Customer Reviews

Dreams of a Cryotank

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Covenant has been an EBM heavy-hitter for a while now and is one a band that has deservedly been given acclaim in that field. From their initially odd flows that energized audiences to the more mainstream sounds of United States of Mind and their lastest(and possibly greatest)release, they've made music that is, in a word, enjoyable. The voice behind the band is a rather talented one, too, and he only gets better as the albums progress and is allowed to showcase his skills. Perhaps they've changed what they've done from time to time, giving a little variety as the spice of their electronic life, but that's normally what one would want from the engines driving the beats that move both body and mind.

Dreams of a Cryotank is the second album I purchased from Covenant, and its one that I enjoyed quite a bit. It took a little while for it to grow on me because I purchased a latter album first, but adjusting a little by giving it a few spins actually helped it along. The reason it took some time was because some of it isn't as refined as the newer works they've produced, but that really isn't something to hold against them. The beats are still there, albeit a reflection of an older time, and the singing style is there in its initially rudimentary layers.

I went and picked this up because of the single Thermin, its heavy beat and the line "we dance to the sound of sirens and we watch genocide to relax" getting stuck in my mind. I actually like a lot of the EBM bands because of songs of this nature, with them having a little more meaning in their beginning stages. Here, we have a lot of songs about war and the destruction it causes, which seemed to be a staple for the EBM music in its early days. Besides Thermin, there are some other songs on the album that started growing on me as I listened to it some more. Although it's a little slow in build and the recording level seems a little low, I actually enjoyed the loops of the bomb being tested and the anti - war ballad being strummed in "Shelter." I liked "Voices" and "Edge of Dawn" a lot, too, because the beat for one was an odd construction that moved pretty quickly and because the other was just a fast-paced song and because, as always, I enjoy the voice behind the band. Granted, these weren't the greatest showcases of what he can actually do, but they still worked out pretty well. And a few others (Replicant, for one) were pretty good, too.

If you haven't checked out Covenant yet and are wanting to look into them, I'd suggest possibly picking up Europa and one of their two latest before going this way. Europa has some of the more refined elements of the band as it stood at the doorway of transition, and it'll let you see just what they've capable of. If you've picked up some Covenant and are tracking back to reclaim some of the older stuff, then this is something that's work acquiring . It has some of the stuff they were noted for doing before they defined their sound, so it's a notable entry into their body of work.

Having listened to FLA, Delerium and Assemblage 23, I checked on the similar artists listing and came across Covenant and was intrigued by this name. I decided to purchase this CD through Amazon.com and was impressed by 'Dreams Of A Cryotank' which stirred pictures in my mind of sci-fic and fantasy ideas. And this music did not disappoint me at all. This is a quite long CD with 12 tracks. Track 11 is the extended song called 'Cryotank' and is a masterpiece of elusive industrial beats and sounds mixed with a slow beginning to a explosive end. Other songs to look out for on this momentous album are the songs; 'Shelter' that reminds me of nuclear disaster movies like 'Testament' and 'The Day After'. Another good song is the high tempo 'Wasteland' that should make it to dance lists if remixed properly fairly shortly. Also check out the bonus song on track 12 'Theremin Club Edit'now that's a dance song!
A good CD from Covenant from 1999.

Covenant is a musical act from Helsingborg in the south of Sweden performing what is generally considered to be noisy, danceable, energetic, dark future electronic music with a good beat and an attitude that is breaking new barriers on the Swedish music scene.

Members of covenant today are: Eskil Simonsson (vocals & music), Joakim Montelius (samples & lyrics) and Clas Nachmanson (keyboards and performance).

They started of in the mid/late 1980's as some sort of a electronic big band with various members and finally established the current setting consisting of Eskil Simonsson (vocals & music), Joakim Montelius (samples & lyrics) and Clas Nachmanson (keyboards and performance) some time in the early 1990's.

As many other newcomers in the music scene they started of with a demo tape ('Dreams of a cryotank' released in 1991 or 1992) and appearing on one of the compilations from Memento Materia ('Autumn Leaves') which was to be the company that they finally would sign a deal with.

In those early days they proved to be very different as a live band compared to other band in the genre. their shows has been dark, mystic and with no or quite little properties on stage they still manage to create a highly interesting scene show (rumors say that there was black plastic bags and hockey helmets involved).

