found out, that song was one step in a process of broadening her stylistic horizons from her brostep and electropop roots to ranges which by the time of the release of the album I'm reviewing now had already expanded to include hip-hop, industrial rock, ambient and free noise. Monarch Of Monsters, a bombastic progressive rock epic with influences from alternative rock and metal, post-rock, noise rock and no wave, feels more than leftfield even within that context: it feels like an evolution beyond all this. Mistake it not for some gimmicky attempt to break into a new genre: this is an earnest and heartfelt artistic statement from someone with genuine knowledge and love for the prog craft.

The poppy and colourful nature of most of Vylet Pony's previous works contrasts dramatically with the relentlessly dour and oppressive nature of not only the pure musical content of Monarch Of Monsters but also the album's concept, an elaborate fantasy storyline (further expanded on in a 78 pages long novella that accompanies the album) following the journey of an anthropomorphic wolf and her encounters with all manner of violence, cults, religious conflict, betrayal, death and reincarnation, all described in harrowing detail and apparently serving as allegories for traumatic events from the artist's own troubled life. It's well written and adds more weight to the album's cathartic moments, but it is also a lot to take in and a lot of it is quite over the top and graphic (as if that needed clarification with an album cover like that, LOL) and, if I'm being honest, isn't something I would readily recommend reading through unless one has the stomach for it.

But a narrative concept can only carry an album so far, so how's the music? Well... it's kind of breathtakingly beautiful every step of the way through, from the melancholic blue piano notes that open "Pest" and develop into a wailing, heavy, guitar- and organ-led rock waltz, all the way up to its mirror track "Rest Now, Little Wolf" at the album's end, a serene stately showstopper which is also the only song on the album in a major key. A delightful spectrum of sounds can be found in between these two moments, with some of the calmer tracks ("Vitality Glitch", "Huntress") hearkening back to the old moody electronic style within the newly established rock context, and other tracks ("Princess Cuckoo", "And As Her Howl Echoed Until Eventide...") going straight off the abstract noise deep end. The instrumentation and arrangements remain very rich throughout and Lulamoon's singing demonstrates remarkable skill, varying between clean soulful vocals, desperate gut-wrenching near-screams (showcased to particularly poignant emotional effect on the amazing "Survivor's Guilt"), heartrending sobs and exhausted near-whispers.

To me, the album's sixth track, "The Wallflower Equation", stands especially tall: it is a 12-minute long steadily paced Mars Volta-ish groove mostly based on a single synth bassline, gradually embellished with ornaments, riffs, solos and interjections on distorted guitar, clarinet, saxophone and synthesizer array before winding down into a mournful duet for bass and acoustic guitar. However, the 22-minute "Sludge" is certainly something that must be mentioned as well: this brings more to mind artists like Swans and Sprain and weaves together several different sections into an awe-demanding whole, beginning as an ominous hypnotic darkwave march swelling in intensity and culminating after a brief atmospheric interlude and a scream of SINNER BE DAMNED into thumping dissonant guitar riffage which then makes way for a prolonged frenetic heavy rock jam with more synth and sax solos before seemingly collapsing from fatigue.

For some lesser artists an album like this would be a career-defining accomplishment to be imitated but never equalled. For Vylet Pony it is only proof that no challenge is too great for her and that the sky is the limit for what we might expect from her in the future.

The project of 25-year old independent musician, Zelda Trixie Lulamoon, who has long been a fan of the My Little Pony world and has created a lot of music with this inspiration. Monarch of Monsters is Zelda's first full foray into pure progressive rock music. It also marks its first attempt at a concept album (84 minutes of it), which is, apparently, a cathartic allegorical expression of the artist's own life of accumulated traumas.

Line-up / Musicians: - Zelda Trixie Lulamoon / all instruments and vocals

1. "Pest" (6:04) saloon piano (two) with guitar and violin open this before trumpet, bass, and drums fill it out at 0:45. Zelda's breathy voice sounds very 21st Century, very "wise beyond their years," but then the chorus comes and Zelda belts out a hurt, vindictive, angry, and voice that lets one know that we're in for an adventure of cathartic The second verse finds both the music and vocal performance shifting slightly toward the now-popular Country-Western- influenced style of feminist rock balladry. The music, however, manages to avoid the power and anger of another chorus for a full cycle but then finally lets it loose at the end of the fifth minute, really leatting it all hang out in the first half of the sixth minute before backing off for the support of a My Little Pony/Sailor Moon-like "little girl" voice narrator setting up the coming story line. (8.875/10)

2. "PLAY DEAD! PLAY DEAD!" (4:11) enter some aggression with some male hip-hop vocals present here and there beneath/within Zelda's aggressive, cocky vocal performance. Her performance here sounds as if TAYLOR SWIFT or SHANIA TWAIN were trying to sound like (and inhabit) the fierce and intimidating spirits of PAT BENETAR, DEBBIE HARRY, CHRISSIE HYNDE, or PATTI SMITH (or, for that matter, Patty Smyth). Or maybe it's just a new song by the RUNAWAYS. (8.875/10)

3. "The Heretic (Woe Is Me)" (4:42) even though this song starts out with Zelda using her smooth/seductive DEBBIE GIBSON-voice, once the more heavy music takes over (at 1:38) it feels like something that is trying to emulate some of the heavy music bridging the punk and Grunge genres--like LENE LOVITCH, JOAN JETT, GARBAGE or even a little TORI AMOS. A very effectively composed and produced song. (9/10)

4. "Survivor's Guilt" (5:46) this one sounds like something from early 21st Century female-led rockers like GARBAGE, HOLE, or perhaps Avril Lavigne, Paramore, and/or Evanescence. This is one of those songs whose value might be higher were I attuned/interested in the lyrical content. Still, Zelda's Jekyll and Hyde vocal performance is pretty remarkable--and the music behind the punkish guitar chord play is quite brilliant. (8.875/10)

