Covenant - Leaving Babylon

The new album by one of my favorite artists is very hard for me to describe. I'm not sure if I like it or not. This might sound bad but it really isn't. But let's start from the beginning. The first single of this album was "Last Dance". The single was 100% club music and the title song had it's fun sounds that reminded me of 'Sequencer' era. Analogue, harsh blips and basses that we all so love in the old Covenant. Having this in mind I eagerly anticipated the new album thinking that this might be their comeback (after the, in my opinion, not so good Modern Ruin). After the first few listens I was really stunned...

1. Leaving Babylon
You CAN'T imagine a batter entry. I was almost going "f**k yeah!". This song NEEDS a club edit. A 5 minute extended version. It's a mid tempo (around 110 BPM) monotonous roller with pounding bass and some percussion sounds. Eskil singing "We're Leaving Babylon". This will be a great album! Then again, it's written by Daniel Myer (and Simonsson). EOT.

2. Prime Movers
A filtered saw lead right from the beginning. ~135 BPM tempo with hard pounding beat. Oh yes. Cov is back. Then again... wait... this reminds me of "Call The Ships To Port". This will most likely be the second single. It definitely needs a remix which will give more energy to the chorus part and I see full dancefloors.

3. For Our Time
Here's the first of the slower more mellow songs on this album. It has a great atmosphere. It actually reminds me a bit of their B-side from Ritual Noise single called XRDS. But this one has a more acoustic feeling to it somehow. The bassline is far more simple and the melodies are based on pads and vocals.

4. Thy Kingdom Come
... A harpsichord ? alright... let's give it a try. "We break down, falling in time through the fabric of light..." The text here sounds so similar, it sounds as if it was made from couple of their previous lyrics to be honest. The song itself is VERY simple. It sounds similar to the songs you can find on Skyshaper. Well, maybe not the harpsichord sound.

5. I Walk Slow
This seems to be a sort of intermission type of song. And it's.... with GUITARS (like on Rotersand's 1023). Then comes the noise! A very weird song. "I spoke words only meant for you".

6. Ignorance & Bliss
Here's another song that feels that it should have a bit more edge / power to it. It does have great vocals (the whole album does (duh)). Good sounds but it somehow lacks the power. Here again I have a feeling that I've already heard this... but maybe I'll write about this later on.

7. Last Dance
I already wrote that I love this song. I'm trying to forget the lyrics here because to be honest I almost NEVER understood what they want to tell us, like with "I'm falling out of cars"?, but the sounds used here and the dynamics is what I really like. The chorus is energetic and this truly is a hit song off this album.

8. Auto (Circulation)
I've no idea why, but this song reminds me of Front 242. Most of the sounds used here are somehow dim, not very crispy and harsh (especially comparing it to "Last Dance"). It's a very EBM sounding song.

9. Not To Be Here
Last (?) song on the album. A 6:25 love song with piano and sound textures. "And every morning as you whisper I must never let you go". Not sure if this song is the best as a last song because I think it might get skipped by listeners.

9.5. Leaving Babylon II
And yeah... here's a hidden track. If a 6:25 love song was not enough for you, here's a 9:36 almost ambient-drone type of track with monotonous rhythm, sounds and melodies...

Why am I stunned you might ask? Because I've no idea how to rate this album. After the first single I was expecting something totally different. Album full of club hits. Hard, edgy, crisp clear sounds. Another 'Northern Lights perhaps or a 'United States of Mind' type album? I did not get that. I got a very mid-paced album full of atmosphere and nice textures. This is definitely NOT a bad album. Hell, I bet people will love it. It's just something I was not expecting. Then again I had this problem with some of the songs that I had the feeling that I've heard all this before. Maybe it's because Covenant has always been the voice of Eskil. His voice is so distinct that you can always know that it's Covenant playing which makes you think that all their songs are similar to each other even if they're not. Maybe this "mellow" album is a try for something new ? Maybe Covenant don't want to make club hits no more... Maybe clubs music is what they mean by Babylon. Aug 13 2013