| This album sounds less forced than its predecessor Crimson. And it's better, too. Still the obvious identity crisis that has haunted Sentenced for some time now continues. The band once reached a point where about every new song was inspired by suicide, death and misery. I see the problems coming out of the legacy born during that period. How to become a more mature metal band? As an answer to this they have used humour, even self-parody. It doesn't work well. The songs Excuse Me While I Kill Myself and The Luxury Of A Grave build an ironic picture of their former depressiveness. I don't like that. It even feels like they were pissing on their past. The first Ville Laihiala era album Down is to me very important, and somehow this new attitude casts a a shadow [or maybe I should say sunlight] over that. Were they not serious with Down, then? Also the song Neverlasting is light and happy, bare arses are flapped and good times are had. But I as a listener don't enjoy it half as much as they probably did when making the song. You Are The One is soppy. I generally dislike these Sentenced songs about love and relationships and all that. But there are excellent songs on the album, too. Cross My Heart And Hope To Die, Blood & Tears and Guilt And Regret are serious, dark songs with excellent choruses. My favourite kind of Sentenced. I wish they would have made an album full of that kind. Now the album sort of has two faces: the other serious, the other ironic. That's why I don't like it as a whole too much. The points come from the few brilliant songs on the album. claw in my eye / Pulsating organic rage / I sould have let you off the hook
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Neon Nights / May 2003 |
