The first thing that came into my mind when I finished listening to the album for the first time was that this album is definitely - different. There is no such natural development towards a more melodious sound as there has been from "Down" up to "The Cold White Light". Moreover I would say that "The Funeral Album" gives us an overview over the whole Sentenced career. Even though a certain natural step forward from " The Cold White Light " has been taken, some old elements can also be found on this album which make it sound less clean than the previous one. So one might say it's on the one hand heavier than the last few albums but on the other hand more melodious. Another part is that this album is everything but easily to get into. Maybe you think you have expected a more brilliant album from Sentenced but don't judge it too early, it takes a while till it opens up for the listener - at least in my case. As Sentenced always have been one of my favorite bands I tried to let the album have an effect on me first before judging it. Once you managed to get deeper into the meaning of this album - which bears quite rightly the title "The Funeral Album" - you will understand it much better.

Already the first two songs "May Today Become The Day" and "Ever-Frost" were strangely familiar to me as Sentenced had played these already on several summer festivals in 2004. Both are straight forward songs having a certain hit-potential. The latter one mentioned was released as a single prior to the album in Finland. Both can give you already a slight impression of the album's style change compared to " The Cold White Light " . "Ever-Frost" definitely has a melody which stays in your head for a long time. However, already song number three "We Are But Falling Leaves" is completely different. Along with "No One There" it is maybe the softest song ever made by Sentenced. The lyrics give first signs of the end and it is all in all a very melancholic song. Ville uses more clean vocals here which sound a bit fragile and also the guitars strenghten this atmosphere. Now it is time to reveal some unusual elements of the new album. For example "Despair-Ridden Hearts" (track 2 on the "Ever-Frost"-single) starts with a mouth-harp which has never appeared in any Sentenced song so far. The whole song is rather a mid-tempo song with a faster middle part and a nice guitar solo. The whole song again, as most of the others as well, shows the 'funeral' atmosphere very well. "Vengeance Is Mine" is probably the most aggressive song on this album and yet the chorus is very catchy. This song is also the first of two songs which introduces a completely new element - a children's choir in the second part of the song. The song ends a bit unexpected with a short melody of a song we all should know ;)

The beginning of "Consider Us Dead" reminds me a bit of these 'weeping' guitars that also could be found in the instrumental piece "Mourn" on Frozen. Yet another song which is rather a little slower than the others and in my eyes it cannot be compared to any other song that has been there before. The lyrics have the typical irony one knows from almost every Sentenced song. "Lower The Flags" wants to show us that the end is really coming and it is another very melancholic song in my eyes. "Drain Me" is comparable to the first two songs as I would describe it as similar straight forward with a catchy chorus and - again - ironic lyrics. I think it is very similar to some older Sentenced songs, so if you liked the earlier material you should like this one as well. Once you listened to the album two songs should have caught your attention. Those are the two instrumental pieces "Where Waters Fall Frozen" and "Karu". If you want to get more background information on these two songs I can refer to the interview we did with Sami Lopakka as good explanations can be found there. The very raw and thrashy sounding "Where Waters Fall Frozen" might be a shock for all newer Sentenced fans and maybe a link to the first two Sentenced albums. "Karu" on the other hand is a piece which is played with acoustic guitar only and works as a stopper before the last song starts. The last song on this album is also the last Sentenced song ever and therefore is a very special one. It is not necessary to describe the meaning of the song as the title already says everything - "End Of The Road". When someone asked me about my opinion about the split-up of Sentenced and this last album I always used to say that is way a good decision to stop after this one as, in my eyes, this is the best work they have ever done and I doubt that they could top this again. The same is maybe with the last song. Hardly any other Sentenced song has impressed me as much as this one. It combines the atmosphere of all songs and is definitely the highlight of the whole album. Starting off very slowly and depressive , soon the bells start to ring and you get the feeling that the funeral has started now. I first thought a bit of "Konevitsan Kirkonkellot" (intro on "The Cold White Light") but I don't think that there are any parallels apart from the bells. "End Of The Road" can be splitted into two parts. The first part contains vocals and starts very calm and atmospheric as I already mentioned and the transition to the the second half is made by the children's choir which already appeared on "Vengeance Is Mine". What now follows is an instrumental burst of melodies where guitars dominate. A very remarkable song which ends off in silence.

Of course everyone has different opinions but in my opinion this is definitely the best piece of music the band has made, even though it was the most difficult one to write for them. A worthy legacy for all fans out there for sure. All that's left to say for me is: Thank you!

written by Silence

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