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Sentenced > North from Here > Reviews
Sentenced - North from Here

Melody meets Morbidity, and then the two clobber you - 88%

autothrall, January 31st, 2023
Written based on this version: 1993, CD, Century Media Records (Bonus tracks)

While the band's debut doesn't strike me as one of the more unique offerings from the earlier years of the Finnish death metal scene, it's follow-up was absolutely embarking upon its own sound much like peers Demilich, only with a different sense of melody and not so much of the jazzy grooving, uber guttural other-ness. North from Here was my first exposure to the band, and I was instantly smitten with its choppy take on weird technical, melodic death metal, compelling enough to overcome the few flaws I had with its strangely processed sound. In retrospect, the cover image is rather dull, but I remember being wowed by the idea of this dimly lit, frozen forest beneath the Borealis lights, and wintry death metal that seemed like it was being concocted in a lab beneath one of the local glaciers.

This thing is just wrought with ideas, that range from clamorous, confusing riffs, to exotic escapes like "Wings" and its Amorphis-like melodies, to incredible walls of melody and leads like you discover in the masterful "Awaiting the Winter Frost". Just a few minutes will capture your imagination, and add to that some of Taneli Jarva's sickest, splattering death metal vocals, which don't really sound much like he did on Amok, but a very interesting takeover from Miika's style on the debut (he also does still contribute). But it's the crazy performance from the instruments that really evokes this album's unforgettable, nervous and intense moods, the most complex and agile guitar work of the band's entire catalogue, wild drumming in a panic to keep up with those riffs, and extremely fluid bass playing to anchor it all to the cold ground below. Fuck, North from Here might even suffer a fraction from just having TOO much happening, as much as I enjoy this one I always felt like it was a little cluttered in its transitions, sections crashing into one another rather than merging as epically as they should.

But I am willing to forgive this due to the band's youthful exuberance and envelope-pushing, which went sadly unnoticed against superior death metal bands spawning duller but more 'brutal' sounds about this same time. It's not my favorite Sentenced album, because the Finns would undergo an even more insane evolution for Amok, to the point that it doesn't even sound like the same band, and I just happen to love the songwriting and style there...but who cares? I can have both, and this is easily one of the most important gems of that early scene, which has proliferated in recent years and become one of the strongest on the planet, even though many of its practitioners edge towards the more cavernous style and not the brilliant progressive tendencies of this record or Nespithe. If you love death metal, you MUST own this one, so if for some reason you're only acquainted with the later Gothic/heavy metal style, and don't like that, fair enough, but back in them early 90s, they was somethin' else, and North From Here still boggles my brain even as I approach the half-century club.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Northern Lights - 100%

PaintingMyLandscape, October 23rd, 2021

This album actually reminds me a bit of early tech death. Similar to 'Unquestionable Presence', for example, in the sense of the melodic approach that's quite technical. The melodies are still used in a different sense than on the early tech death albums which separates 'North From Here' from that stuff. The difference in the use of melodies is that on 'North From Here' the technicality comes from the melodic approach, meanwhile on that early tech death the melodiousness comes from the technical approach. So basically, on 'North From Here' the focus on the actual melodies is much more obvious. The use of melodies truly make 'North From Here' the album it is; Finndeath had tons of band that had melodic approach and used mostly dark melodies but Sentenced on this album took that dark melodic approach to another level with actually focusing on those melodies being a huge part of the song and sounding atmospheric. When you first listen 'North From Here', there's no doubt that your attention will be drawn in the melodies but with more listens, you'll find that 'North From Here' is about a lot more than just simply being melodic...

I personally think that the bassist here contributes one of the greatest bass playing performances of all-time. The playing is fairly technical but that's not relevant as the real greatness comes from the creativity of the bass lines, how he rarely follows the guitarists' playing but rather compensates the guitar riffs and melodies with lines of his own. It's not the fact that he has his own bass lines that makes his playing great but the fact that the lines compensate the guitars so well and just simply sound so good in the mix why I love his bass playing so much. The bass sound also is great. Perhaps it's just the fact that I'm a bassist why I happen to find the bass playing as one of the best things on this album but I don't know, as far as it sounds great to me I'm happy with this stuff. The drumming is the second thing that's great here. It might not be anything that's completely different from other drumming but this guy does hell of a job here. Flawless drumming performance in my mind.

