Artist: Covenant feat. Necro Facility
Title: Lightbringer EP
Genre: Electronic
Release Date: 22nd October 2010
Label: Synthetic Symphony / SPV
Album Review
Finally new material from COVENANT! Their forthcoming album ‘Modern Ruin’ has been in the pipeline for too long now, with a release initially announced for as early as 2009. This scheduled date was a bit premature and perhaps overhasty, however Swedish Electro heroes COVENANT simply took a break to reconsider things. Vocalist Eskil Simonsson explains: “Occasionally you must pause to think about yourself, about life, what you do, and whether or not it is what you want to do.” There is still no release date for the new album but good news is that COVENANT are back on the scene with the release of the EP ‘Lightbringer’ - and an unexpected collaboration with fellow Swedish band NECRO FACILITY!
But this is not the only surprise regarding this release. First of all it’s a surprise that COVENANT did not pick one of those new songs they already tried and tested live many times - like ‘Dynamo Clock’, ‘Come’ or ‘If I would give my soul’ - for the new single. Then ‘Lightbringer’ is an incredibly poppy tune, especially when you consider that collaborators NECRO FACILITY are rather known for dark, aggressive Electro in the vein of NUMB, FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY and particularly SKINNY PUPPY. And last but not least Daniel Myer (formerly HAUJOBB.) moved on from a live member to contributing synths and programming to actually writing songs for COVENANT with this release - the bonus track ‘The Beauty and the Grace’ was penned by Mr. Myer himself.
On this 7-track EP, there are five version of the title track ‘Lightbringer’, plus a remix of ‘The Beauty and the Grace’ (whose original version is yet to be released!) and ‘Never seem to end’ written by Montelius and Simonsson. As mentioned before, the song ‘Lightbringer’ leans very much towards the Pop side of things. A mid-tempo track with a simple but hymnist key melody which I would describe to someone who hasn’t heard it yet as somewhere between the COVENANT classics ‘Final Man’, ‘Bullet’ and ‘Brave New World’. But there are also some new elements: most obviously the voice of NECRO FACILITY’s singer Henrik Bäckström, which very heavily reminds on SKINNY PUPPY’s Nivek Ogre. I have to say that his vocoded vocals really suit nicely this smooth Pop song! COVENANT’s Eskil Simonsson sings the chorus, and his emotional, solemn vocal performance is a nice contrast to Bäckström’s delivery.
Apart from the 5:43 long original version of the title track, there is also a radio version by NECRO FACILITY’s Oscar Holter and a version each by COVENANT members Eskil Simonsson, Daniel Myer and Joakim Montelius. These versions show what each individual member brings in to the world of COVENANT - Simonsson’s ‘Speedrun’ version is a pumping and very dance-floor friendly take on the song, while Joakim Montelius opted for a much more experimental, darker and noisier approach. Last but least Daniel Myer offers a very intricate version for which he takes over Henrik Bäckström’s vocal parts - probably my personal fave off the bunch.
Daniel Myer’s remix of the previously unreleased ‘The Beauty and the Grace’ is a mellow but haunting track with a nice build-up and Myer’s trademark percussions, and the last track ‘Never seem to end’ is a dark, brooding piece and perhaps another example that COVENANT really dig stuff like ‘Plastikman’! The ‘Lightbringer’ EP is a nice and long-awaited “Hello, we’re back!” from our favourite Swedish synth masters. And in many ways an unexpected one! While it took a while for me to let ‘Lightbringer’ sink in, it’s a great return with a band which moves on to new things while keeping up their usual high quality. May ‘Modern Ruin’ come!
Tracklist
01. Lightbringer - 05:43
02. Lightbringer (radio version) - 04:17
03. Lighbringer (dm rmx) - 04:17
04. The Beauty and the Grace (rmx) - 04:55
05. Lightbringer (speedrum) - 04:28
06. Lightbringer (jm rmx) - 06:37
07. Never seem to end (unreleased) - 06:34
Line-up
COVENANT
Eskil Simonsson – lead vocals, composition, lyrics, production, synths
Joakim Montelius – lyrics, composition, production, synths, additional vocals
Daniel Myer – engineering, production, synths, additional vocals
NECRO FACILITY
Oscar Holter – Music
Henrik Bäckström – Lyrics, Vocals
Website
http://www.covenant.se/ / http://www.myspace.com/covenant
http://www.progress-productions.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/necrofacility
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 10
Extras: -
Total: 9 / 10
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