I must start this review with a note, so there will be no misconceptions. This release is not the new Kovenant album. It is a remixed, remastered version of the first album. It is not just a re-release, many parts have been added and rearranged, so that it stands more in line with the new Kovenant-sound.

I must admit that, although I really like Kovenant, I wasn’t familiar with this album. After I heard ‘Nexus Polaris’ I was sold. Although they changed their musical direction, I still like Kovenant a lot. It is not astonishing that I was pleased when I discovered this album in my mailbox.

The music on this album can best be described as a mix between the new Kovenant-sound and black metal. It is a really nice album to listen to, but it is not as great as their other albums.

You can hear that they are searching for a sound of their own.

I don’t know if the original release of In Times Before The Light also has as many spacy sounds as this one. Sometimes the synthesizers get on my nerves. Especially in a song as ‘The Dark Conquest’ I really do not like the spacy sounds, after seven minutes they become really annoying. But nonetheless most songs sound really nice and the synthesizer adjustments are in balance with the rest of their music.

If you are not familiar with Kovenant I suggest to listen to their ‘Nexus Polaris’ album. For the fans of Kovenant this is an indispensable release. So to conclude this story: it’s not a new album, not just a re-release, but probably the best kept secret in Kovenant’s history, until today…