2000 | 03 Covenant, Filter, Sentenced


COVENANT - United States of Mind (Dependent)
Hey, they still exist: Covenant, who reinvented EBM, are back! Weird compositions, numbing vocals and precious little soundworks remind you of living in the new millennium. Anyway, who liked Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode will like the three Swedes of Covenant as well. On "United States of Mind" they mix a heavy cocktail of stomping electronic beats, spheric choires and metallic voices. Add a dash of triphop, blend with ambient and garnished with some discreet techno rythms - ready is a pure energy drink that will easily let you swirl around any dancefloor. (My favourites: "Helicopter", "Dead Stars" and "Still Life") ks


covenant

FILTER - Title of Record (Wea)
According to Richard Patrick he wrote "I'm not the only one" with a bleeding hand only 10 minutes after slamming his fist against a wall. Now Patrick, front-man and guitarist, heads back into the dark zone although not as murky and forbidding as on the previous album. Still, hints of his time with Nine Inch Nails are unmistakable. Wonderful crashing guitars are playfully colored by electro-beats. But the extreme contrast in style is not always easy to follow: from an apocalyptic crusher like "the best things" there's an abrupt change to a soft-rock "take a picture" (you can almost hear U2 playing in the background...). Nevertheless, a great album that bangs the dandruff from your shoulders. wh

filter

SENTENCED - Crimson (Century Media)
Who wants to lengthen his january-depression into march is lucky: all his angry, lonely heart asks for can be found on "Crimson" the latest album of finish metal heroes Sentenced. Due to the same producer they now sound a bit like their compatriots HIM but they still have balls! Lyrics dealing with love, death, despair and pain prevent every slide into silly feelings of happiness. Mighty basstunes hammer in your stomach, drumbeats pulsate through your veins, guitarriffs blow your brain. And when you think the walls are getting nearer Ville Laihala's voice let's you go straight through the ceiling! Great emotions, haunting melodies and adrenaline-soaked music make you fly through your own little, dark universe. Nothing for happy people but the ideal soundtrack for all angry, abandoned and lost in their misery. Go! Buy! Suffer! (My favourites: "One More Day" and "My Slowing Heart") ks


sentenced