Search - Kovenant :: Animatronic

Refreshingly new take on metal.

Wolf of Shadows | Ohio, USA | 08/21/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A far cry from this year's penchant for mass-produced scream bands like Hatebreed and most of what you'll see on MTV's Headbanger's Ball these days. And thank God for that.



Instead of trying to scream his lungs out or snarl childish satanic anthems, Nagash (aka Lex Icon) uses on/off distortion to keep things changing. It even features some female baking vocals, which is more than welcome in this crumbling world of metal. It's not nu-metal either - they know how to play guitar solos even. Word of advice: if you absolutely despise sympathized sounds don't bother. It is guitar and drum-driven rock music, but it does have it in there.



In a sentence, it's like Ramstein meets Emperor.

Here's a song-by-song breakdown:



1) Miror's Paridise

Heavy guitars and distorted vocals. Nagash also takes off the distrotion and shows he has a not bad singing voice. Female vocals.



2) New World Order

Nagash goes a bit more into the just plain weird side of vocals. Don't turn the volume too high or when he uses the high pitch you're ears will ring. Catchy beat and riffs.



3) Maniquin

Nagash shows off his lower-octative voice in this one. Singing with the backup makes for a very haunting sound. Perhaps the "deepest" track on the recording.



4) Sindrom

Ah misanthropy. Can't go wrong with that. The angeriest track. Highly recomended.



5) Jihad

One of my favorites. Starts off with a snyth that you'd think would be better for a nighclub, but then the real instruments kick in and Nagash's distorted Black metal-style snarl emerges. Great lyics include: "The truth is the voice that cannot be heard." I don't know if he even knows how very right he is. And the first solo is just plain awesome.



6) The Human Abstract

Well-written and performed, has the least sntyisizers of all the songs, so it's the best song for purists. But if you're buying this CD, you're not that close-minded anyway.



7) Prophecies of Fire

The second most bizare track. I'm not sure if I like it or not yet even... The spoken part goes on a bit too long for my taste, but the two solos a good.



8) In The Name of the Future

Most likely to start a mosh. Fastest track on the CD.



9) Spaceman

Ah ha ha ha, no. What is this? A cover of an older band I think was named Babaloyn Future? The most bizare of all the tracks, and the one I don't even usually stop on for more than a few seconds.



10) The Birth of Tragedy

The most industrial-sound on the CD. Reminds me of NIN's Broken meets Ramstein's Shucent (I can't spell it, it was their second CD)."

Better than Nexus Polaris!!!

Rick van der Ham | 10/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Nexus Polaris was my introduction to the band. When I first heard the song "New World Order" on a sampler, I was disappointed. It did not sound like Nexus Polaris at all. When Animatronic was released, I still decided to buy the album. After a while I really started to like the album. Although the music contains a lot of modern electronic elements, the music is still Metal enough not to be compared with the likes of Marilyn Manson. Besides the Rammstein-like riffs, there are also some more traditional riffs. In the song "In The Name Of The Future", there is even a Megadeth riff from I think "Tornado of Souls." I was extremely surprised by the quality of the guitar-solos. There is an excellent melodic sounding guitar-solo on almost every song. Even a song like "Mannequin" which is a keyboard based Gothic song owns a melodic solo. Besides the guitars, the keyboard also has a large role on the album. The keyboard-sounds give the album a space and freaky feelings. The vocals and lyrics underline that feeling. The vocalist uses love-it-or-hate-it type vocals. They sound like freaky Black Metal vocals. The lyrics are mainly about anti-religious themes.



Most of the time the album is up-tempo (no blast-beats nevertheless), but there are also a few slower songs. The songs on Animatronic are vocal-orientated, but the songs still contain enough interesting instrumental parts. The album sounds really well and the songs have been played very tight. What do you expect when former Dimmu Borgir bassist Lex Icon and Mayhem drummer Hellhammer play on Animatronic. On the album there is also a cool cover-version from the band Babylon Zoo, who had a big hit with the song "Spaceman." If you like Nexus Polaris and do not know if you will appreciate Animatronic, then maybe you should listen to "Chariots Of Thunder" from Nexus Polaris once again. When "Chariots of Thunder" would have had more electronic sounds it could have fitted perfectly on Animatronic. To conclude: Animatronic is a modern sounding Extreme Metal album, with a lot of interesting songs. I even like Animatronic more than the excellent Nexus Polaris.

