Paradise Lost might be the kings of Metallica-clones (even going so far as to mimic the shite "Load" era Metallica), but Sentenced aren't that far behind if you ask me. Ville Laihila might as well start fostering the Keither Sutherland look, as his vocal phrasing is so close to Mr Hetfield's it's uncanny. Musically Sentenced don't go to the same lengths as Paradise Lost, but I still hear a lot of "The Black Album" here - "Frozen" is like a 45+ minute rendition of "The Unforgiven", but with some uptempo changes (think later day Iron Maiden) thrown in to keep the listener from dying of boredom...which is paradoxical when one considers the fascination Sentenced have with all things suicide-related. Personally, I don't really find this nearly as depressing as I think it's meant to be, but then again, I listen to THE SWANS, so this didn't really stand a chance in that respect. Still, I actually like this album...I know a lot of you are probably shaking your heads right now and wondering how I can actually like something as vapid and sugar-coated as this, but at the end of the day, Sentenced are a talented band who write some good (although generic) metal songs.

Sentenced are to 90s metal what The Scorpions were to 80s metal - a band who write pop songs to make little metal girls swoon...but they're good at it, and not so offensive as to make me want to hurl my breakfast at the nearest wall. I'm sure I'll take a lot of flak from both Sentenced fans and those who hate them alike for this review, but so be it - they're not the gods some people would make them out to be, but neither are they utterly worthless whores. Now excuse me while I go get some bubble gum to accompany the rest of this album...

© 2000 chorazaim