Covenant – Northern Light

Label: Metropolis Records 2003
The first track, “Monochrome,” demonstrates this well: it begins with a simple industrial clang and fluctuating synth, but by the end of the track,
the synth chords have changed to support the grandiose singing of Simonsson, epic in every sense of the word. And from there it only gets better.



Description

Description

The first track, “Monochrome,” demonstrates this well: it begins with a simple industrial clang and fluctuating synth, but by the end of the track, the synth chords have changed to support the grandiose singing of Simonsson, epic in every sense of the word. And from there it only gets better.
Enter “Call the Ships to Port,” the first dancefloor single of the album. It takes the energy of their typical work (say, “Tour De Force”) and blends it in with a dizzying cascade of thoughtful lyrics and swelling synth. The difference here is that the serious tone they have taken with their previous work suddenly makes sense here, with an appropriate musical setting. Songs like “Prometheus” and “Winter Comes” seem the perfect synthesis of the hard, brutal lyrics of Montellius, Simonsson’s all-encompassing baritone/bass, and the newfound expression with their instruments, the two tracks being the darkest and moodiest on the album. The polyrhythms in “Rising Sun” lend the track a strange, anticipatory energy that suits the track’s etheral mood and sparse intrumentation.
However, this album has its missteps. “Scared” would have been great as a Daft Punk track, but Covenant doesn’t quite have the vertical groove nailed down yet, despite what “Rising Sun” would have you believe. It’s a neat experiment, I just think it shouldn’t have left the studio. “Atlas,” which follows the same blueprint as “Prometheus,” is drowned in dissonant, falling synth noise, which destroys what would have been a cool track.
Whatever Covenant puts out is going to be great. This album is easily one of the best electronic albums I have heard. But there are a few tracks feel out of place, that don’t quite fit the glossed-over vibe of the album. This is probably the last great album that Covenant will put out, as Daniel Myer has joined the group and will inevitably push their sound in a new direction.

Album Tracks
1. Monochrome 2. Call The Ships To Port 3. Bullet 4. Invisible & Silent 5. Prometheus 6. We Stand Alone 7. Rising Sun 8. Winter Comes 9. We Want Revolution 10. Scared 11. Atlas

Additional information

Additional information

Format

2CD, Double-vinyl