Sentenced started in 1989 as Deformity and changed their name to Sentenced in 1989, after a few line-up changes. The original line-up consisted of Miika Tenkula (lead guitar and vocals), Sami Lopakka (guitar), Vesa Ranta (drums), and Lari Kylmänen (bass). They recorded two demo tapes: When Death Joins Us... in 1990 and Rotting Ways to Misery in 1991. The band actually got their very first record deal (with the French label Thrash Records) after their first demo. In 1991, bassist Taneli Jarva joined the band, replacing Kylmänen just as the band was about to record their debut album, Shadows of the Past. At that time, their musical style was fast, typical European death metal. In Spring 1992, they recorded a three-song promotional tape, Journey to Pohjola, and as a result got a deal with the Finnish Spinefarm Records. By the year of 1992 had done over 50 live shows and sold all 1500 copies of their debut album Shadows of the Past, their earlier 2 demos and a lot of merchandise.
The second album, North from Here, was released in the spring of 1993, and later that year The Trooper EP. Jarva had assumed lead vocal duties using a different style than Tenkula's. It was North From Here that earned the band the attention of German record label Century Media Records, and in 1994 Sentenced left Spinefarm in order to head toward a wider market with a new multi-album contract under Century Media. In 1995, Sentenced released their 'break through' album, Amok, which is considered by many to be their best work. Compared to earlier releases, the music had slowed down somewhat, acquiring a more melodic structure. The track "Nepenthe" was complemented with a music video and the band took to tour Europe in two full-length tours supporting Samael and Tiamat.The first Century Media release "Amok" (1994) was to be their break-through with over 35,000 copies sold worldwide.
In autumn, the band released the Love & Death CD. Music-wise, it kept a fairly similar concept as Amok, as the songs had been written around the same time. Sentenced had achieved success in doom/death markets, but Jarva left the band because of musical differences.
After Jarva's departure, Ville Laihiala (of Breed fame) joined the band in 1996, just weeks before the band was due to head to Germany to record their fourth album Down with producer Waldemar Sorychta. Once again, the music became more melodic with a significant NWOBHM influence. During this time, bassist Sami Kukkohovi also joined the band, but only as a session member on gigs. Later, in spring 1997 he was granted a permanent slot in the line-up. The "Down" album gained great reviews in music-magazines all over the world, and was named Album of the month in German magazines such as Rock Hard and Metal Hammer. 1996 and the following year, saw Sentenced on a worldwide success crusade. Sentenced's fifth full-length album, Frozen, was also recorded at the Woodhouse Studios, and released in 1998, its style is similar to Down. Laihiala and Kukkohovi had become initiated into the band, so they participated in the composition process, resulting in the next album: Frozen. In 1999, a special edition of Frozen was released, containing a re-colored (gold) cover and rearranged track running order, with four cover songs included.
The next Sentenced album to be released was Crimson in 2000. The single "Killing Me, Killing You" demonstrated the band's turn away from melodic death metal. The album was followed by an extensive tour. That was the first time the band visited USA. The album peaked in 1st place on the Finnish album chart. Two years after the release of The Cold White Light, the band was seen in a slightly different light, the lyrics displaying some self-irony and even a rare positive edge. They released the single "No One There" which peaked The Finnish Charts at Number 1 following that with an extensive USA tour alongside Killswitch Engage, Dark Tranquillity and In Flames. The album peaked 45th place in the German album chart. The single "No One There" was on the 1st place as well in the Finnish single chart. The band went on a European Tour with Lacuna coil.
After The Cold White Light, they released a CD single in 2003 along with songs by other bands on a four track compilation single that was dedicated to Oulun Kärpät, the ice hockey team of the band's hometown, Routasydän (translates to "Heart of Permafrost") remains the only song Sentenced sang in Finnish, and cannot be found elsewhere. The song caused something of a stir in Finland, as several politicians reviewed the lyrics and purported them to contain Nazi overtones, which the band has steadfastly refuted.
In early 2005 the band announced that their following release, The Funeral Album, would be their last. They performed farewell gigs during the spring and summer and ended with a final show on 1 October 2005 in their hometown Oulu. The concert film Buried Alive, directed by Mika Ronkainen, filmed at the funeral gig, was premiered at Oulu Music Video Festival on 9 September 2006. In 2005 The Funeral Album was awarded gold status in Finland for sales in excess of 15,000 copies, footage of the event is filmed in the Buried Alive DVD! The CD topped the Finnish album chart upon its release in May 2005 and made it to position No. 49 on the German Media Control chart. "Ever-Frost" single went straight to 1st position on Official Finnish Single Chart staying there for 6 straight weeks.
Sentenced have been awarded Platinum in the band's native Finland for their posthumous live DVD Buried Alive. The trophy was handed out to the band's former members at the Century Media 20th anniversary party at the Tavastia club in Helsinki on 14 August 2008, where Poisonblack and labelmates Norther and Kivimetsän Druidi played exclusive gigs to properly celebrate this special event.
All hope for the band to return was gone when guitarist and founding member Miika Tenkula died on 19 February 2009. On 26 June 2009 it was announced by his family that Miika died from a heart attack caused by a genetic heart condition that he had for many years previous to the break-up. He is buried in the Kirkkosaari cemetery in his hometown Muhos.
On 13 November 2009 Sentenced released a box set of 16 CDs and 2 DVDs chronicling their entire career in a coffin-shaped box. The box-set also included rare and previously unreleased tracks.
