A Finnish band that started with raw death metal before shifting into gothic territory with albums like 'North From Here' and 'Down'.
For a quick sense of their range, put on 'Beyond The Distant Valleys' and then 'Noose'. The first has that early death metal charge, the second shows the later, more melodic gloom they became known for.
Sentenced mattered because they bridged death metal's aggression with gothic metal's atmosphere at a time when few bands were doing it. Songs like 'Noose' show how they could be heavy and melodic in the same breath. Their Finnish roots gave their sound a particular kind of cold, introspective weight that felt different from what was coming out of Sweden or the US.
They formed in Oulu, Finland in 1989 with Miika Tenkula and Taneli Jarva. The shift toward gothic metal became clear on 'North From Here' in 1993, and they kept exploring that sound through albums like 'Crimson' and 'The Cold White Light' until they broke up in 2005.
Keep it compact: a lyric you come back to, a live memory, or the part of the catalog you would point someone toward first.
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