The Kovenant is a Norwegian band formed in 1992 which has evolved from symphonic black metal to industrial/electronic metal on more recent albums, shaping the style that Lex Icon (aka Nagash ex-Dimmu Borgir) and Psy Coma (in those days known as Blackheart) coined after the release of Nexus Polaris: Progressive Space Metal. Originally the band was called Covenant, but due to a dispute with the Swedish electro band with the same name, it was later changed to The Kovenant. The Kovenant (at the time known as Covenant) was formed in Hamar, Norway in 1992, by two black metal artists known as Nagash and Blackheart;. After releasing a demo titled From the Storm of Shadows, and gaining some underground recognition, Not long after the band got several offers for record contracts. The original In Times Before the Light was released on Mordgrimm (a totally unknonw and now defunct black metal label based in the UK)In Times Before the Light in 1996. The album was created when they were both at a young age and they established a fan base in Norway. At 1998 the band released their second album through Nuclear Blast, the album was titled Nexus Polaris. It marked a significant point in their sound's formation, the album featured less of the grim guitars, and had much more keyboards work than before. The album featured Nagash, Blackheart, Astennu (on the Guitars, who later joined Dimmu Borgir), Sverd (of Arcturus on the keyboards) and Hellhammer (of Mayhem, Arcturus and Dimmu Borgir) and Sarah Jezebel Deva on the backing vocals (Cradle of Filth). Thanks to successful artistry Norway, the album has met good success in Norway. The band was nominated for the Norwegian Grammy award, winning the Best Hard Rock Band category as the first band in history to win a Grammy Award for Black Metal. Then in 1999, The Kovenant recorded and released, Animatronic and it showed them going from symphonic black metal to industrial metal. With the change of the band name, the members decided to change their names as well to suit their new direction. Nagash became "Lex Icon", Blackheart became "Psy Coma", and Hellhammer became "Von Blomberg". They won another Norweigan Grammy and gained a new member while they toured the USA named Angel. The band found themselves back in the studio in 2002 recording, S.E.T.I., their fourth album. Deciding to do more touring Von Blomberg left the band to handle other projects. Two new members were recruited, Küth (of Ram-Zet) on drums and Brat (of Apoptygma Berzerk) on keyboards. Now we wait for their latest creation, Aria Galactica, to take shape. OFFICIAL SITES: http://www.myspace.com/thekovenant (now is renewed my the group itself. If you want to find reliable info check it up sometimes, especially blogs) http://electronicsphere.50webs.com/kovenant/index.html (very old official site. Hasn't been renewed for a long time)
