Review Summary: Nothing new but nothing changed either from Covenant, just yet another brilliant album from the group
Leaving Babylon is Covenant’s latest installation in their discography, and to be perfectly honest, this is easily their best effort since
Northern Light. Notably, this album is almost entirely beat based, with infuriatingly catchy hooks, and soulful lyrics, rounding in this to be a nice treat for an already fan of Covenant (and possibly a random person looking for 2013 synth-based music).
Admittedly, I wasn’t expecting too much from this album (personally I’m not too keen on this-day-and-age EBM), but I was completely blown away from this album. They’ve made powerful melodies and smoothly produced rhythms in the past, but this one feels like they spent hours upon hours carefully producing ever sound and pattern. This is essentially more of the same from the group; bouncy rhythms, creative arrangements, and strikingly beautiful melodies.
Although there are only nine tracks here (with a hidden track at the end), they are all spectacular. ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ is brought upon by a dramatic intro and then escalates into a full-fledged blast of a tune, whereas ‘I Walk Slow’ is a gloomier, depressing song. ‘Ignorance & Bliss’ is my favorite, mostly due to the astonishingly brilliant melody and pulsating chorus, and ‘Not to be Here’ is an eerily creepy finale directed toward the sound effects and melancholy synthesizers. This is, by far, Covenant’s greatest album since
Northern Light, and a definite contester for the album of the year (in my books). There are many positive qualities with each song, nothing too depressing but nothing too glittery either; they all seem to enrich your mood and brighten your day.
