THE KOVENANT: "It is with a heavy heart that we announce that Astennu will no longer be part of the band."

 

 

 

 Norwegian electronic, gothic metal warriors THE KOVENANT have announced guitarist ASTENNU is no longer in the band. 

 

 THE KOVENANT last unleashed "IN TIMES BEFORE THE LIGHT", 9/3/2002 via HAMMERHEART RECORDS. 

 

FROM THE KOVENANT: 

 

 

To the outside world, everything might have looked like fun and games...energetic live shows, big smiles, and a strong sense of fellowship. However, behind the scenes, The Kovenant has been facing serious challenges that we could no longer ignore.

It is with a heavy heart that we announce that Astennu will no longer be part of the band.

This was not an easy decision. Astennu has been a part of our musical journey, but for some time he has struggled with personal demons, and unfortunately, this began to impact not only our live performances but also the integrity of the band. Despite repeated efforts to address these issues privately and internally, his behavior became increasingly erratic...damaging to our working relationships and harmful to the morale of everyone involved, including the band, our crew, and management.

We did everything we could to support him. However, his repeated breaches of our agreements...including sobriety on tour, treating fellow bandmates and crew with respect, and honoring the band’s goals...left us with no other option. It has been a painful and exhausting process for all of us.

That said, we believe in honesty with our fans. Our priority is to continue creating and performing music with passion and professionalism. The Kovenant deserves to move forward on a strong and positive path.

With that in mind, we are proud to welcome Charles Hedger...also known as “Ghul,” the talented guitarist from Mayhem...into The Kovenant. Charles is an experienced and highly respected musician who understands our vision and energy. We’re confident that he will fit seamlessly into the band and help shape this next chapter with integrity and artistry.

We recognize that some fans may be disappointed by this news. But given what has been going on behind the scenes, we believe this change is both necessary and ultimately beneficial. Our commitment to The Kovenant’s future and the music we make remains unwavering.

The Kovenant

 

 

FROM SARAH JEZEBEL: 

 

My Friday night rant, that will lose me some followers and get me cancelled for speaking the truth.

Nagash and I, aren't that different, apart from I have bigger balls, he is way more "To the point" and more blunt than I am, of course he is giving me lessons on life and how to "man up" and be even more brutally honest, without regret. I want to point a few things out, I suppose responses to some of people's comments over the last 24hrs.

I've heard "That person IS the band" and "That band is nothing without that person". This explanation is an example, without ego!

Wrong! So wrong, I can't clench any harder ... A comment that's so disrespectful to the rest of the band!

Take my vocals off of Nexus Polaris for example, apart from peace and quiet, it's still a unique album, but not as unique. Take the keyboards and samples off of Nexus Polaris, same as I stated above. Take 1 person out of any 6 of us, and you lose some depth, originality and uniqueness. Fact. No "One" person is "The band", unless you are a one man band. Everyone contributes to a bands sound, albums and live shows, if you choose to believe that only 1 person writes and is the only musician worth acknowledging, give ya head a hard wobble and wake up!

Next, I've heard "They are the main riff/melody writer".

Emmm....ok, let's take Martin Powell, remember him? Used to be in My Dying Bride and Cradle Of Filth. Not a guitarist is he? Or is he..... I can tell you he wrote loads on a few CoF albums, uncredited.....ask him.... So you assume because someone has a label "Singer", "guitarist", that's all they do? Very very wrong, it's called "Team work", "Collaboration"..... One person doesn't sit there demanding only his melodies get used....nope..... Did you know Nagash and Blackheart came up with over 90% of my melodies for Nexus? Bloody genius I say. Everyone has a say.... Everyone is equal...... In this band at least. Loads of ideas floating, but no solid recorded songs, no professionally recorded anything yet, nothing set in stone..... No set style... Just ideas..... Many..... And NO restrictions!

Lastly, years ago it used to be funny watching ya favourite band falling over on stage, dribbling, kicking shit off stage and downing vodka....since ticket prices are on average £40 minimum, when you are that excited to see a band and you have paid YOUR money to see them, are you honestly telling me you are cool with them being pissed as a fart on stage? Coming down from their cocaine high, angry.... Forgetting lyrics, playing the wrong riff at the wrong time, missing those beats.... Ok, another example.... Is it ok to go to work off ya tits on cocaine? What would happen if you did and couldn't do your job? Don't need to spell that out..... So what's the difference.....every job is delivering a service, a service we have ALL paid for.

This is what I've heard.... "it's metal".. ok.... So when you have paid your money and someone is off their face on whatever, you paid to see it, you condone it, you think it's cool, then..... You jump online and troll the band for being shit, out of time, not moving enough, not enough energy.... You can't have it both ways.....

As musicians, we are here to entertain YOU.. you paid to see us play music, in time, tight and as professional as possible. Yup, we make mistakes, it's live, but those mistakes are made with a narcotic free system, because it fucks it up for us, you and whoever else is watching.

We don't have ANY booze or drugs on our rider. No one supplies us with booze or drugs either. We are professional to the core, because we owe that to ourselves, our crew and you. Half of the band either don't drink or have maybe 1 or 2 on a show day. This is what alcohol does to the body "Alcohol impairs cognitive functions like memory, concentration, and decision-making, and can cause slurred speech, slowed reactions, and even blackouts".

And... Denial.

See you soon people..... Thank you ...have a great weekend.

 

 

Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l-