In the end of the day, this album wouldn't be anything without the song-writing it has. I mean, it has so many great pieces in it but the way these pieces have been put together is the actual reason why I truly love this album. The overall filthiness is mixed extremely well to the melodies; the melodies aren't mellow and soft but dark and evil. There are lots of faster parts that are compensated by the various slower parts that give you some time to breathe. Just overall the song-writing is beautiful here and the best trait of this album. It might be the thing that takes the most to appreciate (because on first listens it probably isn't the thing you focus on) but once you 'see it' there, you'll figure out how important it's to the album - I mean, song-writing is always important but here it just has somewhat exceptional meaning for the music. The music itself is also really atmospheric that not only comes from the dark melodies but also thanks to the song-writing.

Just overall, melodic death metal has never been better. Dark and filthy, with incredibly good vocal performance and some black metal-influences. Not only does this album have a magnificent execution but it's also extremely unique. There aren't too many things that are like 'North From Here'. But unlike melodeath (which this isn't, because that's a different thing than melodic death metal anyway, in my opinion at least) this kind of melodic death metal isn't really accessible but rather 'North From Here' might be a bit hard to get into even. Still though, I definitely recommend fans of filthy death metal, melodic death metal and technical death metal to check this album out because this is basically combination of those things. There are only few death metal albums finer than this one.

Overpowering majesty - 88%

colin040, September 7th, 2020

Whereas plenty of death metal bands from Europe made the switch to something softer and less metallic overtime, Sentenced remain unique in this category when taking into consideration that the band’s most extreme effort was not as expected Shadows of the Past, but in fact its successor. Had the debut lead into the more unconventional Amok before the band would embrace their inner gothic, their progression might not have been quite as bizarre as it turned out to be, but given the aforementioned information the band was definitely an oddball in this regard.

To my knowledge North from Here isn’t a concept album, but by reading along to the lyrics there seems to be some sort of tale carried onward as the album progresses (the fact that Pohjola gets mentioned hints such a possibility, too). ‘’My Sky Is Darker than Thine’’ introduces the listener to a wrathchild, who inspired by a dream has the goal to dominate and desolate everything. Just like several epic poems, there’s a notable sense of guidance present; but not of a God of any shorts (who instead gets mocked with hate in the wrathchild’s heart and plays no positive role in the story whatsoever). Instead it’s firstly through a dream and on ‘’Wings’’ through scars in the wind that guides a path to the dark. A series of bloodshed gets unfold on the following tracks (3-5) and it’s not until ‘’Beyond the Wall of Sleep’’ where the realization of a coming death and the goal to master mortality take place. Unexpectedly ‘’Northern Lights’’ marks the start a new chapter, as the war has possible taken its toll on the wrathchild and results into a possible madness; possibly hinted by the maniacal laughter during the composition’s break. At last ‘’Epic’’ confirms this mental state has now taken over; the lust for dominance, to desolate everything and the goal to master mortality have now turned into a yearning for death with the hope of meeting one’s ancestors.

Musically speaking North from Here doesn’t feel quite as epic as its theme suggests, yet it’s without a doubt the band’s most complex and vicious offering with hardly any references to the two records that surround it. Those whose familiarity of early Sentenced ends with Amok won’t be surprised by the harmonized introduction of ‘’My Sky Is Darker than Thine’’ - after all it opens up with some recognizable nods to Iron Maiden, but just when the introduction is finished, the track explodes into action - deceiving indeed! A lethal combination of whirlwind-y riffs, war cry esque vocals and a powerhouse of a drummer are constant in alliance, yet it is clear each instrument gets played with pure intensity; there’s simply no time for half-assed performances here. One might assume that North from Here has therefore more in common with Shadows of the Past, given its extreme features and all – but to me it really doesn't, either. Sure, the typical death metal roars have been replaced by a ‘’thinner’’ scream, but that’s about the only aspect that has changed in a lesser extreme fashion. Otherwise North from Here definitely feels like Sentenced at their hungriest - the frequent amount of blastbeats certainly adds intensity to this record that certain compositions benefit from. Just behold how ‘’Awaiting the Winter Frost’’ turns into a blizzard after the tranquil keys have vanished – powerful stuff, indeed.

The real strength of North from Here lies obviously in its furious guitar work and while the riffing isn’t as gruff as that of the debut, North from Here consists of spiteful, yet oppressive riffs that hit faster and harder than ever before. The aforementioned ‘’Awaiting the Winter Frost’’ feels like Coroner’s tech-thrash skills getting in hands of a black metal band; resulting into a calculated, yet unexpected tour-de-force of rapid fire riffs. ‘’Capture of Fire’’, too, is an excellent example of the band using their new skills to their advantage. From the hellish minor riffs that dominate the verses to the heavenly, choir-esque keys it’s a fantastic example of a contrastive track. Structurally North from Here exemplifies a sense of complexity that was already marked by records such as Soulside Journey and The Red in the Sky is Ours, yet I’d argue that North from Here is the most distinctive of these three. The folk-y textures of ‘’Wings’’ are as melancholic as Sentenced get at this point, ‘’Awaiting the Winter Frost’’ discovers a frenetic pacing that the band has never attempted to match again and ‘’Epic’’ builds up its tension thanks to a fade in trick before the band plays their (northernmost) heart out one last time.

