Artist: Sentenced
Label: Century Media
Release Date: 7/9/02
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Title: The Cold White Light Artist: Sentenced Label: Century Media Release Date: 7/9/02 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Abyss's Review:
The Northernmost Killers return! I must admit, for the last few years Sentenced have been my little redheaded stepchild. Deep down I love them and defend them, but they are also in need of a little beating. For those of you who may not know this band as well as you should, they used to be all over the place. From the technical death masterpiece, North From Here, to the NWOBHM inspired Amok to the melodic 'album that Metallica should've made' Down, Sentenced grew in leaps and bounds, disappointing fans only because we missed their previous sound, but we were usually given an equally exciting sound to sink our fangs into. But sadly, after Down, Sentenced seemed to stagnate, continuing the same sound, but never with the same consistent quality. Follow-ups Frozen and Crimson were good albums, but they were definitely second or third tier metal. Luckily, The Cold White Light brings them back a bit. And while this isn't the complete album that Down was, it's definitely their best album since.
"While this isn't the complete album that Down was, it's definitely their best album since." Sentenced have improved on their last two quality, but unremarkable, albums with a return to their strong sense of melody. One must choose whether to bang ones head or sing along on such standout tracks as "Brief is the Light," "Aika Multaa Muistot," "Excuse Me While I Kill Myself" and "Blood & Tears." The songs remain fast-paced and upbeat, despite their desperate lyrics, evoking the same catchiness that made Down so irresistible. The musicianship remains trademark Sentenced: very capable musicians playing understated, but well composed songs.
Where this album comes up a bit short is in the vocal department. Ville Laihiala's voice is perfect for the surrounding music when his clean voice is laced with the slightest tinge of venom, reminiscent (at least slightly) of James Hetfield's better years, but on parts of this album he goes the same direction that the Metallica frontman has (granted, with less disastrous results). He often tries a totally clean, deep drone that often struggles to maintain pitch, and seems tepid and impotent compared to his more effective, nasal snarl. If one is so inclined, as I am, it can be ignored, but this album would benefit greatly by its removal or if it were tempered by harsh vocals. The lyrics themselves also hold this record back a little. Perhaps it's a problem with limited English, but many of the lyrics sound very sophomoric, contrasting the serious and sorrowful underlying music. For example, the song "Luxury of a Grave" has Mr. Laihiala singing that instead of being born, he was the product of his father's defecation. Now maybe there's something lost in the translation, but the mature music contrasts greatly with the crude poetry. Maybe there's a way to make these lyrics more eloquent in Finnish, but it just sounds stupid here.
"The song 'Luxury of a Grave' has Mr. Laihiala singing that instead of being born, he was the product of his father's defecation. Now maybe there's something lost in the translation..." Aside from that small point, however, I find this album to be a rousing success. And while those who saw their more melodic turn as a sell out will find this album far too soft for their tastes, those who have stayed along for the ride should be quite appeased. One word review: Awesome.
Death's Review:
Sentenced are one of the more challenging bands in the modern metal scene to classify and describe. Ten years after the classic North From Here, Sentenced return once more with the follow-up to 2000's Crimson album, Cold White Light. The album displays a confident and competent band of metal musicians effectively melding the catchiness of power metal, the somber feel of more experimental European death/gloom, the melody of some of Swedish death acts, the musicianship of a prog act and an almost entirely non-death vocal style which ranges from raspy/frog-in-throat singing (think Jon Oliva from Savatage when he is singing heavy parts mixed with Udo Dirkschneider of Accept) to deep-throated clean singing (think Geoff Tate mixed with the guy from the Crash Test Dummies).
"There is an almost happy-sounding bounce at times, in part a result of the very clean production but also clearly a result of the songwriting." The music on Cold White Light is definitely melodic. The feel is definitely mid-tempo -- think of bands like Sentenced's Finnish contemporaries Amorphis, yet also others like Anathema and Katatonia. Yet Sentenced depart from these comparisons both in both the distinctive vocal style and the extreme sense of melody/catchiness that goes well beyond any of the aforementioned acts and at moments even extend into German power metal territory.
There is really a lot of melody amongst the alternating clean and heavy-distorted guitar parts. There is even an almost happy-sounding bounce at times, in part a result of the very clean production but also clearly a result of the songwriting. This is true despite the themes of death and suicide which appear throughout the record. Song titles/lyrics like "Cross My Heart and Hope to Die" and "Excuse Me While I Kill Myself" ("I kill myself, I blow my brains against the wall . . . ") allow Sentenced to clearly maintain a somber identity. And to think Ozzy and Priest were sued for encouraging suicide! "Excuse Me . . ." takes things to a whole new level! Still, it is done with a certain artistic merit and I must say, this is one of the better songs on the record. The lyrics actually are quite good, in my humble opinion, as they generally are throughout the record.
"I wish they had a bit more death metal bite going on here, but I'll take it. This is a good record." I particularly like two things most about Cold White Light: the musicianship and the true dynamic sense heard all over this record (a favorite example of mine and an overall powerful track is the ballad "Aika Multaa Muistot [Everything Is Nothing]", one of the album's better tunes). The vocal style may take a bit of getting used to, and it is true that many of the songs have a similar tempo/feel. Still, this is an accomplished, professional-sounding outfit playing interesting and inspired music. Bonus points are given for the fact that this sounds just subtley different enough from the bulk of what else is out there now to really stand out from the crowd. I wish they had a bit more death metal bite going on here, but I'll take it. This is a good record.
Hel's Review:
Favorite track: "Excuse Me While I Kill Myself"
What I know about Sentenced, I learned from Abyss and from their unceremoniously brief appearance at the first March Metal Meltdown. He had me all excited to see their set, and I really liked the five minutes they played for. OK, I'm exaggerating - but not by much. Suffice to say, I did not have a great deal invested in thinking about what the new record should be, so I was able to listen to this record with extraordinarily minimal expectations.
"If I were a long time fan of the band, I might be very upset with this album."
Which is good, because I can imagine a scenario where, if I were a long time fan of the band, I might be very upset with this album. It reminds me a lot of Tuonela, and I was extremely pissed at Amorphis for it, until it ultimately got under my skin and grew on me. The Cold White Light strikes me as very similar to that album (without "Greed"). It is slow and melodic at parts, heavier in others, uncommonly catchy, and ultimately addictive. It also has that bleak depressing quality to the lyrics, and is delivered in the same vocal fashion. Therefore, I also expect a similar backlash from the old fans is possible - but what the hell do I know.
"Personally, I love that wacky Finnish lyrical imagery (I think farming must be difficult there)." I'll tell you what I do know - this record rocks. It's melodic - there's no other way to describe it - the kind of record you either love or hate. Personally, I love that wacky Finnish lyrical imagery (I think farming must be difficult there). The songs are well written, particularly the musical passages, though the lyrics betray that English is probably not their first language. The band is extremely skillful and talented, and the production is nice and clear. I can even hear the bass strings slapping at times. Admittedly, I could do without the bird noises, but the atmospheric thing is cool, and I know many find that to be a spooky call, so I won't take points off in this case. The Cold White Light fills that bleak, angst-ridden hole in my soul, for about 45 minutes anyway.
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