The Kovenant (Ex-Covenant) "In Times Before The Light" CD

Even though the original release of this album is indeed a good one and may be preferred by some, the In Times Before The Light of 2002 is a strong piece of work none-the-less. I prefer it more than the original. I have to agree that I like the 1997 release! But I also have to admit that I find this one to be better. I'm listening to this album as I am writing this. To tell you the truth, I really don’t think that if The Kovenant decided to put the keyboards a bit more to the foreground and reshape the entire instrumental, they can be accused of making the album more in a “techno” music style. This LP is very aggressive, so aggressive that you may have trouble distinguishing the instruments at times (which can be annoying for some). However, the wall of sound created pleases my ears. As for the vocals, they’re more or less similar to the original and I think Nagash really tried hard to stay faithful to the spirit of that release.
And Nagash succeeded. For this album has all the beauty of a transition album. It finds the harshness and brutality of the original while the instrumentals are evolved in a combination between the oldest of Kovenant (back then Covenant) and the newest of Kovenant (at the time of this album that’s Animatronic). I like the guitars… they’re very cold. And they keyboards have an artistic aura upon them, this really lifts the album over the original. It just sounds more melodic.
The use of choirs is really great on “Night Of The Blackwinds” (which is actually one of the best songs on this LP). Other highlights include “The Dark Conquest”, “The Chasm” and “Visions Of A Lost Kingdom” (which has such a great frigging introduction that every time that I play it I have the urge to jump and headbang like a maniac!!! It also has a great melodic line and I truly think this is one of the best Kovenant songs EVER and clearly the best on the album) and “Dragonstorms”.
There are very few bands which make me regret that I don’t have 2 heads with which to headbang, but the first 30 seconds of “Visions Of A Lost Kingdom” really make me regret that! The song also features a nice choir and the keyboard line is great, love it.
All-in-all, this a well worked album. It follows the melodic lines of the original but the instrumental is better, the keyboards are nicer and more melodic and the vocal is in the same style. It’s more or less the same album except improved in the instrumental side.
I urge you, reader, to have an open mind and be prepared for any reaction (disgust or pleasure) when playing this. I try to keep an open mind and I listened to this album at least 40 times before writing this review. I liked a few songs from the first listen and after that, it grew on me song by song. Give it a chance. And again, do try to have an open mind. It helps. And not only in music! This album deserves that chance!

Sample: