The Kovenant is a Norwegian
industrial metal band from
Hamar
Hamar is a town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the traditional region of Hedmarken. The town is located on the shores of Mjøsa, Norway's largest lake ...
. The band originally formed as a
symphonic black metal act known as Covenant in 1993, but in 1999 were forced to change their name to The Kovenant due to a dispute with a Swedish
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
band of
the same name.
The band's name change also marked a change in sound/style as well, as the band from there on began to focus more on an
aggrotech/
industrial metal sound heavily influenced by Europe's
EBM scene. Despite their style change, The Kovenant did however later reissue their early albums under The Kovenant name.
History
The "Covenant" years (1994–1999)
The band was formed as Covenant in 1993 by two
black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emp ...
artists known as
Nagash and
Blackheart
Blackheart is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an adversary to the superhero Ghost Rider. Created by writer Ann Nocenti and artist John Romita Jr., Blackhe ...
. They both met when Blackheart decided to help Nagash with his one-man project
Troll
A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human be ...
. They garnered little attention after releasing a demo titled ''From the Storm of Shadows'', but eventually a record label, Mordgrimm, took notice of them and released their first album ''
In Times Before the Light
''In Times Before the Light'' is the debut album by Norwegian black metal band Covenant, released in 1997 through Mordgrimm.
Album history
''In Times Before the Light'' is the first album by the band (at that time called Covenant), recorded in 1 ...
'' in 1997. This album was recorded two years prior in 1995 and established them a fan base in Norway. It sounds similar to
Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, ...
's first opus ''
For All Tid
''For all tid'' ("For All Time") is the debut studio album by Norwegian black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released in 1995 through No Colours. It was remastered and re-released in 1997 through their new label Nuclear Blast with the front co ...
''. Indeed, Nagash is a long-time friend to the lead vocalist of Dimmu Borgir,
Shagrath
Stian Tomt Thoresen (born 18 November 1976),[Shagrath](_blank)
at Encyclopaedia Metallum known professiona ...
.
Covenant signed with
Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...
, a major German label dedicated to the hard rock scene, in 1998 and recruited four other members to form an actual band. These people were Astennu (of Dimmu Borgir,
Carpe Tenebrum
Carpe Tenebrum (incorrectly, "Seize the Darkness" in Latin) was a black metal solo project of the former Dimmu Borgir and Covenant guitarist Jamie Stinson, better known as Astennu. Stian Arnesen (Nagash) was also involved with the project. Ver ...
),
Sverd (of
Arcturus
, - bgcolor="#FFFAFA"
, Note (category: variability): , , H and K emission vary.
Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Boötes. With an apparent visual magnitude of −0.05, it is the third-brightest of the ...
),
Sarah Jezebel Deva
Sarah Jane (born 25 February 1977), better known by her stage name Sarah Jezebel Deva, is an English singer. She was the female soprano vocalist for Cradle of Filth for 14 years and the frontwoman of the band Angtoria for 10 years. In 2009, D ...
(of
Cradle of Filth and others), and
Hellhammer
Hellhammer was a Swiss metal band from Nürensdorf, active from 1982 to 1984. Although the band's sound and style were heavily criticized and poorly reviewed during their active years, they have been widely praised in retrospect and are often r ...
(of
Mayhem and others). With these new recruits, they released their second album, ''
Nexus Polaris
NEXUS is a joint Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection-operated Trusted Traveler and expedited border control program designed for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. Members of the program can avoid waits at borde ...
''. The album also resulted in the band getting a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
Grammy for Best Hard Rock Band and led to Nagash leaving Dimmu Borgir (for which he played bass) in order to concentrate fully on The Kovenant.
Name change and ''Animatronic'' era (1999–2002)
After the release of Nexus Polaris, Sverd, Astennu, and Sarah were fired for what Nagash has said to be "various reasons" in several interviews. Only Nagash, Blackheart, and Hellhammer remained. The band then found themselves being sued by a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
band of
the same name. The Swedish band argued that they owned the name "Covenant" as they had been known as Covenant before Nagash and Blackheart formed their band. Consequently, they were forced to change their name to The Covenant. Unfortunately, simply adding "The" in front of the name would not suffice, because a
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
heavy metal band had been named The Covenant since 1988. So they added "The" and also replaced the "C" with a "K" to avoid any future confusions, leading to their permanent name "The Kovenant".
In 1999, The Kovenant recorded and released ''
Animatronic
Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions.
It is a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy a ...
'', which portrayed a stylistic change to more
industrial
Industrial may refer to:
Industry
* Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry
* Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems
* Industrial city, a city dominate ...
sound. Soon the band changed their individual stage names to suit their new direction: Nagash became "Lex Icon", Blackheart became "Psy Coma", and Hellhammer became "Von Blomberg". The new album also afforded them another
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
Grammy and they gained a new member, Angel, while touring the USA.
After the ''Animatronic'' tour, Lex and Psy took a break and decided to re-record ''
In Times Before the Light
''In Times Before the Light'' is the debut album by Norwegian black metal band Covenant, released in 1997 through Mordgrimm.
Album history
''In Times Before the Light'' is the first album by the band (at that time called Covenant), recorded in 1 ...
''. But
Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...
wanted nothing to do with the album, so they changed labels and released it through
Hammerheart Records
Hammerheart Records (known as Karmageddon Media between 2004 and 2010) is a Dutch independent record label specializing in death metal, black metal, doom metal and folk metal bands from around the world. The label was founded in 1995 and is current ...
. A re-release of ''
Nexus Polaris
NEXUS is a joint Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection-operated Trusted Traveler and expedited border control program designed for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. Members of the program can avoid waits at borde ...
'' took place as well during 2002.
