The Kovenant "Animatronic (USA, Nuclear Blast America, 27361 64062)"

Animatronic is the third studio album by Norwegian metal band The Kovenant, released in 1999 through Nuclear Blast.

Track listing

1. "Mirrors Paradise" 5:01
2. "New World Order" 4:30
3. "Mannequin" 5:00
4. "Sindrom" 5:30
5. "Jihad" 5:58
6. "The Human Abstract" 4:55
7. "Prophecies of Fire" 4:38
8. "In the Name of the Future" 4:56
9. "Spaceman" (Babylon Zoo cover) 5:23
10. "The Birth of Tragedy" 5:16

Total length: 51:07

CD comes in a slipcase for its first edition. A silver sticker with black lettering

"... ex - Covenant (N) ..." and the rating of the album in three magazines was on the slipcase.

The first catalog number is printed on the slipcase and jewel case spines.

The second one is printed on the back cover (both slipcase and jewel case) and the disc front.

This was the beginning of the group taking an electronica approach towards their metal music.

All music and lyrics by The Kovenant, except "Spaceman" by Babylon Zoo.

Issued as a limited edition Pic-LP (Nuclear Blast Picture Disc Series).

Track 1 samples the 1966 American film, Evil Brain From Outer Space.

Track 4 samples the trailer for the 1967 American film, A Taste of Flesh.

Track 8 samples the 1965 American film, Bad Girls go to Hell.

Recording information:

Recorded at Woodhouse Studios.

Matthias Klinkmann – engineering

Siggi Bemm – producer

Per Heimly – photography

Covenant "Nexus Polaris (USA, Nuclear Blast America, NB 27361 63012)"

Nexus Polaris is the second studio album by the Norwegian metal band Covenant, and was released in 1998 through Nuclear Blast.

This is the final album that the band would release under their Covenant name, as the proceeding year the group would change their name (and musical style) to The Kovenant, where they would begin performing electronic/industrial metal as opposed to symphonic black metal.

The original album In Times Before the Light was successful at staging a fan base in the black metal scene in Norway. Nagash and Blackheart had greater ambitions for the band and wanted better production and pay for their music. Record label Nuclear Blast caught eye of the band and Covenant (as the band was known at that time) signed with them.

Starting the new album, Nagash and Blackheart wanted to form an actual band this time. They enlisted guitarist, Astennu (who was playing in Dimmu Borgir at the time with Nagash), keyboardist Sverd (of Arcturus), Sarah Jezebel Deva (of Cradle of Filth and other bands), and Hellhammer (of Mayhem). Nagash took over bass and vocal duties while Blackheart took guitar.

Nexus Polaris was hugely successful (due to Nuclear Blast's promotion) and allowed Covenant to do a two-week tour and was on national Norwegian television for six days. This was also a sign showing Covenant moving from black metal to a more industrial metal sound. Soon Covenant found themselves nominated for a Norwegian Grammy. They attended and won for Best Hard Rock band, the first ever.

A re-release of Nexus Polaris was made in 2002. The original tracks were left untouched (unlike the remixed edition of In Times Before the Light, also from 2002), but two versions of "New World Order", a song from their 1999 album Animatronic, were included as a bonus.

On 11 April 2024, The Kovenant posted a poster on their Facebook page saying they will be performing Nexus Polaris live in its entirety, starting in Eindhoven, The Netherlands on 13 and 14 of December. The caption reads "The first of many. Coming soon to a city near you. Nexus set plus songs from In Times Before The Light and Animatronic" teasing more shows coming up in the future.

Track listing

1. "The Sulphur Feast" 04:10
2. "Bizarre Cosmic Industries" 05:51
3. "Planetarium" 04:01
4. "The Last of Dragons" 06:28
5. "Bringer of the Sixth Sun" 06:32
6. "Dragonheart" 04:52
7. "Planetary Black Elements" 05:50
8. "Chariots of Thunder" 05:48

Total length: 43:32

Some pressings of the original release have the words "Of Norway" in small print under the logo on the front cover.

Recording information:

Recorded at Woodhouse Studios (Hagen) during August-September, 1997.

Mastered at Woodhouse Studios, 1997.

Per Heimly – photography

Flea Black – artwork, layout

Mathias – engineering

Siggi Bemm – producer, mastering

Andreas Marschall – cover art

Christophe Szpajdel – logo

The Kovenant "Nexus Polaris (2009 Reissue, Remastered, Limited Edition Digipak, Poland, Metal Mind Productions, MASS CD 1302 DG)"

The Kovenant is a Norwegian industrial metal band from Hamar. The band originally formed as a Symphonic Black Metal act known as Covenant in 1993, but in 1999 were forced to change their name to The Kovenant due to a dispute with a Swedish band of the same name. The name change also marked a change in sound/style as well, as the band from there on began to focus more on a cyber/industrial metal sound heavily influenced by Europe's EBM scene. Despite their style change, The Kovenant did later reissue their early albums under The Kovenant name.

