Nexus Polaris＜限定盤/Clear & Blue Smoke Vinyl＞

Ironically speaking, Covenant sure are the bastard sons of black metal. Even though Covenant is a sort of a supergroup consisting of players who were involved with the notorious Norwegian black metal scene from its early days, they break all of the conservative rules of black metal with no shame at all. And the result, Nexus Polaris, sure sounds exciting. It isn't much of a masterpiece production-wise, but because of its noise, speed, and rawness it feels like a fine kick in your face. Filled with crunchy riffs, neo-classical-inspired leads, and keyboard fills, Nexus Polaris succeeds in being eclectic and structureless without falling into the usual pitfalls of its kind: Being mapless and therefore confusing. Nexus Polaris doesn't really have any standout tracks (apart from "The SulphurFeast" and "The Last of Dragons," which are the best), but Nexus Polaris is excellent because it really doesn't have any bad tracks. But, depending of the listener, its obvious rawness and lack of decent production can be either intriguing or stressful. Either way, Nexus Polaris is a fine and innovative album. ~ Antti J. Ravelin