SETI

by

The Kovenant

Edit

If you are expecting brutally heavy Black Metal or Industrial-ish Death Metal your barking up the wrong tree. If your looking for Sci-Fi based Industrial Metal then this album will most likely please you. The Kovenent have long been away from their Black Metal roots and though now and then a faster riff or more complex drumming lines occur thats about as close as it gets. Lex the vocalist of Kovenant normally sticks to a clean deeper tone through out S.E.T.I. but oftenly changes over to a high pitched growl similar to that of old Cradle of Filth. The Guitarist and Keyboardist; Psy is an especially gifted musician. all of the tracks have amazing Keyboard & Programming arrangements done mainly by Psy, From Higher pitched echo'd out space like sounds to distorted Classical Piano arrangements. Many people are supprized to find out that whom is considered to be one of Metal's greatest drummers Von Blomberg A.K.A. Hellhammer sits behind the kit for Kovenant. The beats this guy puts down are amazing and oftenly he uses Synth Pads to make some interesting tones but oftenly he just plays the classic kit and supprizing he's so good that he makes it sound excellent with the Industrial/Electronica arrangements. This is not for everyone, But alot of people can enjoy this and many do.

<-FAVOURITE-TRACKS->

-Cybertrash

-Stillborn Universe

-Acid Theater

-The Perfect End

-Keepers of the Garden

- Vocals & FX <> Lex Icon -

- Guitars, Keyboards & Programming <> Psy Coma -

- Drums & Percussion <> Von 'Hellhammer' Blomberg

(-ADDITIONAL-PERSONNEL-)

- Live Guitarist

- Programming & Sound Design <> Erik Ljungren

- Bass Guitars

- Soprano Vocals

- Additional Bass

- Recorded: May - October 2002

- Released: July 2003

- Label: Nuclear Blast GmbH

- Album Length: 1 hour 7 min. 34 sec.

Lex Icon's singing is no longer in the lead of Danny Davey or Ihsahn. It's now very clean and it seems to come very close-too too close-to Jonathan Davis or Marilyn Manson. Some of the keyboards and female operatic vocals remain but the music has distanced itself from the Viking/Scandinavian essence, and is now a slow glam rock/goth pop style. A very similar change happened to Tiamat and the Gathering: Beginning as European death metal, line-up changes and progressive interests moved them to a sort of electronica/dark ambient rock.

"Star by Star" "Stillborn Universe", "Neon", "Keeper of the Gardens" and the fair Metallica cover "The Memory Remains" would be the standout, but the black metal is gone and I can't see the whole album fully appealing to anyone else but to fans of nu industrial "metal". Even this mass will be unpleased with the fact the album is not all that dark.

The best way to put it, a well-produced album that is accessible but nothing that hasn't been heard before. Three and a half stars. If you want something unique, get the gloomy Rammstein-meets-Cradle of Filth "Animatronic" by the Kovenant.