Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 03/11/1997
Run Time: 37:19
When vocalist
Taneli Jarva left
Sentenced after the awesome
Amok, it was almost certain that the band couldn't continue the path they had walked during the previous couple of years. So that's why it's a surprise that their first album with new vocalist
Ville Laihiala is actually even stronger than
Amok. That takes a lot, because
Amok wasn't a poor album.
Down's sound is really wide -- producer
Waldemar Sorychta's keyboards play a big part in the background and create definite ambition, while
Miika Tenkula and
Sami Lopakka smash with a craggy guitar wall.
Laihiala's voice sounds more depressed than
Jarva's, and even if he doesn't use much variety in his singing, he is very convincing. Especially in massive songs like
"Crumbling Down (Give Up Hope)" and
"Ode to the End," the whole band works great together -- the dynamic is perfect and no one is left in the background. Everyone will surely notice the keyboards -- it's exciting that someone uses keyboards to create a diverse and somewhat
experimental sound even in a genre like
heavy metal. That's why
Sentenced's
Down does the same thing to the
heavy metal world that
Radiohead did to modern
rock with
OK Computer. Whatever
Sentenced decides to do in the future, they'll be remembered for
Down. And that isn't a shame.
~Antti J. Ravelin, All Music Guide
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