While not perfect (‘’Fields of Blood, Harvester of Sorrow’’ feels more like a collection of riffs than a proper track), North from Here is something to behold. It’s an unexpected, yet absolutely fascinating piece of work; so much in fact that I could even look past its vegetable-themed cover artwork.

This review was originally written for antichristmagazine.com

Youthful joie de vivre, but no classic - 73%

Absinthe1979, June 17th, 2020
Written based on this version: 2008, 2CD, Century Media Records (Limited edition, Reissue, Remastered, Slipcase, Black disc)

No single group of bands seemed to jump-ship from their original genre quite as quickly and thoroughly as the European death metal brigade of the very early 90s.

So many bands seemed to release one, maybe two, death metal-ish albums before moving away from that genre forever to forge new ground. Paradise Lost had ‘Lost Paradise’, Amorphis had ‘The Karelian Isthmus’, then there’s Tiamat, The Gathering - even My Dying Bride and Anathema at a push - and of course Sentenced. It’s almost as if they played extreme metal accidentally as a youthful miscalculation, before realising their error and moving into the gothic/melodic/rock based styles that they seemed to prefer, and for which they are now best known.

In full disclosure, while I enjoy them, I've never loved the debut albums of these bands. So I’m not going to let any nostalgic notion of early 90s Euro death cloud my judgement about ‘North From Here’, which is a good, but not a great album.

The debut album from the Northernmost Killers Themselves, ‘Shadows of the Past’, merged some doomy riffing with a death slant, yet when the follow-up ‘North From Here’ appeared, much of the doomy chugging had disappeared in favour of a more schizophrenic progressive approach. The template here is frenetic and ever-changing riffage that seldom sits still. Therein lies its appeal to some, yet paradoxically also its curse for others. It's an album that is essentially all over the place, and that will either work for you as a listener, or it will work against you. I tend to have a foot in both camps.

The production is surprisingly excellent; my copy is the remastered version released in 2008, yet even the original sounds great. The drums are clear and well produced, the guitars are up front and pleasant to listen to, and an occasional keyboard tone comes in to add a degree of atmosphere, such as in ‘Wings’. It's all pretty crisp, actually, and there is no sense of graveyard stink here at all. Taneli Jarva screams with an almost blackened rasp more than a death growl, giving the whole piece a slightly sinister edge. I say slightly, because this album contains virtually nothing that anyone could describe as dangerous and violent, whether musically or philosophically. In fact, it's hard to discern precisely what atmosphere they're going for here.

One man’s meat is another’s poison, and I find the stop/start nature of the tunes, so strongly lauded by others, to be the album's ultimate hamartia. Perhaps that’s too strong a word, as the album is definitely enjoyable to listen to, but it’s too immature and unfocused to be considered a classic in my view, and the dark atmosphere that they're pushing towards seems elusive due to the ubiquitous gear changes. It's caught between wanting to provide a majestic atmosphere, like in 'Northern Lights', and progressive dexterity. They seem to have thrown every possible riff they had into this album, and the tracks are very difficult to differentiate from each other. The youthful joie de vivre is predominant.

This edition comes with a second disc containing the ‘Journey to Pohjola’ demo, ‘The Trooper’ EP and two more tracks under the ‘Lost Treasures’ subheading. It’s a fantastic re-release and great for the collector. The artwork under a simple black slipcase is superb; the new front cover displays a glorious green aurora borealis, and the thick booklet continues the theme, as well as containing lyrics, original album artwork, and the cover art of the demo and ‘The Trooper’.

Overall, this is a decent album to put on over a few beers, and it's an interesting historical document by a band that would go on to much greater things, but it’s not life-changing and there’s no lingering sense of song once it’s all over. There’s essentially nothing to hum - that was obviously the point here - but it means that the tracks just wash by like a gurgling and chaotic river. It’s frenetic, slightly ramshackle, but decent. It's very impressive for what it is, but whatever it is it's certainly no classic.