''SETI'' and the wait for ''Aria Galactica'' (2002–present)
In 2002, the band found themselves back in the studio, recording ''
SETI
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life, for example, monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of transmissions from civilizations on other pl ...
'', their fourth album. The full-length release was preceded by a promotional EP ''SETI Club'', and both were issued in 2003. Von Blomberg decided to do more touring and left the band to handle other projects. Two new members were recruited: Küth (of
Ram-Zet
Ram-Zet is an avant-garde metal band formed in Hamar, Norway in 1998. Genre classification
Ram-Zet's music is very diverse ranging from black metal to thrash metal. It has industrial sounds, progressive structures, and traditional instrumen ...
) on drums and Brat (of
Apoptygma Berzerk) on keyboards. They then toured
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
and the United States to promote the album.
Currently the band is working on a DVD and a new album titled ''Aria Galactica''. Lex Icon announced recently that they have 14 pieces written so far. The album will come with a second disc consisting entirely of symphonic renditions of the tracks from the primary disc, which suggests a return to the more symphonic style exhibited by the band on their 1998 album Nexus Polaris.
The following announcement has once been seen a
Lex's blog
In an interview of August 2007, Psy Coma described ''Aria Galactica'' as "technical", with more guitar solos, "much stronger" and different from ''SETI''. The estimated release date would be Christmas (2007). He also denied any relations between ''Aria Galactica'' and the DVD, which would be "completely megalomaniac project of making a documentary of
heirentire band history".
In 2007, the band re-released their debut album, entitled ''In Times before the Light 1995''.
In October 2009, The Kovenant were confirmed to be performing their
Nexus Polaris
NEXUS is a joint Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection-operated Trusted Traveler and expedited border control program designed for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. Members of the program can avoid waits at borde ...
album with the original members at the Inferno Festival in Norway, spring of 2010. The Kovenant, along with Mayhem, Finntroll and Taake, were the first four bands to be on the Festival's bill.
In February 2010, Lex revealed on his Myspace page: "Yes, we are working on the new album again. And No, The Kovenant is not disbanded. ... Going according to schedule. Just have to get the business side out of the way. (As in what record company it will be released on etc). And we might start having open try-outs for some new blood in the very near future."
In December 2010, Lex shared "So many things will happen next year... New Troll album, Razor Runner album++, and if the universe doesn't stab us in the back; there shall be a new The Kovenant album. Cold hails from Norway!", showing that the album (and band) have not yet been abandoned.
On October 29, 2011, Nagash did a one-time only performance of their debut album at the Aurora Infernalis III festival in
Arnhem
Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
'Press release'
Except for Nagash, no other members of the current incarnation of the band participated.
Band members
;Current members
* Stian Hinderson (Nagash/Lex Icon) − drums (1993-1998; 2002), vocals, keyboards (1993–present), bass (1998-present)
*Amund Svensson
Amund Svensson, born 21 April 1978, is a Norwegian musician and composer.
He is the co-founder and the main composer of the band The Kovenant, for which he plays guitars and keyboards as well as write orchestrations. He is also involved in his ow ...
(Blackheart/Psy Coma/Pzy-Clone) − bass (1994-1998; 2002), guitar, keyboards, programming (1993−2002; 2002–present)
*Audun Stengel (Angel) - guitar (2000–present)
;Former members
*Jan Axel Blomberg
Jan Axel Blomberg (born 2 August 1969) is a Norwegian heavy metal drummer known professionally as Hellhammer. He is best known as the drummer of Mayhem, which he joined in 1988. In 1987 Blomberg formed the avant-garde black metal band Arcturus ...
(Hellhammer/von Blomberg) - drums (1998–2003)
* Jamie Stinson (Astennu) − guitar (1998−1999)
*Sarah Jezebel Deva
Sarah Jane (born 25 February 1977), better known by her stage name Sarah Jezebel Deva, is an English singer. She was the female soprano vocalist for Cradle of Filth for 14 years and the frontwoman of the band Angtoria for 10 years. In 2009, D ...
− female vocals (1998)
*Eileen Küpper
Eileen Küpper is a South Africa-born soprano singer, known for her work with metal bands Therion and The Kovenant.
Discography Solo
* ''Shapes'' (2003)
With Therion
* '' Vovin'' (1998)
* ''Crowning of Atlantis'' (1999)
* ''Deggial'' (2000)
Wi ...
– female vocals (1999–2003)
*Kent "Küth" Frydenlund − drums (2003−2009)
*Geir Bratland
Geir "Gerlioz" Bratland (born 29 July 1970 in Narvik, Norway) is a Norwegian keyboardist for the band Dimmu Borgir (2010-) and formerly was a member of the bands God Seed, Apoptygma Berzerk, The Kovenant, and Satyricon.
Discography/Performances ...
(Brat) − keyboards (2003−2009)
*Kharon - Bass (1994)
*Steinar Sverd Johnsen
Steinar Sverd Johnsen is a Norwegian keyboardist and composer, born 1972. Sverd plays keyboards and synthesizers in Arcturus and was also the main composer for the band. He formed the band with Jan Axel Blomberg (also known as Hellhammer) of Ma ...
- keyboards (1998)
Awards
*1998: Spellemannprisen
Spellemannprisen, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organizat ...
in the category Hard rock, for the album ''Nexus Polaris
NEXUS is a joint Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection-operated Trusted Traveler and expedited border control program designed for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. Members of the program can avoid waits at borde ...
''
*1999: Spellemannprisen in the category Hard rock, for the album ''Animatronic
Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions.
It is a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy a ...
''
Discography
Studio albums
EPs
Demos
References
External links
The Kovenant (official) at Myspace
The Kovenant page at Nuclear Blast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovenant, The
Musical groups established in 1992
1992 establishments in Norway
Musical groups from Hedmark
Nuclear Blast artists
Spellemannprisen winners