Sentenced

North From Here (1993)

North from Here is a pulsating dive into the chaos of death, and a haunting reflection of the emptiness of the void that awaits us all once our lives are extinguished. Listeners are greeted by super-active melodic death metal movements, with riff-structures that cascade into each other only to again break away from each other like flesh being torn asunder. In typical Swedish style, the music is full of ferocious melodic work that is both incisive and full of boundless energy. Like their compatriots these songs often descend into slower, haunting passages full of pain and lament, but somehow still manage to contain fragile traces of solemn beauty. The bass sound is strong and active, filling the melodic spaces behind the guitars, and adding additional depth to these songs of sorrow and agony. What sets Sentenced apart is their ability to conjure narrative structures that avoid both the 'rock music bounce' and more simplistic verse/chorus writing that plagued some of their peers. In this respect there is some likeness to the music found on At the Gates' releases of this same time period, especially with the twisted duels between the twin guitars and the way in these songs feel as if they trapped in a netherworld found between carnal life and that of the ethereal. Living, lonely purgatory.