Raising the stakes - 95%

we hope you die, June 10th, 2020

Finland’s Sentenced could never settle on one style for long, I suppose we call them ‘shapeshifters’. Sadly, as with so many artists with a similar urge to grow and change, the result – however earnest the intentions – is a slow and predictable decline into shit. But jump back to 1993 and we find Sentenced’s second full length effort ‘North From Here’, and one of the crown jewels of European death metal. This is such a unique piece of cold, northern death metal that for once it’s actually not an exaggeration to say that words don’t quite do it justice. For large passages it could be described as a death metal version of ‘In the Nightside Eclipse’. The production may be warmer, and of course everything leans towards the percussive, staccato, and restless nature of death metal. But Sentenced borrow liberally from traditions found in horror film scores in a similar manner to Ihsahn’s preoccupation of the time. The interweaving guitars are not guided by the lurking desire for a cadence, or complementary melodies, but instead will frequently devolve into harsh dissonance and off-kilter tritones. Enhancing this unsettling tendency is a relatively shrill guitar tone by death metal standards, that settles and stays in higher pitches, weaving through idiosyncratic counterpoint, and providing space for the bass to both drive the music as a whole and explore its own melodic potentials.

Vocals too are more typical of black metal, sticking as they do to an aggressive but higher end rasp. Contributing in turn to the overall coldness Sentenced were clearly aiming for given the lyrical themes on this release. The result of this dense and complex compositional interplay is unexpectedly rewarding. If, as a treat, we’re judging books by their covers (album and track titles etc.) then it would be easy to assume this would be another melodic, maybe a little cheesy, but ultimately obvious ode to Northern landscapes, perhaps with some twinkling keyboards and wind samples thrown in for good measure. But no. Sentenced shun any temptations towards the ‘epic’, or the sweeping melodic metal designed to invoke a vivid but ultimately domesticated image of Finnish landscapes. Instead what we have is an unsettling, eerie, and ultimately dangerous invocation of natural landscapes, played out through an idiosyncratic approach to melodic progression, and their intersection with the requisite ever-shifting rhythms of death metal.

It’s harsh, dissonant, but most importantly it puts the listener on edge. It’s an homage to the dangers or even the apparent maliciousness of nature in the eyes of humanity. This is also born out in the progressive flourishes Sentenced often indulge in. At the most basic level one could appreciate this display of technically proficient musicians honing their craft. The themes may be carried through each track to the point of achieving conceptual unity. But the music itself is restless, with dual guitar and bass lines jumping out from all sides at unexpected junctures, and drums that never settle on a rhythm for more than a few bars. In terms of how dense these compositions are, it’s up there with ‘Unquestionable Presence’. And this only augments the abrasive qualities that define the end result. A pleasant stroll through a winter wonderland it is not.

Sadly, Sentenced couldn't sustain such high quality beyond a few years worth of material. But their legacy remains intact nevertheless for two specific reasons.One is that it remains to this day a unique album. Which indicates that this formula has proved very hard to replicate (not for lack of trying). The second is simply its focus on a specific concept and atmosphere, and the attention span required to see this through to a whole album’s worth of material.But of course, both these albums raised the stakes for the ambition and scope that death metal should be aiming for in the waning years of its tenure at the top of the metal food chain.

Originally published at Hate Meditations

Anvil Forged in Ice, Snow and Brilliant Coldness - 93%

bayern, June 7th, 2017

Like the Dutch The Gathering Sentenced never settled for one style on their first three instalments, looking for their most fitting face, creating a few truly memorable moments along the way, the highlight of their restless quest being the album reviewed here. The debut was a pretty decent classic death metal affair, and was probably going to remain a relative highlight in their career… if it wasn’t for this sophomore piece of brilliance which came less than a year later. It’s really difficult to recognize the same band, who released these standardized “shadows” earlier, under these thick complex rifforamas that brought the guys into an entirely different direction from the formulaic one they had taken with the first instalment.

The breath-taking melodic leads at the beginning of “My Sky is Darker Than Thine” are the first testimony of musical mastery which later translates into virtuous complex melodies that race each other creating a lot of alluring drama not without the help of the unholy shouty death/black metal vocals; fast blitzkrieg black-ish riffs increase the intensity also forming a few less digestible puzzles. Stunning revelation on all counts that becomes marginally more lyrical on “Wings” with doomy accumulations served initially, but the furious carnival resumes on full-throttle with stylish riff-formulas dancing around, trying to keep within the mid-paced confines without any speedy surprises those replaced by eerie tunes and twisted melodic configurations. “Fields of Blood, Harvester of Hate” begins with an intricate riff salad which gets aggravated with more aggressive, but equally as striking, strokes with smattering gallops and creepy technical decisions also helping on the side, not to mention the several authoritative bassy additives and the imposing progressive build-ups in the second half which turn this piece into an impressive multi-layered masterpiece.

