Kovenant

It’s been years already since the Kovenant dropped their "C” for a "K,” but despite the change in spelling they’re eerily growing to resemble that "other” Covenant band. And both groups’ new CDs — pale matte silver, with shiny etched-out lettering — it’s almost scary. Diving into the deep-end of the electronic music scene without water-wings, the Kovenant owe more to industrial and EBM for their latest, SETI, than to metal, though "Planet of the Apes” leans in the direction of White Zombie and the Disturbed. (In case you haven’t got the point, let the comparisons continue…) But for the vocals, SETI could be a follow-up to last year’s synth-rock Theatre of Tragedy release. The songs aren’t bad really, but a little washed out at times, especially when the KMFDM vocal chorus kicks in. The problem is there are so many resemblances to bands that have tread this ground before, it’s impossible to take the CD seriously. SETI takes the Kovenant even farther into the world of electronic music than Animatronic did; maybe someone should take away their map and make them find their own way.