Description
As the self-proclaimed inventors of suicide rock, it’s entirely fitting that Finland’s Sentenced exercised complete control over their own demise, having the guts to end it all when they felt the time was right. This feat was carried out in calculating fashion by 2005’s aptly named The Funeral Album, capping these Finnish metal ambassadors impressive 16-year career in style, but apparently leaving just one more final act to be played out in the shape of 2006’s live album and dvd, Buried Alive. Recorded at the band’s last show ever, in their hometown of Oulu, Buried Alive is comprised of 26 highlights culled from all of Sentenced’s eight studio albums, which, for those who don’t know, can easily be split into two distinct phases defined by two, very different singers: Taneli Jarva, who fronted the group during its early death metal years; and Ville Laihila, who held the reins throughout its more gothic, hard rock latter days. The fact that both of these singers were on hand to Sentenced’s interment is undoubtedly Buried Alive’s greatest attraction, as special guest Jarva leads the band through ancient nuggets like “The War Ain’t Over,” “The Way I Wanna Go,” and the all-time death metal classic “Nepenthe.” The albums remaining tracks find Laihila at the helm, and amidst the wealth of consistently compelling (if not always spectacular) material, one finds far more accessible, chorus and melody-driven goth metal singles such as “Noose,” “Drown Together,” “Cross My Heart and Hope to Die,” and “Broken,” which clearly inspired Finland’s subsequent generation of commercial metal acts (H.I.M., Children of Bodom, etc.) with their immaculate mixture of heaviness and hooks. And alas, inspiration is now all that remains following Sentenced’s official and — one presumes — ultimate passing, for which this live set provides a more than appropriate requiem.
Track list:
1. Funeral Intro
2. Where Waters Fall Frozen
3. May Today Become The Day
4. Neverlasting
5. Bleed
6. The Rain Comes Falling Down
7. Ever Frost
8. Sun Wont Shine
9. Dead Moon Rising
10. Despair Ridden Hours
11. Broken
12. The Suicider/Excuse Me While I Kill Myself
13. The War Aint Over-with Taneli Jarva
14. Nepenthe-with Taneli Jarva
15. Northern Lights-with Taneli Jarva
16. The Way I Wanna Go
17. Dance On The Graves-with Taneli Jarva
18. Noose
19. Aika Multaa Muistot
20. Farewell
21. No One There
22. Drown Together
23. Cross My Heart And Hope To Die
24. Brief Is The Light
25. Vengeance Is Mine
26. End Of The Road