A covenant is a promise to someone, be it a compact, a mere spoken agreement, or in the form of a contract. For the case of three Swedish young men back in 1986, Eskil Simonsson, Joakim Montelius and Clas Nachmanson, it meant, and means, something more. Stronger than brothers, the group was “making noise” at first, only to be pulled into military service; this, however, did not stop them. Eskil Simonsson sneaked a keyboard, Joakim a recording tape, and in later years in the university, the trio would become renowned locally. With their first song ‘The Replicant’ appearing on a compilation album, a growing fanbase was being reached. Impressed, the record label Memento Materia’s only option was to sign them before someone else did. And a year later, in 1993, Covenant’s first full-length ‘Dreams Of A Cryotank’ is released.
Covenant’s music is a mix of a genre called futurepop (darker, more synth/electronically driven pop) with industrial (harsh sounds with aggressive beats and lots of noise). Though the boundaries of those definitions would become less pronounced over time, the textbook example of this record and the cyberpunk influences obviously have hold. Opening with a fast paced and hard-hitting track called ‘Theremin’, it certainly puts the listener up to a lot of expectations as it is one of the best on the album. Yet the band cannot support themselves upright with their debut, falling down because of things that seem quite tedious and easy to avoid to the outsider. But the problems don’t seem to be on any one scale; they can be petite and light or become monstrous and destroy the whole song.
Because the downfalls can come packaged in a variety of ways, some are little bits in a lot of songs; some faults are simply just foolish and overdramatic (or just annoying) lyrics. Other problems expand to whole songs, as said, or actually may be the song, such as Hardware Requiem. No other songs are complete downers, though some may take awhile to sink in, like Shelter. Shelter has a repetitive, tedious intro of nothing but “
The Atom Bomb explodes again!”, taken from a movie, that lasts over a minute. But it is a good after that, sounding like a rough draft of a later B-side called Luminal, which is good, because Luminal is a great song. Shipwreck takes awhile to get going as well, and even longer for the listener to get past the waste of sound that is the first part of the track and stand out to them as a solid take. Still, like most tracks on this, it finds a way to redeem itself even when you might think you’ve had enough. These drawbacks are not to sound bigger then they are, because at the time the band stated themselves that they did not take music as serious as they do now until their next album. So think of this album’s faults not because of a major lack in skill, rather as a result of immaturity.
But Covenant is not known for their stumbles. Many club-goers are keen for Covenant because of the immense, dark mood of the atmospheres and rapacious, take-all beats that they produce. Fast paced bass and heavy noise with synth-laden keyboards are composed rather harshly and maybe even sloppily; but they are written strong enough to appeal to dancing ‘cyberpunk’ generations. Groove is of the essence, mixing all the aspects of the music together. Then simple melodies with small, but noticeable sounds are also in heaps and melt it all together for. The small, tone-downed aspects of melody and harmony are probably what Covenant does best with their music, it gives a somewhat barren approach, but not quite minimalistic as the white noise, scraping sounds, heavy beats and a tranquil voice.
Eskil’s voice is probably one of the most recognizable things in the Covenant sound. Though synth-ridden (this would dissolve subsequently in later albums), you can still actually hear it, and that he actually can sing. But even Eskil has his drawbacks. Most vocal lines in Speed are a step down from what he can really do, this also occurs in Shipwreck and Hardware Requiem, the latter most especially. He stretches his voice, trying to make it as operatic and powerful as possible without too much help from synths. But he fails miserably, as it is not his style and not what he’s good at. Rather, he needs to stay at a calm, tranquil, occasionally sinister level. It seems futuristic, which is the goal of this album, yet at the same time contrasts because of the ‘cleanness’ of his voice, complimenting well with the music. Eskil could take some time getting used too, because he’s so calm and brilliantly contrasts with the rest of the album, but once people do get a hold of his voice, it is truly a treasure worth waiting for.
Dreams Of A Cryotank is not for everyone. Perhaps for die-hard fans of the genre or the band, or someone who is genuinely interested in Covenant and wants to start out. Because with synthesizers everywhere, semi-structured songwriting, the band’s immaturity showing occasionally, and a vocalist who could take some time getting used to, it may be just too trying for some. Yet this is the start, the beginning of a great band with great albums, sporting a slot among the most memorable electronic bands. Looking back, they might be a little embarrassed themselves, but nonetheless it got immaturity out of the way and set for a smooth, clean path down a fruitful career.
NOTE: I have reviewed a re-release version with Edge Of Dawn and Speed. There is another version with an expansion that is 25 minutes, so don’t get that one if you think you want this album, as it will most likely lower your opinion on Covenants’ debut.
This Message Edited On 08.29.08
