Sentenced - Vengeance Is Mine

Admittedly, I love Sentenced. The "Frozen" and "Crimson" albums are in my regular listening rotation and I often find myself with a craving that can only be satisfied by immersing myself in Sentenced. Those listening moments are typically darkened a bit by my own sadness that Sentenced is gone and only partially replaced by Poisonblack (who I also listen to often). If you're gonna end a band, though, what better than to hold your own funeral. It's not often that entertainment leaves us with a perfect punctuation to end a chapter or series (e.g. the last episode of "Newhart"), but Sentenced did that for us when they released "The Funeral Album" and associated concert video.

Not that Finnish goth metal shies away from dark themes, but Sentenced took the funeral theme that much further for their final album. You can tell, even without listening to a single word or note, just look at the song titles: "End Of The Road", "Lower The Flags", "Consider Us Dead", "Her Last 5 Minutes", "We Are But Falling Leaves", etc. I've often enjoyed albums that have such a well-defined theme that cohesiveness is guaranteed. I have similar feelings about My Chemical Romance's "Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge", there's just this energy that develops out of a solid vision; the songs aren't just thrown together by when they were written and recorded.

As you might guess, I quite often listen to "The Funeral Album" in its entirety. However, there are other times when I need a quick dose, I need some Sentenced and I need that album but I don't have time for the whole thing. When that happens, I need to cut to the chase and go right to the one song that pumps me up when things aren't going well. Unlike many of the other songs in goth metal, "Vengeance Is Mine" is about revenge and retribution, not decline into darkness. Much like Queen's "Death On Two Legs", "Vengeance Is Mine" gets the message across directly and pulls no punches.

There's really no better way to give you a clear picture than to simply present the words. The whole song (words and music) deliver the message, but this verse/chorus combination is sufficient to give you a sense of what I'm talking about:

Excerpt from "Vengeance Is Mine", (Music: Tenkula & Sentenced, Lyrics: Lopakka)

Verse 2
We're not done, I will hunt you down
One by one... I'll blow you all to hell
For you faceless, nameless cowards cannot hide
The day of reckoning will arrive

Chorus
Strike from behind and knock me to the ground. Kick me while I'm down.
Stab me in the back, you bastards. Tear my heart out of my chest
I'll rise from the ashes, from these ruins of mine, from the wreckage
I'm right on your track you bastards. A dozen of eyes for an eye. Vengeance is mine.

Next time you're feeling a bit beaten down and demoralized, go straight to "Vengeance Is Mine" and crank it up. When you've got more time, listen to "The Funeral Album" in its entirety. I highly recommend the experience!