“Capture of Fire” starts with a superb memorable epic doomy motif with echoes of Bathory’s “Hammerheart”, but it’s more complex shreds and mazey melodic configurations that dominate the landscape later the overall delivery again not going over the mid-tempo boundaries with the doomy motif reminding of itself several times throughout. “Awaiting the Winter Frost” indulges in atmospheric operatic pomposity before brutal proto-blast beats tear the “dyll; still, their presence isn’t big enough to cloud the eccentric technical tricks in the middle the latter wrapped by some of the most enchanting melodies around. “Beyond the Wall of Sleep” is a furious death metal sweeper with melodic delights galore, a frequent alternation of times and tempos, an awesome galloping passage, and great lead sections. “Northern Lights” pours copious amounts of intriguing riffs from the get-go before fierce gallops take over the aether holding on for quite a while until a pacifying lyrical section blocks their stride, with dazzling leads getting introduced seamlessly flowing into the exiting speedy skirmish. “Epic” isn’t quite the epic one would expect from the title as it’s business as usual for the guys the intense rifforamas carrying on without much ado the main tool being the gallops again, arguably the most tasteful use of this application within a death metal template ever; expect less bridled brutality with blast-beats interfering to disrupt the galloping order and bring more pathos to the proceedings.

That’s some feat: technical/progressive death metal without any Floridian flavour; a pretty unique sound that was also different from the more primal abrasive one of the early Swedish hordes (Entombed, Unleashed, Dismember, etc.) and the oncoming Gothenburg movement (At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity at this stage). Melody and progression reached the climax of their co-existence here humbling the timid spawning achievements of the latter group which borrowed readily from the provided formula here although it never managed to produce as brilliant a recording. The Finnish practitioners didn’t follow up on it, either; Demilich and Nomicon were just too weird and eccentric for this kind of music, and Amorphis were following their own epic, battle-like path. Even as an isolated outburst of genius, this opus nicely showed that the Europeans didn’t need examples from the other side of the Atlantic in order to enhance the good old death metal with interesting and original decisions, and Sentenced should by all means be proud of this album since apart from it it was only the first two Atrocity efforts that remained highlights on the European technical/progressive death metal horizon, also treading their own individualistic trajectory, not counting mid-period Messiah and the Decision D debut as those works were too Americanized.

This could have been the beginning of an attractive enterprise as the band definitely had what it took to pull it off for a few more spells of the kind. Did they lose interest in pursuing this path having seen the Gothenburg outfits trying to emulate them, unsuccessfully for a large portion of the time? Or did they give up the ghost also witnessing the large increase in out-of-the-box, more devious ways of execution brought by Cynic, Demilich, Cadaver, obviously not really willing to space out to such an extent… it’s tough to tell, but the most likely reason for the radical shift in style as presented on “Amok” may have been the post-death metal campaign that started with Entombed’s “Wolverine Blues”, and later took quite a few victims (Cemetary, Amorphis, Enslaved, Massacra, Atrocity, etc.) including our Finnish friends here. As said campaign had already settled in comfortably into the metal fanbase’s consciousness, “Amok” was not surprisingly a big success, a very well executed affair capturing all the relevant currents in the air unerringly.

If the band’s old fans stayed with them for that one, they must have fled in panic after the release of “Down” merely a year later, a melancholic gothic metal pleaser cleared of all previous death metal condiments. Although it attracted another group of followers, there was very little in it to keep the more extreme side of the audience satisfied as this sounded like an entirely new band performing. It proved quite influential as well, as the gothic metal brotherhood in Finland and elsewhere grew exponentially acquiring sizeable proportions by the end of the 90’s and beyond. Amazingly, it generated nearly the same level of success as its predecessor prompting the band to continue in the same direction all the way to their split up in 2005. Metamorphoses, metamorphoses… more or less logical ones; ones that pass more or less noticed with only those forged with the coldest brilliance in mind carving a lasting trace in the listener’s memory.

In the light of the silvery eyes of the night... - 95%

TowardsMorthond, May 17th, 2011

Sentenced evolve in dramatic style from the furious but standard early‑1990s European death metal of their Shadows of The Past debut with second effort North from Here, which displays a highly developed sense of composition, shaped by frenetic guitars coursing through frozen melodic streams in racing harmonic fury. Insane pace of intricate rhythms in complex patterns supports in parallel form the manic currents of lucid melody, framed by hyper drumming that is astounding in precision and speed within these involved constructions. Vocals now taken over by bassist Taneli Jarva are of a higher pitched, near-black metal scream with a scornful, gritty tone, ferocious and spiteful in distinctive, sometimes eccentric expressive character. His charismatic delivery brings a stronger identity to this music as opposed to the gruff, commonplace death growl of lead guitarist Miika Tenkula heard on the previous album. The soundworld of Sentenced transforms from its hateful but humble and sometimes clumsy origins of death into a violent race through bloodstained tundra.

