Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I'm hooked for good now..., November 8, 2003
I'm still fairly new to EBM and industrial music so I don't have much to compare this to but I definitely recommend it. At first I was a little reluctant to take a chance with this particular album because of all the negative reviews it was receiving at the time, but now that I have it I'm feeling a bit perplexed as to why so many people dislike it? I do notice more positive appraisal on it now though, which I'm very happy about. 'Northern Light' is my introduction to the Swedish group Covenant, which I bought close to a year ago, and I haven't grown tiresome of it yet. In fact, every once in a while when I go through my older CDs and indulge myself with this incredible record, it's as if I'm re-discovering it because it sounds like the first time all over again so I'm very relieved to have ignored the ones discouraging me to buy this. I honestly don't fathom the problem here but my guess is maybe those people don't like a strong sense of atmosphere associated with the heavy beats that are just shy of techno because many of these songs flow at a moderate pace instead of pounding insistently, and some even feature string orchestrations. Because of the initial assumption of devoid sentimentalism, many think industrial music is empty in the way of emotion but the well-written lyrics, as well as Eskil Simonsson's voice, which reminds me of a cross between VNV Nation's Ronan Harris and Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan, is thick with feeling, and the melodies are hardly vacant with cold, monotonous rhythms. I for one am very impressed with this album and will someday look further into Covenant's plethora of releases (most of which garnered better praises than this). Maybe then I can understand the disappointment more clearly. It's a close call because they're all really great but my favorite tracks include: "Call The Ships To Port", "Bullet", "Invisible & Silent", "Prometheus", and "Scared".
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dramitically good, October 18, 2004
Sweden's Covenant has built its dark reputation on a mix of EBM hard beats and deep, slightly monotone yet dramatic vocals-think Sisters of Mercy or Clan Of Xymox .Covenant is one of the few futurepop/EBM/new industrial/whatever-you-wanna-call-it bands that have stomped their way into the hearts of goth fans and rivetheads alike .The beats are relentless but not militaristic. There's more melancholy than machine here because Covenant is willing to take their time to establish a mood rather than spewing out the thundering distorted vocals and repetitive rhythms that often turn other bands in this genre into trance gone evil.
Therefore, it's not surprising that Northern Lights, their fifth full effort, is inching closer and closer toward dark electronic stalwarts like Depeche Mode than ever before. The album opens with Covenant's familiarly cold synth style, but on "Bullet," Eskil Simonsson softens his voice and this new vulnerable approach adds an attractive depth and humanity to Northern Lights.
They continue to draw out more organic sounds from their electronic bag of tricks with bits like the underlying hint of bongo-type drums on "Rising Sun," piano-esque elements on "Bullet," and the choir-like backing vocals of "Invisible and Silent." These things lend a thoughtful, if not morose, quality to this record. With many slower songs, Northern Lights isn't just meant to get boots stomping around the dance floor. These guys can emote when they darn well feel like it and the music doesn't suffer. VAST is a decent comparison point.
Longtime fans have hurled complaints ( when do they not complain , really...??) that this CD is too soft, that the band has abandoned the hard beats that made them EBM favorites, but this friendlier synthpop side is what I like about it. Not to say it's all lonely slow-jams (well, as slow as you can get with this sort of thing): "We Want Revolution" is a smash-it-up riot act. "Call the Ships to Port" is classic Covenant, synths sailing over a relentless beat. And the oddball dichotomy of disco-happy beats and the repeated refrain of "I feel so scared/I feel so sad" makes "Atlas" a bizarrely danceable draw as well.
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Changing EBM Seasons, February 5, 2003
When "Northern Lights" was first released, I began hearing its name with negative connotations almost right away. Everything from a "mediocre album with filler tracks" to "they need to return to their old form" seemed to echo through many a person's sentimentality, making me stop and question if I should actually break down and buy the album. Added to this were doubts I had because I'd glanced a tiny portion of the "Bullet" video from a source that did it no justice (I should have gone to Metropolis), making me wonder what this offering entailed. Still, having listened to them through the veritable seasons of change they had undergone going from the sounds of "Dreams of a Cyrotank," "Sequencer," and the wonders of "Europa," to the more mainstreamed "United States of Mind," I really didn't mind them changing directions once more. Everytime they had done so previously, the EBM pulses that drove the much were still very much active, the lyrical content of the albums and the voice that Eskil throws into the sometimes moody undertones all remained active. So, conquering my fear, I purchased this release. Well, the new album was something of a shock to hear, moreso because of the Depche Mode-like change in the way they approached their songs than anything else. This wasn't a bad alteration, mind you, because I found it growing on me with every listen, but it was something different that I had never heard them do before and, at first, I wasn't sure what to think. After foraging through tracks with interesting notions on how to cultivate songs and flavors, though, I found myself listening on and liking it. And really, what's not to like? There's a little bit of something for every sensation-seeker, from the driven pulsation of "Call the Ships to Port" and "We stand Alone" to the slower songs that still keep a fair tempo like that produced on "Bullet." Combined with that are the truly odd yet captivating portions, like that found on "Prometheus," a song I find myself liking more with each listen. For fans of an older flavor of Covenant, be warned that this is something different in the works. While there are tracks that still bear the signature of the same band stamped into their beats, there are others that will be something foreign and, to some listeners, perhaps even unappealing. To find that out, one simply needs to listen to the portions provided here and also to the other pieces that Metropolis grants. Simply do so with a mind ready to sample something different from them, though, and you'll find that it grows on you.
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by Covenant 