The music is carefully assembled with a lot of dark, moody, industrial sounds and influences from other electronical bands like Front 242, Skinny Puppy, Kraftwerk, Prodigy, Frontline Assembly, Nine Inch Nails making a successful danceable combination of different styles.

The music must be heard, it can not be described fairfully and preferably you also must see covenant live since the live versions of some of the songs are heavily reworked and more raw and clean than the album versions that often contains many channels with different sounds and noises in good harmony.

In 1995 they acted as support to both Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft on their comeback tour as well as Frontline Assembly, another great band in the genre.

In late 1996 their next single Stalker was released and became another big underground hit. A video was made for this single but I haven't seen it yet so I consider this to be an rumor.

After some time of silence they came back with a new sound and a new single, "Final Man". They also appeared as a support act for Rammstein in Sweden. Now the sound was a bit lighter and a bit less complex which was confirmed on their 1998 full length album "Europa". They received the award for "Best Artist" at the Swedish Electronic Music Awards 1998 (picture to the left shows the band being handed their price by Alexander Hoffman (Android/S.P.O.C.K)) where they also preformed a great concert.

The next single is supposed to be "Tension" which will be released in late 1998.

I am relatively new to Covenant's music. I own "United States of Mind" and "Northern Light" besides "Dreams of a Cryotank". To be honest, "Northern Light" is probably my least favorite Covenant cd of the three I own. I consider "United States of Mind"and "Dreams of a Cryotank" to be vastly superior. I especially enjoy the aggressive sound on "Dreams of a Cryotank". The songs are not nearly as mellow as what I heard on "Northern Light". I especially enjoy the throbbing electronic beats of "Painamplifier" and the sampled vocals. The distorted vocals of Eskil Simonsson reminds on this song reminds me a bit like Ministry's AlJourgenson. I love "Theremin". It is the perfect song to kick off the album. I think Eskil sounds at the prime of his game on "Hardware Requiem". On "Dreams of a Cryotank", I didn't think Eskil sounded like anyone, namely Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan (like he did on "Northern Light"). "Dreams of a Cryotank" is what I was hoping that "Northern Light" would turn out to be but didn't. Still, Covenant is definitely becoming one of my favorite bands off the Metropolis Records label.

Covenant is not one of my top 20 favorite bands; in fact, I am not even a huge fan of industrial music; however, I own several Covenant cd's. Why? Because of two songs that Covenant has created: "Wasteland" and "Edge of Dawn". These two songs are absolutely amazing; they are complete masterpieces. The vocals are some of the best you will ever find for any industrial act, or any band for that matter. Not since Front 242 or Nitzer Ebb have I ever seen anything quite like this.

This was one of the first CDs I got of Covenant ( the other was Europa which came in a package that was a lot cheaper where I was than what Amazon has here )

Anyway what I'll say is that the sound is good even though the Cryotank track will have some people being impatient since it goes on for almost 26 minutes but it isn't bad - it's quite good really. Another thing is that the singer sounds like Phil Oakey of the Human League and it sometimes fun to think of the Human League Mk1 singing songs like these and Covenant singing the Human League`s back catalogue

I know Covenant's got some wacky cd & song names and they share their name with four(4) other bands but placing that aside their damn good. If you like Kmfdm ,Front Line Assembly, or you want to experience a band that knows how to balance its sound with its vocals then covenant is for you. Their sound is smooth and well planned, not like some electronic music that either is canned night club music or just some guy playing around on a midi keyboard. From the songs I have heard the vocalist has a smooth peircing voice that handles the lyric's well. What usually turns me off from some electronic music was the singers that either didn't know how to sing or didn't realize they are male and can't go that high with their voices. Bottom line, and general rule for all music on the net. Find some of their songs in mp3 format... decide if you like it or not then buy it if you do. Thats what I did and I can't get enough now. Suggested songs: Stalker (club-mix) Tour De Force-amok_(club-mix) <-!NEW!

Play it loud, play it proud, share with the neighbors at 1am!

This is, quite possibly the best release in EBM since Front 242's TYRANY FOR YOU. The music is hard edged, agressive, and very dancible. The vocals are deep and smooth(comparible to those of JL DeMEYER). This cd is the perfect introduction to the men that have taken Electronic music by storm.