On 12 December 2014 a book written by Matti Riekki, a Finnish rock journalist, about the band's history was released. It is named "Täältä Pohjoiseen - Sentencedin Tarina" and so far available in Finnish only. The title translates to "North from Here – The Story of Sentenced."
Vesa Ranta released a photo book Agony Walk – On the Road with Sentenced in September 2019. Sami Lopakka released his first novel Marras in January 2014. The novel is about fictional Oulu-based metal band's European tour and have clear influences from his experience of touring with Sentenced.
dead leaves
Sentenced Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To put all forms of life to an end
Death has taken over and slowly fades the light away
The deadly shadows fall
And the bleeding sun sinks down below
The first flakes of snow guide me on my last pathway
Leaves start their fall gray with the whiteness of what´s dead
The wintry frost comes crawling
Freezing all life that´s on its way
The first dead leaves come falling,
Hovering in the air with the rain
I feel the flaming frostâ?¦
I feel the burning ice and snow for the first time
Since the night she was taken away
Alive no moreâ?¦ what once was green has turned to red
Leaves lightly fall� gray with the whiteness of what´s dead
The wintry frost comes crawling
Ceasing all life that´s on its way
Dead frozen leaves come falling,
Hovering in the air with the rain
Hovering in the air
"And as the last leaf hovers down upon the ground,
The end is at hand I´ll find the one I came looking for"
Alive no more what once was green has turned to red
Leaves lightly fall gray with the whiteness of what´s dead
The wintry frost comes crawling
Freezing all life that´s on its way
The last dead leaves come falling,
Hovering in the air with the rain
The End of Life comes crawling
Ceasing my bleeding heart and now;
The last dead leaf comes falling,
Hovering lightly down upon the ground
Upon the frozen ground
The lyrics to Sentenced's 'Dead Leaves' represent the theme of autumn, with the mention of death and the end of life. The words start with the acknowledgement of the arrival of autumn, which marks the end of life. Death is the ultimate conqueror and it slowly fades away the light. This can be interpreted as a metaphorical death, not just physical death, as everything in this world is temporary and eventually fades away.
The shadows of death fall upon the world as the sun sets down and the first flakes of snow guide the singer on his last pathway. As the leaves fall from the trees, they turn from green to red and eventually to grey, representing the slow death of living things. The wintry frost crawls and freezes all forms of life, and the dead frozen leaves come falling, hovering in the air with the rain.
As the last leaf hovers down upon the ground, the singer knows that the end is near and he will find the one he came looking for. The last dead leaf comes falling, hovering lightly down upon the frozen ground, signifying the end of his journey.
Overall, 'Dead Leaves' is a melancholic and emotional song full of symbolism and metaphor. The lyrics convey that everything has an end and that death is an inevitable part of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Yes, autumn's here again...
The season of autumn has returned.
To put all forms of life to an end
Autumn marks the end of life and the start of death.
Death has taken over and slowly fades the light away
Death has plagued everything and the light of life is slowly disappearing.
The deadly shadows fall
The shadows that symbolize death, cover everything.
And the bleeding sun sinks down below
The sun is setting and the red color of it resembles blood.
The first flakes of snow guide me on my last pathway
The first snowflakes are a sign that it's time for the singer to go on a journey to his end.
Alive no more what once was green has turned to red
The living things that were once green and alive are now red and dead.
Leaves start their fall gray with the whiteness of what's dead
The falling leaves are colorless and signify death.
The wintry frost comes crawling
The frost of winter is slowly moving in, representing death.
Freezing all life that's on its way
Winter is killing everything in its way.
The first dead leaves come falling,
The first dead leaves start to fall.
Hovering in the air with the rain
The dead leaves float in the air with the rain.
I feel the flaming frost...
The singer feels the intense cold of winter creeping in.
I feel the burning ice and snow for the first time
The singer is experiencing the harshness of winter for the first time since losing someone important.
Since the night she was taken away
The singer has been mourning the loss of someone special.
The wintry frost comes crawling
Winter continues to represent death.
Ceasing all life that's on its way
Winter stops any life from continuing.
Dead frozen leaves come falling,
The dead leaves are now frozen and continue to fall.
Hovering in the air with the rain
The leaves continue to float in the air with the rain.
And as the last leaf hovers down upon the ground,
The very last leaf starts to fall to the ground.
The end is at hand I'll find the one I came looking for
The artist can finally find the person they have been looking for since the beginning of the song.
The last dead leaves come falling,
The final dead leaves continue to fall.
The End of Life comes crawling
Death finally arrives.
Ceasing my bleeding heart and now;
Death puts an end to the pain the artist is feeling.
The last dead leaf comes falling,
The very last leaf falls.
Hovering lightly down upon the ground
The leaf lightly lands on the frozen ground.
Upon the frozen ground
The last leaf has landed on the cold and hard ground.
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ObsezGaming
Oh god, I've been listening to Sentenced for two years now and I haven't heard this one until now. It's amazing.. THIS is a masterpiece, and this is my new favourite song. I feel like crying everytime I hear it. It's so deep, yet so beatuiful - as the rest of their songs. RIP sentenced.
Stephan Sean Micheal Schmitz
I Love that song so much Sentenced is still one of the best bands ever
Robert Furneaux
Rest in Peace Miika,six years since you left us. Your music still means so much
mischief793
Probably my favorite Sentenced song with Ville, and certainly the best on this album.
Arthur Correia
saudades dessa banda...
Kimmo Laine
With autumn comes Sentenced to playlist too.
batu04
2022 here, almost autumn and this song came to mind
Mikael Carlsson
Autumn 2021.
Gugu Gaga
2020 y'all
Adam Hart
Also 2017