SENTENCED |
| Sentenced
are : Miika Tenkula on lead Guitar Sami Lopakka on Guitar Sami Kukkohovi on Bass Guitar Vesa Ranta on Drums Ville Laihiala on Vocals The tracks are : 1. Kaamos (1:34) 2. Farewell (3:43) 3. Dead Leaves (5:26) 4. For The Love I Bear (3:28) 5. One With Misery (3:36) 6. The Suicider (3:43) 7. The Rain Comes Falling Down (6:18) 8. Grave Sweet Grave (3:55) 9. Burn (2:46) 10. Drown Together (5:09) 11. Lets Go (The Last Chapter) (4:24) 12. Mourn (4:43) Frozen is Sentenced's sixth full length album if you include Greatest Kills. Sentenced started life like most bands from Finland by playing extreme/death metal which can clearly be heard on their 1991 debut 'Shadows of The Past'. But that was 1991 and now 1998 sees Sentenced following a more melodic approach to things, letting melody take over from just sheer power. Frozen draws it's inspiration from the bands own misfortunes, the lyrics being dark and in some ways depressing, but ultimately down to the listeners interpretation, because only Sentenced themselves know the true meaning. Now faced with this information do you. a) press play b) put this Cd down and go and do something else ? Well, if you choose b, you'd have made the biggest mistake, because although the underlying trend is one of doom and gloom, the music with it's wonderful melodies, power house guitar chords really does make Frozen a joy to listen to. Frozen starts and finishes with two superb instrumentals, 'Kaamos' and 'Mourn'. 'Kaamos' is a beautiful short piece featuring fine work on drums and acoustic guitar to create a very medieval effect, while 'Mourn' is much heavier in delivery with a superb guitar solo that sets every emotion on red alert. In between 'Frozen' contains a further nine slabs of atmospheric metal which in places reminds me a lot of Rush and Paradise Lost and show how far Sentenced have come as songwriters and musicians. 'Farewell' has a wonderful foot tapping feel to it, provided by some superb drum work. 'The Suicider' has some fine guitar work with an almost singalong chorus, while 'The Rain Come Falling Down' is so powerful and sung with such emotion it's then that you realise not only how personal these songs are, but how much the band members have gone through in making this album. 'Burn' is another fine instrumental guitar/drum track with hymn like qualities, while 'Grave Sweet Grave' once again features some fine six string work. Although Frozen's main theme is one of loss, depression and most things on the negative side, because of Sentenced's wonderful use of melodies and rhythms, you can also find them uplifting. As I said earlier, the album gives you two choices. Me, I'm simply going to press play again and I suggest you do the same!! This CD is released by Century Media Records. USA 1453-a 14th Street #324 Santa Monica, CA 90404 Phone : 310 574 7400. Tel : 310 574 7414 Email : mail@centurymedia.com Germany Schaeferstrasse 33a 44147 Dortmund Tel : +49 231 8297 0 Fax : +49 231 8297 101 Email : dortmund@centurymedia.com Website : http://www.centurymedia.com |
SENTENCED |
| Sentenced
were originally formed in North Finland in late 1989 by Miika Tenkula
, Sami Lopakka and Vesa Ranta playing brutal death metal. In 1990 they recorded their 1st demo 'When Death Joins Us' and the band enlisted a new vocalist and bassist named Taneli Jarva. They were immediately offered a record deal by a small French label and the band signed to release their debut album 'Shadows Of The Past'. from the recording of their next album 'North From Here' the spiral staircase appeared that lifted Sentenced out of the death metal doldrums. Sentenced became one of the most interesting and listenable bands of that time. The Tracks are : 'Noose', 'Nepenthe', 'Sun Won't Shine', 'Dance On The Graves', 'The Way I Wanna Go', 'White Wedding', 'My Sky Is Darker Than Thine', 'The Trooper', 'New Age Messiah', ' Desert By Night', 'No Tomorrow', 'The Truth', 'Awaiting The Winter Frost', 'Crumbling Down', 'In Memorium'. The opening track is 'Noose', which is an excellent track taken from the 'Down' (1996) album. 'Nepenthe', this track is from 'Amok' which was released in 1995 has some fine guitar playing with some nice changes in tempo. Track three which is 'Sun Won't Shine', (Down) is a good track with some nice changes in direction and tempo. 'Dance On The Graves', (Amok) is a faster track than the previous and has much deeper vocals, excellent guitar solo. 'The Way I Wanna Go', a track from Love & Death (1995) is a great track with some great guitar. Track six is 'White Wedding' which is an excellent cover version of Billy Idol's Classic. 'My Sky Is Darker Than Thine', from North From Here released in 1993. An excellent death metal track. Next is 'The Trooper' from The Trooper (1993)is an excellent track with a superb guitar solo. 'New Age Messiah' (Amok ) is a good track with some excellent guitar. Track ten is 'Desert By Night' (The Trooper). This is an excellent track with some good changes in mood, direction and tempo. 'No Tomorrow', this track was recorded in 1996 but is previously unreleased and is a very good track. 'The Truth' (Shadows Of The Past 1991), This is a brutal death metal track. Next is 'Awaiting The Winter Frost' (North From Here) is another brutal death metal track, but has some nice changes i direction and tempo. 'Crumbling Down' from Give Up Hope, is an excellent track with some great guitar. And the last track is 'In Memorium' (The Trooper), which is another excellent track. Greatest Kills is an excellent release showing Sentenced's career from their debut album 'When Death Joins Us' through to 'Down' which was released in 1996. Greatest Kills also contains all of the tracks from the EP 'The Trooper' which is now a rare collectors item. In 1996 the band were disappointed to learn that Jarva would not be able to continue within the band as their increased success and demands on his time were simply to much of a burden. The band wasted no time naming Ville Laihiala as their replacement, but the musical braintrust behind the band remains the same and laihiala adds a distinctly dramatic element to their impassioned work. This CD is released by Century Media Records. USA 1453-a 14th Street #324 Santa Monica, CA 90404 Phone : 310 574 7400. Tel : 310 574 7414 Email : mail@centurymedia.com Germany Schaeferstrasse 33a 44147 Dortmund Tel : +49 231 8297 0 Fax : +49 231 8297 101 Email : dortmund@centurymedia.com Website : http://www.centurymedia.com |