Sequencer is only Covenant’s second album, yet a decade has passed since the first form of the band. 1996 saw big changes after Sequencers’ release, including a deal for a U.S. distributor for fans overseas as well as a huge hit single in the EBM scene there. It was clear that Covenant were moving forward, with better songwriting skills, production handling, and a strong-structured, yet vastly growing fanbase. All of this and more is evident on Sequencer, an album that was truly showing progress, yet still within the boundaries of a synth-pop band that had not reached it’s peak.
Even a casual fan of Covenant can tell you that the first three tracks off their sophomore album, Sequencer, are some of the band’s classics. Feedback has an instant hook and is immensely hard to be rid of, because of infectious grooves and vocal lines (as well as everything else in the song) that are etched throughout it. Stalker is a creepy vision of, well, stalking. Just as astounding as the last track, with everything to love about it and more. Figurehead is a dark and pounding song, continuing the albums flow and being epic while doing it. Who would’ve thought, the band that released Dreams Of A Cryotank could even come close to what they are achieving now?
It’s borderline absurd how good this album is. Do not think of a drastic change in style or sound has been made for the band, rather that a much more complex continuation has been made, a better progression has been reached. Everything is on top form for Covenant in their industrial (I use that term loosely) years. Much more ground, sound, and overall imagination is covered here. From Eskil’s much improved vocals and now-thoughtful lyrics to better songwriting structures and a better use, and a better range, of noises, sounds and synths. Everything, and I mean everything, has been improved in some way over Dreams Of A Cryotank, as Sequencer moves away from your typical electronic album to include things you didn’t even think could be harnessed while listening to the album previous.
The music is much a continuation of Covenant’s sound. Driving (but sometimes thin) tones, vigorous and abrasive sonicscapes, and haunting melodies mix to create a wall of sound. All of this cause for a somewhat harsh listen, especially for newcomers. Atmosphere is not really present here, as that is saved for future records, but Sequencer hardly needs it. It’s music doesn’t need to be candy coated in anyway. Raw is how it is in Covenant’s second LP. Eskil, Joakim and Claus can be held responsible, as all of them share a part of being the bands engineering, composition, synths and production team. Eskil’s vocals and Joakim’s lyrics has improved as well. In both the lyric and the vocal departments, everything has more depth, better articulation in some spots where he’d failed in the last album, and both are a lot darker as well. Lyrics have more of a “purpose”, more meaning; they have a story to tell. Voice and written words come together in a dark and sometimes disturbing way, the music follows suit as well. And since Eskil is upfront and the first thing the listener recognizes, this was a much-needed improvement.
One thing untapped in Covenants debut was the art of dynamics. Here they master it, and it is heard everywhere. Screaming, agonizing vocal parts shatter the usually secluded ice of Eskil’s vocals in Slow Motion, creating a tension till the next song. Beats are now varied instead of the
oomph oomph oomph of Dreams, ranging from a mid-paced walk on Slow Motion to flashes of “blastbeat” coming about on Phoenix and then to slow and crawling on Tabula Rusa. More scraping noises and beautiful sounds are found on this album, take the intro to Feedback, a scathing wall of white noise slowly developing into a pulse and carries on throughout the rest of the song. Then we have unique clips of a tranquil sound on Storm that makes regular appearances and adds a twisted perception on itself. The little details and the fine, small textures also has expanded greatly; if one has took the time, they would count many more than from Covenant’s debut.
Sequencer does have its share of losses though. For instance, Flux has great flow and moves fast, which is good for an eleven-minute song. However, after the seven-minute mark, the listener is put through a series of pointless mutterings of structured noise. No, not a bonus track, just annoying pricks of scathing sounds. Then there are the letdowns. Luminal is a great track, no doubt. But if you’re like me, and have heard the test version (titled Luminal (Test Version)) first, then you are grieving with me at the fact that it did not make the final product. Also, a club mix of Stalker exists and
that is the version that should’ve made the cut. Fortunately, there is a version of the album with the club mix on it, so it’s not a complete loss. And these are minimal complaints, the record can still easily stand itself upright on it’s own accord, even with these tedious drawbacks.
Perhaps Covenant didn’t want to just make music for other people to enjoy. Maybe they just have a new sense and appreciation for what they were doing. Either way, a growth spurt happened in the two years it took to write this record after Dreams Of A Cryotank. Although not quite the shattering, groundbreaking Covenant album that everyone else holds on a pedestal, it is certainly a great record, and Sequencer shows that the band was fitter and better suited to take on the world. New levels, expectations, and bars for both themselves as a band and the genre of futurepop have been set, and all the loyal fans could do was hold their breath and wait for Covenant’s next opus to be dawned.
NOTE: I have reviewed the Beta Version of this album. The tracklist for that is...
Feedback
Stalker
Figurehead
Phoenix
Slow Motion
Tabula-Rasa
Storm
Luminal
Flux
...There is also, as with the last album, a number of bonus tracks on different editions. This time, I actually do recommend them if you like this album. Both versions of Stalker are better than the original, and as AMG puts it, "...all of which prove welcome bonus tracks to compliment the main event".