"I want to be trapped under ice
within my peaceful glacial tomb
Far from the epoch of trend
In the Aeons of Frost ‑ In league with the North!"

Sentenced accurately execute in murderous yet finesse form at levels of blistering speed like lightning splitting into unexpected yet logical patterns in design of elaborate labyrinths voicing detestation and vengeance towards the plight and falsity of blind hordes, all the while screaming through a fury of existential alienation for harmony with universal forces in the lust for warlike adventure. There is an almost spectral coldness and hatred flowing and pulsing in this music that allies it with the emotional and atmospheric landscape associated with black metal, as well as the elongated guitar patterns that stream in melodic currents in a manner similar to the approach of black metal extended melodic phrases. This is most evident in closing track "Epic", which, if one had no prior knowledge of Sentenced, could reasonably conclude the band were wearing corpsepaint during the recording. Though not a pure black metal album in style, it shares a number of vital stylistic elements and a spiritual quality more related to black metal than death metal. However, the complex structure and technically accomplished instrumentation, not to mention a clear presence of bass in the sterile but appropriately frozen mix, prevents this from leaving the realm of death metal altogether, and instead hybridizes the two styles into a sound that would be expanded upon in the coming years, rising to acclaim in the middle 1990s with the growth of the Swedish wave of melodic death with blackened vocals. Listen to the neo‑classical lead work of Tenkula throughout this effort to hear the traditional metal guitar style that inspired similar playing in many NWOBHM‑influenced guitar-work of melodic death bands In Flames and Dark Tranquility, who are often credited with originally bringing this approach into a death metal framework.

"The goals I've set to myself are far beyond mortality
To dominate, desolate everything weak that cannot stand alone"

Innovative and entirely individual albums like this have been a scarcity in metal since its release, with very few approaching anything remotely similar in terms of the sheer imagination of the presentation, but perhaps most importantly, the overall feel of this music, which generates a sort of icy translucence in the grip of a rage‑induced blur. These blood‑on‑snow obsessed Finns would never visit these musical shores again, opting instead to carry on as musical shape‑shifters before settling into a sound far more conventional than what is on display here. North from Here is a rare work that epitomizes the vast and sublime potential of metal music when in the artistic capabilities of visionaries such as these.

Off with their heads! Off with their fuckin' heads - 81%

Abominatrix, June 15th, 2010

What a strange bunch, this band, never very content to stick with one style until they settled into some kind of depressive heavy metal by their fourth album. You could very well listen to their first three records, loving one, hating another and being ambivalent to a third. It doesn't exactly make for something one can be fanatical about. Indeed, the gloomrockin of the later albums never worked very well for me, the debut was adequately heavy and featured nice riffs but nothing more, and the transitional "Amok" just left me scratching my head in perplexity.

What about "North From Here" then? My first exposure to Sentenced, this came to me at a time when I was first becoming acquainted with the soudns of metal that wasn't strictly heavy or thrash. Death metal was a new and fascinating beast, black metal a vague spectre at the edge of perception. I wanted metal that was dizzyingly technical, full of tempo changes, complex yet adhering to some vague idea of beauty that I had in my head. It's safe to say that "North from Here" knocked me flat from the very first note, and indeed, it was just the sort of metal album I was searching for at the time. The vocals were something new, with their snarly high-toned rasp, sounding much angrier than fellow Finns Amorphis, with whom I was already somewhat familiar. Indeed, I had this crazy idea that the two Finnish bands had some kind of rivalry going on, probably fueled by the "thousand fakes" comment in the lyrics to one of these songs. I knew about contemporaneous works by Death, but while I enjoyed their restrained melodic approach, they didn't have what this album has got in spades.

What is it that this album has got, then? Well, it is brash, as much metal ought to be. The compositions seems a little wild, especially in retrospect, as though the band had been practising their instruments excessively since that debut record and wanted to cram as many high-flying ideas into each song as possible. Often we ought to be a little wary of bands that hurl so many twists and turns at us, and indeed, Sentenced themselves would later criticise this album for a lack of cohesion and structure, yet I find myself so attracted to what the band was trying to do here that a certain amount of abruptness and clutteredness is tolerable here and even welcome. Besides, it's really not so random and crazed as all that; you will still hear recurring passages; some of these songs even include choruses, though seldom (if at all) will they repeat more than once. All I can say is that if you're looking for the pop hooks of later Sentenced, or the unhurried trudge and big, repetitive riffs of their younger days, neither are very much in evidence here, and while there's more than a hint of the un-hinged artist in some of these songs, there's an undeniable charm to what's going on. The reason for this, I think, is that the band sound as if they are playing their hearts out. Really, this couldn't be further from the dry and clinical nature of plenty of modern technical death metal, both in terms of sound production and musical delivery. When melodies surface with stark clarity, they are creative and often rather dark. Plenty of sections will induce enthusiastic headbanging, and whatever one can say about structure, it really sounds as if the band are working together with a seamless and unbeatable chemistry and that they believed, for a time at least, that they had crafted songs to take the metal world by storm. The lyrics, too, are far from the morose alcoholic haze of later recordings, preferring instead to deliver, with considerable conviction, variations on the tried and true themes of battle, bloodshed and the harsh Finnish winter in an age when the proud heathen still believed he could cleanse the north of christian lies.