"

We shape the future - We rape the world - Fallen icons left

C. M. Gillum | Michigan | 09/29/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Kovenant are a band that is known & has a solid fan base. Their old stuff is more along the lines of Futuristic Black Metal and Nexus Polaris is considered a classic in the genre. S.E.T.I. runs more along the lines of Goth/Tek Metal and has only a couple truely 'heavy' parts to it. Now Animatronic is exactly the inbetween fusion of these two sounds. It bears heavier sections broothing from Kovenants brutal beginings and yet the melody and slower darker aspects of their later material. All in all this album is truely a stand alone project as are all of The Kovenants albums. Do not expect any of their albums to sound like Animatronic.. Each album is a new glimpse of possibly one of the most original bands in the Metal Genre.



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ALBUM BREAKDOWN

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Song - Rating - Track Length - Breakdown



Mirrors Paradise - 6 out of 5 - 5:01 - The opener to the CD is easily a stand out track on the album. With high paced beats and keyboard mixed into the common crunchy Kovenant riffs its sure to be a favorite of yours after only one listen.



New World Order - 5 out of 5 - 4:30 - This is a very catchy song. With head bang worthy riffing and some very cool vocal effects including a spooky inclusion of soft female vocals. Theres even a guitar solo near the end of the track, Weird but good solo at that.



Mannequin - 5 out of 5 - 5:00 - The pace slows abit and Lex Icons deeper vocal tone is more prominant here. Also yet another excellent guitar solo is heard but more importantly is some excellent drumming by mad man Hellhammer.



Sindrom - 5 out of 5 - 4:30 - The pace picks up only a little on Sindrom and some more excellent drumming is heard here along with another creepy inclusion of those soft female vocals. The female vocals and hellhammers drumming truely stand out on this track. And yet ANOTHER guitar solo torwards the end.



Jihad - 5 out of 5 - 5:58 - The pace finally gets back up with this gruddy and popular track. The keyboards tend to take an odd Mid-East sound which is probably te reason for the popularity to this track. This song is different from the others and stands out, The inclusion of female vocals continues.



The Human Abstract - 10 out of 5 - 4:55 - Oh My God.. This is easily my favorite Kovenant song ever.. Its practicly the Kovenant Anthem.. The bridge is almost poppy but the killer keyboards and fast paced riffing make this an instant classic. Lex Icon does a ton of different vocal forms here! The entire band shows off on this song.. From insance drum patterns to amzing keyboards.. The guitars dont let up with the thrashy industrial riffs and Lex icon has never sounded better! If your reading this then you NEED to hear this song! Excellent guitar solo torwards the end yet again!!



Prophecies Of Fire - 5 out of 5 - 4:38 - This song is very odd, Icon does some very odd vocals here and the keyboards are that of a Organ.. Very creepy.. Also some of the albums best guitar work is seen on this song, Very interesting riffing and some complex symbol work by Hellhammer.



In The Name Of The Future - 5 out of 5 - 4:56 - Guitar!! This has some of my favorite guitars on the album, very Tek Goth sounded.. Fast paced and yet dark as true Cyber Tek should sound. Also theres a very cool section where the female vocals go along with the guitar.. Very cool track.



Spaceman - 4 out of 5 - 5:22 - This isn't a bad song, But the slower pace kinda kills the atmosphere for me after the last few tracks. Infact this is a really cool track all on its own having a very spacey sound and some impressive keyboard work. Reguardless this is probably my least favorite song on the album and yet is actually a good tune.



The Birth Of Tragedy - 5 out of 5 - 5:16 - A great ending to an excellent album, Back comes the pace with that poppy Technoish beat slapped around by thrashy riffs. The final track is very dark and often such lyrics as "The is coming" are heard.. Perfect for a final track!!





All in all The Kovenant are an amazing group and anyone intrested should try this album out. Now i do beleve this is a good album for new fans to get first as it shows a little of what was and alot of what came to be and possibly even abit of what has not yet to come. If you like the heavier parts then I suggest getting Nexus Polaris next and if your prefer the darker more melodic moments then S.E.T.I. is def the proper route for you. Animatronic is easily my favorite out of all the Kovenants albums and I truely think this band deserves more respect and spot light in the metal community. Thanks for reading and please push YES below where it says "Was this review helpful to you?" because if your still reading than if nothing else I kept your intrest for a few moments. Thank you again & be sure to check out the track The Human Abstract if your still iffy about getting this!"