Search - The Covenant :: Europa

Pure Electronic Brilliance

Jason Mineo-Goggin | North Reading, MA United States | 12/19/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Covenant first and foremost are masters of the Electro genre. Their sonic textures and melodic creativity are well conceived and executed. Now on to this CD in general - Although it doesn't have my favorite Covenant song on it (Figurehead) - I have found it to be their most complete CD. The first 5 songs are very accessible and easy to get into while the latter part of the CD exhibits Covenant's more experimental side. That part takes time to grow on you, but it eventually does.



Covenant are masters of sonic distortion. The textures they create are nothing short of brilliant and I haven't heard another group like them."

Like Diamonds in the Ground

TastyBabySyndrome | "Daddy Dagon's Daycare" - Proud Sponsor of the Lit | 02/22/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In a world where the humdrum sounds of voices without messages and music without meaning seems to mesh hand in hand with the tastes of the listening population, there are other things, diamonds buried beneath a fragile Earth, that many people either don't hear or simply fail to recognize. I'm not certain why that is or why messages with meaning find themselves slighted in this age of pop glamorization and industry fads, but one thing is for certain. We, the listeners, are forced to peer and prod at the scene more and more, scoping out the icons that birth nations of thoughts within their outstretched hands. In their early releases, Covenant can be found as one such band, giving many things that are unique to audiences trained to feast on the simplistic diets that other EBM acts have tried to force into people's minds. Its within their lyrical workings, their beats that seem to flow, and the way that their music meshes together that makes it such an impactual force, and something I find myself listening to years after the fact.In Europa, many heartfelt spectrums are touched upon in the conveyance of that emotional rainbow, drawing forth beats bathed in the blood of hardship and pain, love and remembrance, and especially that manufactured in defiance. These are all set to beats that keep the body sounding off without a slowdown in their inner workings, and feeding the audience that cares nothing for the message behind the motivation. Still, for the people that do, there are other factors present as well. Within the contents of "Tension," there is a cry that tells you that you aren't alone in noticing that something is amiss in the social wreckage lying about you. In "Leviathan," one of my favored tracks listened herein, there is almost an account that states that everything runs in cycles, that kingdoms rise and crumble only to be born again. In "Walls of Sound," perhaps one the best songs I've heard in quite some time, there is a notation about how we are all diamonds in the ground simply waiting to be found but that we are captives in this wailing wall of sound. Still, this is only an inkling of what is contained herein.If you want something that has the means to captivate the mind and make the body move within the same motions, I would suggest Covenant as a band worth looking into and Europa as a wonderful starting point for the inquisitive eye. It has a little bit of everything within its nature, all of its adornments leading toward one point in space that seems to define humanity and its social spectrum, and does so in quite an array of fashions. Recommended."

3.5: This album takes time to grow on you

Petar Vodogaz | Sydney, NSW Australia | 12/02/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I have listened to the more recent Covenant releases and I am working backwards to this Scandinavian trio's beginnings. I purchased this album through Amazon.com having undertaken a committment to get every Covenant CD that has been released. 'Europa' has a interesting album title and a even more interesting cover. It is a infrared sattelite picture of Europe that shows approaching cloud cover from the North Atlantic approaching. I was intrigued to get this EP and see what the songs were like.



I have found that the early works by Covenant are sometimes darker and sharper in tone and pitch. And definitely more industrial which suits me fine. The modern Covenant is much more dance orientated and techno friendly. The first 4 songs show a dark industrial element in the songs and the last 5 songs are more experimental in nature and tone.



I found 'Leviathan', 'Wind of the North' and 'Riot' as the best picks in this album as they have a decent dance beat, lyrics were easy to comprehend and there were variable beats to the music. Those who like Covenant that experiments with sounds and tone will enjoy 'Go Film' and 'Wall of Sound'.



Whilst this album is for the most part enjoyable, I like the modern Covenant sound better. This does get some getting used to and I know with several more listens I will like this EP that much more. This album is for all Covenant fans and those who are after good Industrial/Fusion music."