Virtual Night Angel's Review:

Eskil always projects such a warm, kind personality. He is quite nice to look at, too. I can't believe the band was wearing a full suit in the heat. Eskil and his band are such competent, skilled musicians that their sound is notable no matter what they wear. It is a good thing he eventually took the jacket off, I was overheating just looking at them.

Eskil has definitely got the beat in him and he rules live. They played the new material which I really enjoyed. I had purchased the "United States of Mind" and "Tour de Force" CD's but wanted it to be darker, faster, more like "Dreams of a Cryotank". Covenant has tons of energy.

Eskil was the only band member who was cool enough to praise Skinny Puppy and was thankful to get to play the same night as them. Eskil asked, "Is everybody excited for tonight?" The last time he said he saw Skinny Puppy was nineteen eighty eight. He was really looking forward to the big event.

The music is very upbeat and lively. Seeing Covenant perform live revived their sound for me. Their newer CD's sound better after witnessing their live performance in Germany.

Seeing a band in Germany is so different and much better that viewing one in LA. I certainly would not miss Covenant's next Los Angeles performance.

 

http://www.covenant.dk

Travis' Review:

I’ve seen Covenant before, two tours ago in San Francisco, and I really enjoyed them live. After that tour they came out with Europa which as an album I wasn’t as thrilled with as I had been with their earlier works.

The last album (United States of Mind), while not embracing as dark of waters as earlier works, recaptured more of the Covenant mystique that enthralled my music tastes so strongly in the beginning and refreshed my interest in them for this show.

Covenant should definitely win the best dressed award (well In Extremo had the coolest outfits but Eskil and company looked good). It was hot but the trio did not let onto any discomfort despite being layered in three-piece suits.

Eskil introduced their friend Heinrich who was a guest along for the show, playing opposite Joakim on keyboards.

They opened with "Tour de Force" and went on to do what seemed like every song off of United States of Mind. The only song I recall off of an earlier album was the “Wailing Wall of Sound”, so unfortunately none of the awesome tracks from the Cryotank or Sequencer days.

The tracks they did do were better sounding than ever. One thing that comes across in person is how much Eskil really enjoys performing, (as the pictures relate) he had a big smile on his face and was very energetic.

At one point between songs, he asked if the crowd was anxious for the big show that evening (ie the reunion of Skinny Puppy!).

He went on to explain how he was looking forward to it as well and the last time he had seen them was on their last European tour 12-13 years ago. He related how much he enjoyed the experience as well as the influence of the band itself. Me being a gigantic Skinny Puppy fan, this was cool to hear from another band that I enjoy (and one that hadn’t adopted a cloned sound of SP).

Covenant prove you don’t need any fancy lights, gimmicks, props, or smoke clouds to put on a gripping, entertaining show.