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About

Covenant:
Pronunciation: 'k&v-n&nt, 'k&-v&-
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from present participle of covenir to agree, from Latin convenire
1 : a usually formal, solemn, and binding agreement
2 a : a written agreement or promise usually under seal between two or more parties especially for the performance of some action b : the common-law action to recover damages for breach of such a contract

Metal Covenant was founded in January 2002 by Tommy and Mat after an idea and vision by Tommy, due to their immense passion for metal music and everything related, and this site's main focus is on the melodic metal scene, regardless if it's heavy, power, thrash, death, black or any other kind of metal. In the summer of 2003 the crew was expanded with Tim and Thomas in order to be able to cover a bigger area of metal and increase the volume of cd reviews and live coverage. After this addition the direction of the site turned, or rather expanded, a bit more toward the realms of death- and black metal, and also plain rock/metal in the outer limits of the heavy/power metal area we mainly concentrate on. In June 2004, David joined the crew with heavy/power metal album reviews as his area, as well as live show reports. We expanded again January 2005 as Michael joined with live photography and interviews as a sole task, and he often works together with live reviewer Niklas who joined at the same time and also does album reviews and articles. During December 2005, Hawk joined the team with cd reviews in practically all areas being his task. Next, in March 2006, Michael the MettleAngel joined the forces and will concentrate on album and live reviews and due to his american origin also keep a close eye on the US scene. In September 2006 Mattias came along and he has the general heavy/power metal genre as speciality and concentrates mainly on album reviews. The second half of 2007 the site was closed and when we started up again in the beginning of 2008, we were joined by Mozzy who will focus mainly on live reviews with the odd cd review every now and then, and in stepped also The MettleAngel's wife MettleMaiden who will, just as her better half, focus on album and live reviews and in addition contribute with live pictures. In March 2008 we expanded again when we brought on Dux, who will serve you articles and reviews mainly. During September 2008 Stark joined us on a guest reviewer basis, and will contribute with guitar rock oriented reviews.

The main focus is still, and will most likely always be, on the heavy-, power-, thrash-, and death metal scene simply because that is metal in its most noble form.

The only kind of metal that will have a hard time being featured on this site is the non-melodic, new and modern "music", also called Nu Metal or any type of music with the suffix "-core", which goatee-bearded and woolhat ornamented guys are trying to force upon us on a daily basis in the so-called mainstream media. Even though we are all of the belief that any man or woman that sincerely is devoting a great part of his or her life to make music of any kind should be praised and utterly respected, the line has to be drawn somewhere. Sometimes the occasional review will be posted, though, so we are not completely shutting the genre out.

This site is being run in an attempt to preserve the beauty and grandeur of the power of metal. It will not only focus on the leading bands of the genre but also on the many extraordinary talented up-and-comers who keep producing heaven-sent tunes and lyrics for us metalfans that crave quality. So many bands really deserve much more recognition and credit for their work than what they are getting, and this site will hopefully provide at least a bit of that and perhaps even introduce them to a bigger audience.

Metal Covenant is run entirely on a hobby basis, but made with great love and dedication to the majestic force of metal which makes the miracle of life even more worth living, loving and embracing. Our hope is that although this site is just one of many on the internet, it will be an honest and professional guide to all true metal brothers and sisters out there in the world.

We proudly raise our chalices to You!

The Staff

Tommy
founder/owner, webmaster, editor, graphics, cd/live/dvd reviews, interviews, live photo, articles, pretty much everything...
Hawk
cd/live/dvd reviews, live photo
Thomas
cd/live/dvd reviews, interviews, live photo, articles
David
cd/live/dvd reviews, interviews, live photo, articles
MettleAngel
cd/live reviews, interviews, live photo, articles
MettleMaiden
cd/live reviews, interviews, live photo
Niklas
cd/live reviews, interviews, articles
Dux
cd/live reviews, articles
Mozzy
cd/live reviews
Stark
cd/live reviews

Currently not active

Mat
cd reviews, interviews, articles

Ex-staff members

Michael
live/still photo, interviews, articles, live reviews
Mattias
cd/live/videoreviews
Tim
cd/live/videoreviews, interviews, articles
Max
cd/live reviews

The Rating System

The writing team here at Metal Covenant is honoured to critique the music which we so deeply hold in our metal hearts. We are an eclectic body of die-hard metalheads who write and review the music seriously and sincerely. We all stem from different backgrounds, and we all have diverse tastes, as evidenced in our own personal writing styles. We truly adore all things metal; although, some of us prefer one genre over the next. Some of us really enjoy power metal, some of us live for thrash, some of us death, and there are those of us stuck in the 80's when metal ruled the world. All of our unique tastes and preference create a very balanced menu for opionated expressions and dutiful criticisms.

We encourage you to read the "About" section above to get to know us through our personal bios. This section provides a brief synopsis of our metal mindset, and musical preferences. When you get to know our respective style and taste better, it will also help you feel more secure about how you should value our reviews. Feel free to contact us personally if you were inspired, disillusioned; or even if you want us to review something for you.

Metal Covenant implore a rating system based on allocation of chalices from 1- 10; anything given 8 or above is recommended, anything over 9 is highly recommended. This rating scale is based on five crucial criteria:

1) Performance - how the band plays and performs their instruments overall.
2) Originality - Just how unique or clever is their sound and style?
3) Production - with today's recording standards, is the production up to its requirements?
4) Vocals - this is a primary concern, as this criteria alone can determine the genre; so this is essential. Also, are you able to discern the lyrics being sung?
5) Songwriting - is there balance between the music and lyrics being written? How is everything put together? Is there a good flow and a red thread in the material?

We feel that these criterias all contribute to writing the best possible review for our audience; that they can guage their music purchases based on these degrees of excellence.

It is our fondest hope that you enjoy reading what we have written for you and for the metal milieu, in general. We want you to visit us daily, and to decide the metal which you want to invite into your lives. Bear in mind, we do this because we love listening to and living the metal life. Thank you on behalf of our staff for keeping metal alive.

- Raising The Chalices Of Good Quality Metal

Contact us

Staff
tommy@metalcovenant.com
hawk@metalcovenant.com
thomas@metalcovenant.com
david@metalcovenant.com
niklas@metalcovenant.com
mettleangel@metalcovenant.com
mettlemaiden@metalcovenant.com
mozzy@metalcovenant.com
stark@metalcovenant.com
dux@metalcovenant.com

General
info@metalcovenant.com
feedback@metalcovenant.com
submit@metalcovenant.com
webmaster@metalcovenant.com

Ordinary snail mail addresses for sending us promo packs, demos and such for reviews are given upon request. Mail the person you want to send it to:

Thomas - Heavy/Power/Thrash/Death/Progressive/Doom Metal
Niklas - Heavy/Power/Gothic/Industrial/Melodic Death Metal
Hawk - Heavy/Power/Progressive Metal, AOR, Hard Rock
MettleAngel - Heavy/Power/Thrash Metal
David - Heavy/Power/Thrash Metal
Dux - Melodic Death/Thrash Metal
Stark - Heavy/Power/Progressive Metal, AOR, Hard Rock
Tommy - (Please don't anymore. I don't have the time, unfortunately....)

The Chalices

We feel that a few words could be in place here about why we are using and handing out holy chalices as a symbol in our reviews.

The chalice is a symbol of Holy Communion, representing unity, togetherness and socialness, and we want to praise and encourage all bands out there that are fighting for the preservation of the true spirit of metal, and give them the reward and attention they deserve and need in their eternal quest to serve every metal brother and sister with high quality metal.