Sentenced
Frozed
(c)(p)1998 Century Media Records
Review by Terrence Seiver
Thanks to Century Media, Australia, for the CD
"For me, music is the most important thing, not the fashion or trendiness
of it" Sami Lopakka, Sentenced guitarist, once said in an interview. It is
not uncommon for Finnish band Sentenced to play a style of music that
isn't fashionable. Sentenced played brutal European death metal back in
1989, a long time before it became even remotely acknowledged. And these
days, the Finns still want to remain different. Their style now can only
be described as a 1980's European thrash.
It wouldn't be hard to compare "Frozen" to the great German band, Rage.
For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of listening to Rage, one
could say that "Frozen" is sort of like a cross between old Iron Maiden
and Metallica. Whilst this is not such a bad thing (Rage are a damn fine
band), I believe that "Frozen" is musically stale. Apparently, different
guitars and amps were used when recording. The effect of this created many
different sounds and feelings throughout 'Frozen'.
Lyrically, "Frozen" takes the listener through worlds of loss, suicidal
depression and general negativity. As noted, the music is very melodic
(compared to their earlier work), however it suits the lyrics in a bizarre
sort of way.
Production-wise, "Frozen" is superb. The sound is very smooth, and well
rounded. If anything, I think that Waldemar Sorychta may have even
over-produced the album.
At a time when most metal bands have taken the black goth look and sound,
Sentenced haven't conformed. What they do isn't in anyway ground-breaking,
the thing that I find interesting is the time they choose to do it. 1980's
European thrash has been dead for years. While I can not say that I love
"Frozen", I can not say that I hate it. It has grown on me, but I'm not
going to say it's excellent. I think that if you like the 1980's European
thrash thing, then maybe you should check it out.
Sentenced is:
Miika Tenkula - guitar
Sami Lopakka - guitar
Vesa Ranta - drums
Ville Laihiala - vocals
Sami Kukkohovi - bass guitar
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