The album opens with some strange, bending lead guitar melody, and right away anyone previously familiar with "Shadows of the Past" would have had to ask in perplexity whether this was really the same band. Everything about this beast is different. Not only has the complexity increased exponentially, the vocals taken on an altogether higher, angrier character and the sound been designed to bring out the sharp biting quality of those guitars, but the loping pup that gave us "Shadows..." has suddenly grown up to be a bounding lupus that can outrun its contemporaries. The heavy marching tempos that usually constitute verses here ought to induce purposeful movement in the listener, and the blasting moments will have an audience frantically trying to keep up with some very intense picking with their guitars, real or imagined. The rhythm section is hardly neglected, either, bass dancing with a compelling low and clear tone and drums...ah, the drums...don't they sound nice and booming? I love this kind of clarity in percussion when what's being played is interesting, and here there's no disappointment. Rolling double bass, crashing cymbals, interesting fills all over the place and a few neat timing tricks that keep me focussed on what this man is doing behind the kit. It's a sterling performance, and along with the unique guitarwork, makes me wish that Sentenced had found their niche here and refined their craft a little more.

I'll admit, then, that the album does tend to lose one at times, particularly during lengthy speed sections where the sharpness of the guitar sound, combined with playing that concentrates on the high end of the fretboard, leads to a sort of blurry catatonia, at least in this listener. However, I don't find my attention wandering that often, and usually I'm marvelling at the precision and enthusiasm I think I can detect coming from my speakers. "Capture of Fire" is an obvious standout, being actually a very well-structured piece of music with plenty of recurring themes, and at least four colossal riffs, each more captivating than the last. After each verse the band throws itself into a manic section where I swear that both guitars, while playing melodically, are trying to emulate the sound of a pneumatic drill, they're going at it with such forceful heaviness and speed. Tasteful keyboards spice things up just a little bit, especially at the song's conclusion, and in fact they are used in a similar way sporadically throughout the recording, sounding particularly effective when combined with ominous clean guitar.

Other highlights can certainly be found. "Fields of Blood" seems particularly furious and includes several thrumming repetitive rhythms that will ensnare your neck like a noose. I particularly enjoy the little bass breaks, during which drums and guitars will hammer away simplistically while Taneli Jarva plays a kind of propulsive melody on his instrument. "Epic" truly lives up to its name, being a rather complex and dizzying composition played mostly at incredible speed (they certainly never played this fast before, and sure as hell never will again) until a huge, bombastic melody creeps in around the half-way mark accompanied by slower percussion brimming with huge fills, cymbal slashes and stomping double bass. I could also mention "Awaiting the Winter Frost", which begins very auspiciously with a sweeping clean guitar/bass section with airy synth backing, which perfectly sets the stage for a song that simply howls with pent-up fury and is memorable throughout its many twists and turns, which is truthfully not something that can be said for the entire album, despite the fact that I've actually singled out much of it for praise here.

It's simply mind-boggling to consider how much the band must have worked to refine their craft to this degree of tightness and complexity. It's almost as though they wanted to be the Coroner of death metal, but thought they could inject a fine helping of grandiose melody into the mix. Mostly, they succeeded rather well. I've heard people criticise the solos, and indeed they aren't so memorable in themselves, but I think they add a certain charm to things, since these compositions seem so necessarily regimented that a little spontanaiety is certainly called for, which the wild and seemingly random flurries of notes wailing and searing their way through the mix at certain points do provide. The solos are concise bursts of energy that never really outlive their welcome, and are not much like the restrained melodic metal tributes found on later albums. The whole mixture of "North from Here" is just so different from what was happening in neighbouring Sweden at the same time, when bands like Dark Tranquillity were giving birth to a style that would later be praised and reviled all over the world as "melodic death metal", with all the misapprehensions and unfortunate associations that would result when the style moved so far away from its death metal roots, yet this material is unflinchingly consonant with old heavy metal and thrash sounds, only filtered through a sort of maniacal death metal frenzy that makes it so much colder and harsher than its contemporaries in Gothenberg. There's a lot going on here, and while at first you'll find yourself only intrigued by certain parts, certain arresting, threatening melodies and majestic riffs, you'll want to look long and hard at this little gem so that you can penetrate all the secrets it has to offer.

