Sentenced
Amok

THE REVIEW

The Sentenced, for some time (when they were still active, you understand), were both a cross and a delight for those who loved them at first and then detested them, for those who ignored them at first and loved them later, for those who loved them both before and after, and also for those, I believe, who detested them both before and after.
However, it is interesting and useful, for clarity, to understand what delimits the "before" and "after" concerning these Finnish all-genius-and-carelessness, who then, according to many, moved to questionable genius and mere "laziness." What circumscribes a distinction (and even more than one, frankly speaking) is the artistic and genre ground on which Sentenced always moved: from a canonical, aggressive, and annihilating Death Metal of the early days, to a Progressive tinged with many Power and Gothic ripples, until a complete Gothic catharsis, purged of everything the band had composed before and which likened them, possibly unjustly, possibly rightly, to other questionable and sugary institutions riding (and still riding), certain tear-jerking Gothic shores for spoiled teenage girls, who found their peace and war in HIM.

But, fear not, with this "Amok", we are still a hundred miles away from the Gothic paroxysms that will come later. I wrote "hundred" and not "thousand" on purpose, precisely because, with great caution and without running into blasphemies and curses, something can already be glimpsed beyond the dark and mysterious, liquid and smoky recesses of this work.
"Amok", however, in the opinion of the author, was a gem, a peak that could have consecrated Sentenced in the Metal Pantheon, had they not decided subsequently to bastardize, soften, and sweeten their attitude. If only they had given intelligent twists to their sound, in the same way as Katatonia and some other bands, today we would probably talk about Sentenced as we talk about Opeth. But, unfortunately, it is not so.

"Amok" immediately amazes and fascinates, right from the first song "The War Ain't Over", which from an interlude of shots and battlefields, astonishingly transitions to an atmosphere truly rare and fascinating: stellar at first, powerful, muscular, and granitic later. And we should not forget the numerous interludes that make the track a disarming mix of whispered atrocities with sadistic awareness, never chaotic outbursts that lean heavily toward melody, winking at canonical and street Heavy Metal, and a great "pathos" that few bands, I must say, have ever been able to reproduce.
Just the first track alone is worth the price of the cd, but then, of inspiration, prophetic visions, melodic and well-structured Death, charming comparisons intertwined with decadent redundant Gothic cycles, can be enjoyed in every groove of the record, and continuing, "Phenix", "Forever Lost", "Nepenthe" (guess what made me glimpse a certain Gothic attitude...) and "Moon Magick", are jewels that shine in the cold Finnish with the same iridescence of the Nordic sun: enchanting and disordered, dramatic and ominous.

Nothing better, in short, could the Sentenced offer us with "Amok", and with a certain regret, I believe, I would still like them to return, as in this work: dramatic, dreamy, a little affected I agree, but always spreading those inimitable sensations that made them famous.