Covenant likes to change things up from album to album, which is very evident in their previous release, United States of Mind. Northern Light takes the tempo down a notch and showcases the band's emotional side, showing less of a tendency towards dancefloor oriented songs.

One mistake that Covenant made with this album was to join with a major record label that has major record label ideas. The worst thing to do to a listener is to take away their ability to listen to the music they have purchased. I unfortunately rushed out and purchased the European version of the album that had the Sony copyright-protection scheme on it. This may not be a problem to some people, but I probably spend 90% of the time that I listen to cds listening to them on my computer. Faced with the issue of not being able to listen to my brand new cd, it lay on a shelf for quite a while with me forming an ever-increasingly negative attitude toward the cd and the band. With the North American release on Metropolis Records (and my having to purchase a cd I already owned), I have given the cd a listen and hopefully have shaken off some of the negativity I formed due to Sony's greed.

Northern Light opens up with Monochrome, filled with consistent beats and the typical vocal stylings of Eskil make this song a fine start to the album. Call the Ships to Port, one of the standout tracks on the album, hits you with hard beats, haunting rythms - definitely a dance floor hit.

Bullet slows down the tempo a bit with somwhat melancholy lyrics, followed by the ballad-like Invisible & Silent. Prometheus continues to slow the pace (almost to a standstill), but then We Stand Alone gives you a punch in the arm to wake you back up. Definitely another anthem-like song to march you across the dancefloor.

Rising Sun and Winter Comes contain cold, minimalistic electronics that typify the feeling of much of the album. The cover art of the album depicts a frozen man in a winter landscape, sourrounded by the cold, which Winter Comes fully defines.

We Want Revolution once again picks up the pace with catchy rythms and lyrics, followed by Scared, which has a groovy 70's feel to it. I felt this track, along with last track, Atlas, dragged the album to a halt. The album tries to balance the slow and fast tempo songs, but sputters out at the end.

This album shows the Covenant is a fully mature, multi-faceted band, not always producing what the masses expect or want. While this album may not be for dancefloor fanatics, it is still a good album in its own respect, much like VNV Nation's Futureperfect.