The Northernmost Killers STRIKE! - 90%

CoffinText, February 27th, 2009

“The goals I've set to myself are far beyond mortality
To dominate, desolate everything weak that cannot stand alone!
And losers shall drop...
One after one…”




Sophomore efforts usually tell a lot about a band. So it’s always best to apprehend a band’s debut album as a display of raw ideas, simply put together for the sake of making music and/or getting the listener to generally identify what a band is all about. However, it’s perfectly obvious, that through Metal’s entire existence as a genre, there have been many bands that release pretty basic material on their first album, and then one or two years later, release a ground breaking record that has the potential to change the face of rock and metal music alike. A few famous examples of rapid progression from debut to sophomore album are as listed; Metallica (Kill Em All/Ride The Lightning), Iron Maiden (self titled/Killers), Mercyful Fate (Melissa/Don’t Break The Oath, although this is debatable to many) and Judas Priest (Rocka Rolla/Sad Wings Of Destiny).

In other words, the full dynamics and potential of a band are not often reached with their first release. Sometimes it even takes two, three or more records for the skills of a band to truly shine. Sentenced belongs in the group of names that I just listed above. If you’ve read my review for Shadows of the Past, you’ll notice that the overall point of the review states that although the record itself is good, it’s still pretty damn typical for Death Metal. This is definitely NOT the case with North From Here. To claim that the band had progressed in any way would be an understatement.

One of the more chief aspects of the album are the vocals. It was a wise choice for Miika to consider the band’s bassist, Taneli Jarva for the spot as the band’s lead vocalist. When it comes to performing harsh vocals, this guy seriously hits the nail on the head! It also gave Miika the opportunity to focus more on his guitar playing, as it’s quite obvious that his playing style on this record is nothing short of fantastic. There are various styles of playing to be heard here. You know, some of it even sounds a tad Black Metal-ish, both in the riffing style and atmosphere portrayed. I’d even go as far as saying that Jarva’s high pitched, rasping shrieks would perfectly suit an early raw Black Metal band. One thing that is particular about North From Here is its cold, bleak atmosphere. This even earned Sentence the tag “The Northernmost Killers”, for their deadly, blistering fast approach at melodic, yet extremely fierce Death Metal (and also because of the fact that they are from Finland).

Yes, this is considerably faster than Shadows of the Past, but more precisely executed. The riffs shift from fast tremolo picking, to thrashing, to shredding, to neo-classical and everything in between. This new sound, at the time, was a completely different entity than what was featured on the first album. Another new feature was the addition of keyboards to the music. But fear not, this only enhances the listening experience for an already cold and dreary record. While other Finish bands such as Children of Bodom use keys to underline (or overline?) the guitar work, Sentenced uses them sparingly, and even when upfront, they’re used solely for atmosphere, nothing more. Want proof that keyboards in Metal aren’t necessarily a pussy element? Give this a spin. I guarantee, your mind will change.

Production is top notch, superb for 1993. The instruments can all be clearly deciphered, particularly the bass. While the bass served as nothing more than a back-bone for the band at the time the debut album was released, it’s actually put to use exceptionally well, even earning some stand out points in a few of the tracks. Just check out some of the bass acrobatics heard in “Capture of Fire”, “Awaiting the Winter Frost” and the closing track, “Epic“. Others like “My Sky Is Darker Than Thine” and “Fields of Blood; Harvester of Hate” reign supreme in the riff department, outshining pretty much any other extreme Metal that transpired at the time. Oh, and one more thing. I can’t finish off this review without pointing out the album’s downright best song, hands down; “Northern Lights”! It’s an outstanding epic, yet malevolent track that alters from break-neck thrashing, to somber, dark melodies accompanied by barren sounding keyboards that lace the track with a coat of bitterness.


I’d go as far as saying that North From Here is Sentenced’s most extreme release. Yes, technically this is ‘melodic’ Death Metal, though not in the same vein as In Flames or Arch Enemy since the band doesn’t rely on recycled Iron Maiden riffs to construct their songs. Anyway, this album came out before the big Gothenburg explosion in Sweden, so that‘s that. Recommended to any fans of extreme Metal and/or to those who love the power of the RIFF!



“Taken by the North wind blow
Into the icy abyss of colours
As I fulfilled my true self
I knew your world is not for me”