Covenant

Thank you for doing this interview, how are you?
- "We're OK. Struggling to meet deadlines. But then again, that's actually a luxury. To have deadlines to meet, I mean. It could very well have been that no one would have any interest in giving us deadlines at all. We're glad that we have people around us, pushing us, making us make decisions."

It's been a long time quiet, what have you guys been up to?
- "Oh, it's been a lot actually. Mostly non-Covenant stuff though. But we have also kept on making music. So now is the time to put it all into final shape. Daniel is currently on tour as Architect with Recoil, so he's sourly missed in the studio. Thank [insert preferred godlike force] for the internet."

You recently signed the Scandinavian deal with Progress Production, how was that collaboration formed and what are the best about being signed to Progress Productions?
- "At this time Progress is the driving force of our genre in Scandinavia. We want to be a part of that."

You have just released your new EP 'Lightbringer' featuring Necro Facility. Was this a long time idea, or something done after the signing with Progress Productions?
- "The song originated as a Necro Facility track. Oscar and Henrik asked Eskil to sing the chorus. But somehow, along the way, it became a Covenant track. It wasn't done on purpose, it just sort of happened. Unfortunately we are really bad at taking advantage of all our contacts in this business - too independent. I guess. So in this case I think we hit the jackpot just by simply going with the flow. It's a great song and it's something we probably wouldn't have come up with on our own."

Personally I think that in the track "Lightbringer", you have managed to integrate some Necro Facility sounds and style together with the distinct Covenant sound in a very interesting way, what are your opinions?
- "I agree completely, it is an interesting song. That's actually why we put so many versions of Lightbringer on the EP; to show the possibilities and to explore the song further. That's what's so fascinating about music: the basic structure is so limited but the possibilities are endless. It's all about how you decide to proceed. How you use timing, expression, tone and sound can alter the outcome ad infinitum. The same song sounds completely different just by modifying a few parameters. Perhaps that's why so many artists are interested in cooking? You can do a lot with very basic ingredients. And that's exactly what makes the challenge so rewarding."

So, the question everyone is wondering, when is the new album coming? On your homepage, it's still set on 2010, is time running out?
- "Time is running out very rapidly indeed. We hope we'll make it. But to be completely honest I am not sure."

What's the creation process like when you live in different countries?
- "Actually the main problem is not living in different countries. It's that we are constantly running around. It seems almost impossible to gather all three of us in the studio before at least one of us will have to run to the airport. But we try to work in interim, sending each other files and ideas. It works, but it does take longer to make important decisions. In theory it's no problem to work over great geographic distance though."

Can you say something about why Clas left the band and how Daniel got involved?
- "Clas grew impatient with our development. I assume you could call it artistic disagreement. I think he wanted us to be more of a normal band, with defined musical roles and leaving more space for each performer to interpret the songs as they were played. But that doesn't work so well considering the way we make our music. So Clas finally decided to leave. It was a heavy blow to our creative structure that left Eskil and myself quite disoriented. Three is a good, democratic number. Two is definitely not. The immediate effect was that we couldn't perform properly live. So we asked our old friend Daniel if he felt like joining us on stage. He was gracious enough to agree. It didn't take long for him to start tinkering and changing things. He is like that, the constantly restless mr. Myer. "If it isn't broken, don't fix it" doesn't exist in his lexicon. But the way he fixes the unbroken usually makes it even better and that's a rare commodity. So after some time on the road together me and Eskil sat down and decided to ask Daniel to become a permanent member of the band. He said yes and we celebrated the marriage in style with a luxurious dinner in Barcelona. And that's how we came to be a trinity again."

It's been 16 years since you released your 'Dreams of a Cryotank' back in 1994. What can we expect for the 20 year anniversary during 2014?
- "World peace, love and prosperity for all. And of course, finally, personal jetpacks. Because anti-gravity is probably not going to happen in the foreseeable future."

Any last words to our readers?
- "Time is like a bullet. Keep running and don't look back. Especially not in anger."