Covenant - Live at Synthklubben '09

Covenant is nothing less than a holy band here in the Swedish industrial scene and probably our biggest name within the genre worldwide. So when they perform in my own home town, there's really no option part from going to see the show. It also quickly became clear that people traveled from different parts of the country to see it because the wide spread of dialects and new faces. Early during the evening the hundreds of tickets where all sold out and for many of those who didn't buy a ticket in advance, the night ended early when they didn't come any longer than the line outside.

The support act this evening was the (kind of) local band Code 64. I've seen them live many times before, but since my last encounter with them, they have changed their lead singer from Henrik Piehl to their new vocalist, Norwegian Bjørn Marius Borg (Black Comedy/Protostar/Bariuz), and I was very eager to find out if he was up for the task. Further more I also wanted to hear some new material, since I really haven't heard anything from the band since their latest album release 'Departure' from 2006. So how did it go? Well, really well actually. Bjørn's voice worked out just fine, quite different from Henrik's voice, it's a bit more nasal, but I kind of liked it. During some technical issues he also acted very professional and I think Code 64 made a good selection when choosing him. Part from old classics from 'Departure' and 'Storm', we also got to hear the new single 'Stasis' from the upcoming album 'Trialogue' and it surely made me long to hear more. Overall a very good performance by Code 64.

After a short break it was finally time for the main act Covenant. They have also replaced a member since the last time I saw them perform; Clas Nachmanson left the band in 2007 and was replaced by Daniel Myer, more known for his work in the long time runners Haujobb. Their new album 'Modern Ruin' was expected to be released in 2009, but time passed by and now spring 2010 is the new release window, I surely hoped for some new material to be performed, so I can get a glimpse of how Daniel Myer's Haujobb style may have influenced the band. As normal with Covenant, their performance was energetic and filled with soul. We got to hear all favourites from 'Skyshaper' and 'Northern Lights' like "20 Hz", "Bullet", "Invisible & Silent", "The Men", "Ritual Noise", a remix of "Brave New World" (with some heavy Haujobb influences), actually, the only older song we got to hear was "I Am" from 'Europa'. We also got to hear some from the upcoming album, but unfortunately nothing that really stood out as exceptional. After perhaps one of the world's longest waiting for the encore, the band finally once more took the stage and finished it all off with "Der Leiermann (Like Tears in Rain)", old time favourite "Theremin" before they finally sealed the deal with "Dead Stars". All and all, their performance lasted almost two hours and everyone surely got their dose of Covenant. Tired, but pleased, this Saturday night was coming to an end and I was glad Covenant was back in Sweden again.