Nexus Polaris is the second studio album by the Norwegian metal band Covenant, and was released in 1998 through Nuclear Blast.

This is the final album that the band would release under their Covenant name, as the proceeding year the group would change their name (and musical style) to The Kovenant, where they would begin performing electronic/industrial metal as opposed to symphonic black metal.

The original album In Times Before the Light was successful at staging a fan base in the black metal scene in Norway. Nagash and Blackheart had greater ambitions for the band and wanted better production and pay for their music. Record label Nuclear Blast caught eye of the band and Covenant (as the band was known at that time) signed with them.

Starting the new album, Nagash and Blackheart wanted to form an actual band this time. They enlisted guitarist, Astennu (who was playing in Dimmu Borgir at the time with Nagash), keyboardist Sverd (of Arcturus), Sarah Jezebel Deva (of Cradle of Filth and other bands), and Hellhammer (of Mayhem). Nagash took over bass and vocal duties while Blackheart took guitar.

Nexus Polaris was hugely successful (due to Nuclear Blast's promotion) and allowed Covenant to do a two-week tour and was on national Norwegian television for six days. This was also a sign showing Covenant moving from black metal to a more industrial metal sound. Soon Covenant found themselves nominated for a Norwegian Grammy. They attended and won for Best Hard Rock band, the first ever.

A re-release of Nexus Polaris was made in 2002. The original tracks were left untouched (unlike the remixed edition of In Times Before the Light, also from 2002), but two versions of "New World Order", a song from their 1999 album Animatronic, were included as a bonus.

On 11 April 2024, The Kovenant posted a poster on their Facebook page saying they will be performing Nexus Polaris live in its entirety, starting in Eindhoven, The Netherlands on 13 and 14 of December. The caption reads "The first of many. Coming soon to a city near you. Nexus set plus songs from In Times Before The Light and Animatronic" teasing more shows coming up in the future.

Tracklist:

1. The Sulphur Feast 04:09
2. Bizarre Cosmic Industries 05:52   
3. Planetarium 04:01   
4. The Last of Dragons 06:28  
5. Bringer of the Sixth Sun 06:31  
6. Dragonheart 04:51
7. Planetary Black Elements 05:48   
8. Chariots of Thunder 05:48   
9. New World Order (Club Mix) 04:25  
10. New World Order (Metal Mix) 03:52  

Time:  51:45  

Hand-numbered.

Recording information:

Recorded at Woodhouse Studios (Hagen) during August-September, 1997.

Mastered at Woodhouse Studios, 1997.

Per Heimly – photography

Flea Black – artwork, layout

Mathias – engineering

Siggi Bemm – producer, mastering

Andreas Marschall – cover art

Christophe Szpajdel – logo

Various Artists "A Tribute To The Four Horsemen"

A Tribute to the Four Horsemen is a tribute album to Thrash metal band Metallica. It was re-issued by Nuclear Blast Records in 2003 with a slightly different track listing. The album contains covers of songs by Metallica from Kill 'Em All to ReLoad, but omits Load.

The liner notes were written by German music journalist Christof Leim, then working for the German edition of Metal Hammer magazine.

Track listing

1.-"Seek & Destroy" Primal Fear Kill 'Em All 7:10
2.-"Fight Fire with Fire" Therion Ride the Lightning 4:28
3.-"Whiplash" Destruction Kill 'Em All 3:32
4.-"Phantom Lord" Anthrax Kill 'Em All 4:29
5.-"Fade to Black" Sonata Arctica Ride the Lightning 5:43
6.-"Master of Puppets" Burden of Grief Master of Puppets 9:09
7.-"My Friend of Misery" Dark Tranquillity Metallica 5:25
8.-"One" Crematory ...And Justice for All 4:24
9.-"Eye of the Beholder" In Flames ...And Justice for All 5:31
10.-"The Thing That Should Not Be" (original) Primus   6:43
      "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" (re-issue) Thunderstone Master of Puppets  5:06
11.-"Harvester of Sorrow" (original) Apocalyptica  ...And Justice For All  6:14
      "The Memory Remains" (re-issue) The Kovenant ReLoad 4:31
12.-"Battery" (original) Die Krupps Master Of Puppets  5:19
       "Wherever I May Roam" (re-issue) Sinner Metallica 5:15
13.-"Wherever I May Roam" (original) Sinner Metallica  5:15
        "Damage, Inc." (re-issue)   Tankard   Master of Puppets 5:10
14.-"Motorbreath" (Live) (omitted from re-issue) Rage Kill 'Em All 3:03