For me, this album was highly anticipated after my first contact with Sentenced, which was their third album, 'Amok', from 1995. That legendary album set such high standards for me, that they were almost impossible to reach by the band. And 'Down' didn't. Even though it tried to do it pretty well. But not without differences.

One drastic change happened between these two albums: Taneli "Jarwa" Jarva was out, and the new guy, vocalist Ville Laihiala was in. This change made Sentenced more melodic than ever before, even though 'Amok' includes musically highly melodic material. You see, Mr. Laihiala hits some notes, but sadly his voice isn't so powerful, at worst it's more like boozed-up, angry Cartman from "Shite Park", or weaker Lemmy. The voice has annoying echo effect all over (sounds like he's singing in the next room or something), which probably ruin them and make them all non-intense, as without it Ville's vocals are truly shining on some later Sentenced albums. But hey, this was released in just about year after the last Jarva title, 1995's 'Love & Death' EP, so maybe there could have been a slightly longer time for Laihiala to work with his singing before this one was put out. That's the short story about the vocals.

Longer story would include a sentence "I still kinda like 'em, I grew up as an angry man with 'em after all!" Therefore I didn't find stupid suicide lyricism bad at all. And it still kinda works, I'm a Finn after all. Booze, long times without sun, you know the equation... Anyway, I've heard worse. Loads. And besides, not everyone can see the self-irony behind them all. I obliged myself to endure Mr. Laihiala's voice, because the music was still so bloody good. There's some backing vocals on the album: Those few female vocal bits are truly awesome, done by well-known Century Media bird Birgit Zacher. Samael's Vorph guests on a few songs, but ended up sounding like a boozed up European trying to sound so damn convincing with his English. Quite possibly just what he was in the studio, though, having fun... Mr. Laihiala's English isn't bad at all, mind you. Some improvement on his predecessor, surely.

The band had tightened the songs, as the longest one hits under 5:30 minutes' mark. This doesn't mean, that the variety is gone, because it is still there. That's why there's this intro song, I think. In the past it could have been a part of a proper opener song. Long time gone are the early days' death metal things, and more rock music based song structures and playing get more space here than on 'Amok' ('Love & Death' is a clear transition thing between the the albums). The songs also include acoustic bits, which fit in perfectly. The lead guitar work of Miika Tenkula (often said to be Maiden-esque, but no, it's not) still plays a big part. Melancholy and ass-kicking energy go hand in hand, and it's a very Sentenced type thing indeed. And for sure, these 42 minutes offer very varying songs, because of the band's wide batch of musical influences. The band had great ability to marry hard-hitting riffage and magnificent melodiousness and make it sound like themselves.

The Waldemar Sorychta production is weird. Some of the instruments are like organic, live sounding on the front of the mix, while some are in the back, with some added echo effect. And bass has a bit of farting sound at times. The sound needs some time to get used to. It's not bad, but just umm... different. Well, just like the vocals, hah. Anyway, you know, the songs rock, and that's what matters the most. There's some varied synths used every now and then, from basic sound mats to weirder bleeps and such, but they do not steal the show. The cover with gold and bronze colouring together with black and white photography looks awesome!

Sentenced burned their thread of life in 15 years, but their legacy lives. 'Down' is a sure hit for everyone searching for dark metal with both rocking vibe and melancholy. The album has its flaws, but the positive aspects are far plentiful. Sentenced were one of the kind, so I encourage everyone who are looking for this kind of metal music to try this one, because this is both instant and enduring. Don't take life too seriously!

Updated (11/16/2023): This is a Finnish melancholic metal classic, no doubt about it. My love for 'Amok' was so impenetrable, that I feel 'Down' got trampled down too much by it. The songs are certainly catchier for a big part, as well as more tight and well... good compositions. I still cannot flatter the production; the remastered edition did not help much, really. The score was 8+, and throughout the years it has grown to 9-, taking every element into account, and also granting it the "classic" stamp instead on the "honorary mention". - Lane

Rating: 9- (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
08/02/2008 22:58