THE KOVENANT was formed in 1992 by two black metal artists known as Nagash (Stian Arnesen) and Blackheart (Amund Svensson) who released the debut-album In Times Before the Light (1997). The band signed with the german record company Nuclear Blast, in 1998 and recruited four other members to form an actual band: Astennu (of Dimmu Borgir, Carpe Tenebrum), Sverd (of Arcturus), Sarah Jezebel Deva (of Cradle of Filth, Therion, Angtoria and others), and Hellhammer (of Mayhem and others). With these new recruits, they released their second album, Nexus Polaris, which was hugely successful and is largely considered their best album to date by fans. The album also resulted in the band getting a Norwegian Grammy for Best Hard Rock Band 1998.