On disc: Sentenced

 
- Amok
 
- Volker Raabe -
 
 


 
- Crimson
 
- Amir Djawadi -
 
 


 
- Crimson
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
- The Cold White Light
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 

The Cold White Light

(Century Media - 2002)



 
 

 

The CD starts with the screams of a screech-owl and then slowly the music starts, heavy, dark and moody. The latest release offer a larger variety of emotions. This time singer Ville Laihiala pass trough vary emotions in one song, for example Brief Is The Light. Pushing it to the limits of their genre, getting heavy here and smoother there... Perhaps that's the influence of producer Hiili Hiilesmaa who is known by his work with HIM and Apocalyptica. The Cold Winter Lights is a step forward for the Finnish quintet. A song like Neverlasting shows the hard-edged gothic metal with a lot of power and catchy hooklines, that's the way the fans know Ville Laihiala and friends live. This time the band managed to ban the live power on tape and also a more fragile sound which are embedded. Listen to Aika Multaa Muistot (Everything Is Nothing) and you’ll know what I'm talking about.

A decent piece of work and they definitely make new friends with this album!
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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Crimson

(Century Media - 2000)



 
 

 

Another tidbit from Finland. The guys of Sentenced recorded another studio album which has 11 tracks in the way we know them. The first single is Killing Me Killing You. The song starts slowly which you want expect from the Finnish, but then the speed up, so the song is well balanced. But there is a real ballad in the album which is called No More Beating As One and which proofs that they can be melodic. Sentenced show that they not just can play powerful, they also can be melancholy and melodic without losing their identity.

That are the characteristics which made the previous albums successful. Live they been celebrated on several tours as well as on the most important and famous festivals (Dyna­mo, Wacken, ... ). At the moment their are no details when the Finnish will be back on the road, but it will be interesting to see them playing the new material live. Will they be successful again? We can just wish the band of singer Ville Laihiala that they can fulfill the expectations which will be high...
 
 










Amir Djawadi
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)


  
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Crimson

(Century Media - 2000)



 
 

 

The Finish five-piece had 7 releases in the last decade of the 20th century and begin the new millennium with Crimson. The songs are still full of agony and sorrow, but the quintet shows a larger variety these days. Since singer Ville Laihiala who came to the band before the recordings for Down, the band seemed to found their own way in this genre. Touring again and again through Europe made them stronger and let the music sound more dynamically than in the past. The magical word for Crimson is dynamic, says the label info and it's right! For the first time the band taken full responsibility for the album's production. Per­haps that's the reason for this slightly, but essential change. The opener Bleed In My Arms or No More Beating As One are powerful songs beside somber and acoustics like Killing Me Killing You or Dead Moon Rising. This variety makes the album more interesting and probably will catch the interest of more metal heads... Good work, guys!
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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Amok

(Century Media - 1995)



 
 

 

Our friends of Sentenced can always surprise the listener. The new album of the Finnish shows another change of the musical direction, coz Amok has gothic elements. The songs are catchy. Highlights on Amok are New Age Messiah, Dance On The Graves, Forever Lost and Funeral Spring which remind me a bit of Paradise Lost.
 
 










Volker Raabe
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)


  
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