SETI

Covenant was a sort of one album band. Although they have released another album under that moniker (In Times Before The Light), I consider Nexus Polaris to be their best achievement to date. Then they changed their name toThe Kovenant. This was a great idea, although the band was forced to do so, because their new musical direction has very little to do with what they did with Nexus Polaris. At the time, I really thought this album would set up a new sound in the black metal scene, but unfortunately the band added tons of samples in their sound and turned it into some kind of Marilyn Manson's black metal version on their third album Animatronic. The band is back with a new album called S.E.T.I. which means The Search Of Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. Consider that you have never heard anything from the band before, then chances are that you'll enjoy this album after the first spin. On the other hand, if you're like me and have been following the band since they released their sophomore album, then there's a chance that you be bewildered by this new record. Honestly it took me about half a dozen listens to really get into this album, but it was worth it. Of course there are some minor drawbacks to this album, such as the “new” voice of Lex icon (formerly known as Nagash) and the addition of tons of music effects such as those annoying industrial influences which give this electronic sound, but those guys know how to come up with some strong material, although very much commercial orientated. The recipe remains more or less the same than on Animatronic with strong choruses that are easy to remember and great female voices in the background although Eileen Kupper replaced Sarah Jezebel Deva. This music has a lot in common with Marilyn Manson, although a bit more heavier, or with Rob Zombie, although a bit less industrial orientated. All in all, this is far from being an unpleasant album, but this is not a masterpiece either. I really think the band should have stayed with their bombastic black metal approach since I strongly believe the band could have managed to come up with an even stronger album than Nexus Polaris, but the band always maintained that they wanted to evolve and not stagnate. S.E.T.I. is the epitome of musical evolution, but this album may not be one of those must-own album for the black metal fans, and though this album is definitely a good one, it's not something to rush out and add to your collection for any reason other than a fondness for the band. NB 1 : Someone has to explained me what the hell this cover has to do with The Search Of Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. I mean this cover is terrible. Do you really believe any extra-terrestrial would look like that ? I mean com’on, we all know that Andreas Marshall could have come up with another massive killing artwork such as the one they used for Nexus Polaris. NB 2 : I bought the limited edition featuring two extra tracks (Subtopia and Metallica’s The Memory Remains), but I had the displeasure not to find the two extra tacks on my CD. Besides, I am still waiting for Nuclear Blast to answer me (I sent about a dozen emails so far). May I suggest to Nuclear Blast’s staff to take better care of their customers as we here at Metal Reviews take good care of their bands