The Kovenant

Seti (Nuclear Blast)
by Scott Hefflon

Industrial metal may sound like a very mid-’90s concept to some, but when ya hear it done right, you forget how many disappointing KMFDM records you own. The Kovenant are Norwegian, come from a black metal background, and are smart enough to bring in members of Apoptygma Berzerek and Zeromancer for Seti, as they’ve worked with members of Dimmu Borgir, Mayhem, Cradle of Filth, and Arcturus in the past.

There are moments of Skinny Puppy vocal tirades, “Via Negativa” has a serious “Juke Joint Jezebel” chorus, but it’s the cold twinkling of “Star by Star” and the slit-wrist slow drip of “Stillborn Universe” that’ll raise eyebrows… The former features deep vocals (think Type O, Moonspell, etc.) over big, Goth metal guitars, while the latter pushes the keyboard melancholy even further into near-pure dark wave synthpop territory. Not bad for a metal band, ya know? Fans of industrial who’re kinda sick of distorted vocals and think Marilyn Manson a little too bad boy dark anthemic mainstream hard rock (Aerosmith or Guns N’ Roses with a different package to sell a different market) oughtta like The Kovenant, as long as metal guitars don’t give ’em a rash. Like all good metal and industrial albums, this sucker’s over an hour long, so chances are you’ll need a break from dancing (vertically or horizontally) before it’s done.
(2323 W. El Segundo Blvd. Hawthorne CA 90250)