5. "Vitality Glitch" (4:49) there is something about this song, overall, that is just hip: simply perfect for 2024: sound, engineering, and palette; style and form; vocals and instrumentation--and the full, lush production really resonates with me. What a talented visionary is this Pony! Great song; a top three. (9.125/10)

6. "The Wallflower Equation" (12:00) One of my favorite songs on the album; just a really well constructed and produced epic song! Do I hear some Courtney Swain-like pipes blasting out in the eighth minute? (23/25)

7. "Princess Cuckoo" (4:28) I hear a cartoon-like version of some SWANS-ish thrash metal here. Powerful if not as easy to access or like. (I keep reminding myself that this is not necessarily music intended to "like" or to be "enjoyed" but rather it is just one artist's expression [and, hopefully, expulsion] of myraid deeply seated traumas and demons.) (8.75/10)

8. "Sludge" (22:12) despite an amazing first three pieces of this epic suite, the middle rape scene falls quite a bit short both theatrically and musically--both feeling less complete, unfulfilled, and, frankly, unconvincing. Too much simple punk rock-like guitar and amateurish voice acting. One of the rare weak spots in this album. The final three "subchapters" find Zelda hitting the marks again, though still feeling a bit under-produced in places. (39.25/45) - i. "A Recitation of Final Rites, Last Wishes, and Observations" - ii. "The Rivers Run Red" - iii. "Sludge" - iv. "As Wolf Sliced Her Body Open..." - v. "...Then Came a Supper Worse Than Death (Love and Tolerate This Mess)" - vi. "Sinner, Be Damned!" - vii. "Entrance Into the Locus" - viii. "Lamb Cried Out: 'Darling, Wolf...'" - ix. "How to Kill a Monster (Reprise)" - x. "The Fatal Flaw, or, How to Save a Monster" - xi. "'Live Again, in Service, Eternal', Lamb Whispered, as Wolf's Soul Was Granted a Body Once More..." - xii. "...And as Her Old Body Was Defiled, Tortured, and Annihilated (Revisited)" - xiii. "For the First Time, She Was Held Gently"

9. "Revenge Fantasy" (6:49) great suite of multiple motifs with excellent choices of palettes and styles. Zelda's synthetic treatment of her voice sometimes renders the vocals as feeling a bit "weak" or "less than professional" or even "outmoded" but, all in all, this song works really well. (13.875/15)

10. "Huntress" (4:49) now here is an incredibly powerful vocal: sounds, lyrics, vocal stylings, and, of course, the music within which it is supported. Beautiful, sultry, seductive, like a vampire patiently luring its prey into its trap. I know autotune is being used, but I think it's being used on only one or two of Zelda's several vocal tracks. Great melodies and chord progressions to support with a near-Aerial /Kate Bush sound palette to support. And those viscerally- resonating thrums coming from the low bass notes! Wow! Probably my favorite song on the album! (9.75/10)

11. "Becoming the Far Seer's Hunting Dog ('...and, as her howl echoed unto eventide, she became the far seer's hunting dog...')" (3:09) three minutes of awesome pure guitar rage and exorcistic purge, eviction, and expulsion. It works for me! (I hope it works for you, Zelda!) (9.25/10)

12 "Rest Now, Little Wolf (A Vigil for Aria, or, How the Lamb Stood in an Empty Room Filled With Empty Friends)" (4:50) interesting choice to return sweet little Aria to her state of pre-adolescent "innocence." The dreamy-eerie music and little girl voice, then the My Little Pony-like "inspired" speech, precedes the young adult's "wise" perspective with its strong, steady, rebellious rock finish. Bravo, Aria! Hail to the victors! Nice alchemical gold made from all of that [&*!#] and dross. (8.875/10)

Total Time 83:49

While listening to this incredible album I found myself remarking on similarities to/reminders of numerous other artists and their work, including Shania Twain, Britney Spears, Courtney Swain, Swans, The Who, Native Construct, Debbie Gibson, The Gabriel Construct, Kate Bush, Garbage, Hole, Alanis Morissette, Janelle Monáe, Alicia Keys, Joan Jett, The Runaways, Chrissie Hynde, Debbie Harry, Tori Amos, Patti Smith/Patty Smyth, Yuki Kajiura, and even Taylor Swift and The Beatles! At the same time, as entertained and amazed I was by the music, I was genuinely drawn into the artist's pain and anger; Zelda has done an astoundingly effective job of not only expressing her anguish and suffering but of making it fully accessible and sympathetic to the listener. Truly remarkable!

A-/4.5 stars; a near- or, perhaps, minor masterpiece of highly-provocative, -engaging, and -entertaining progressive rock music. Check it out: and make sure to try to give it a few spins cuz it's a grower, a real grower, and it needs space and time in order to be processed. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to give it a little more time before finally deciding whether or not to bump it up to "essential/masterpiece" status. Let's see how it wears on me over time. (My problem is coming from my discovery of some Pony's very excellent previous concept albums.)

P.S. I love finding out that Zelda's favorite album of all-time is Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Having that in common I am definitely interested in exploring Pony's extensive back-catalog of music. I'm already head-over-heels in love with 2017's Mystic Acoustic! Go, Pony, go!

P.P.S. I know, Pony, that this is your first "open" venture into your beloved world of Progressive Rock music (you've had several earlier album releases that definitely qualify for the assignations of "progressive rock" and "concept album" and "seemlessly flowing"), but I will say that with your considerable music history I would not be afraid or intimidated; though Monarch has flaws and deficiencies, if you keep at it, I have no doubt that you will reach the mountaintop; you are that talented.