ArtistInfo

Sentenced

Band, 1989-2005 FI
Rock
A.k.a. Self-Killers Themselves The Northernmost Killers

A heavy metal band from Muhos/Oulu, Finland, active between 1989-2005. Sentenced started out as a pure death metal band, but during their first five years band’s musical progression was quite rapid as they continuously developed their style with every new release. A major turning point on the band’s career was the release of “Amok” (1995), which saw the band streamlining their musical approach considerably and they succeeded in creating a unique combination of roughness, melody and rocking heavy metal with focus on strong songs rather than technical complexity. This formed the musical foundation for the rest of the their career. The second major occurrence was the departure of lead vocalist/bassist Taneli Jarva in the spring of 1996. A suitable replacement was however found in Ville Laihiala, with whom the band was able to develop their style into even more melodic and varied direction. The musical change started on “Amok” was taken further with 1996’s “Down” and with Laihiala’s more accessible vocal style the band could now reach bigger audiences than before. Another artistic development at the time was that Sami Lopakka adopted the role of the main lyric writer in the band. Hence there was a clear change in the lyrical themes that from now on focused on the subjects of agony, misery, suicide, death and love. In the spring of 1997 bass player Sami Kukkohovi joined the band and with this final line-up Sentenced released four more albums and remained active until 2005. Together with the release of “The Funeral Album” the band also announced of their retirement. A special funeral tour followed the album release and culminated in band's funeral gig in their home town Oulu on October 1st 2005. As the band stated, no reunion will be possible, ever. Since then the former members have been active in: The Black League (Jarva), Chaosbreed (Jarva), Poisonblack (Laihiala), S-Tool (Laihiala), KYPCK (Lopakka, Kukkohovi), The Man-Eating Tree (Ranta), Miika Tenkula was found dead on February 19, 2009. He had a genetic heart condition and died from a sudden attack at his home on February 18th, 2009. Final lineup: Miika Tenkula - Lead guitar (1989-2005) Sami Lopakka - Guitar (1989-2005) Vesa Ranta - Drums (1989-2005) Ville Laihiala - Vocals (1996-2005) Sami Kukkohovi - Bass (1997-2005) Former members: Lari Kylmänen - Bass (1989-1991) Taneli Jarva - Bass, vocals (1991-1996) Live session musicians: Niko Karppinen - Bass (1995) Sami Kukkohovi - Bass (1996-1997) Tarmo Kanerva - Drums (1999) Antti Pikkarainen - Keyboards (2002)

Members

	Taneli Jarva b, voc *1975 FI
	Ville Laihiala voc *1973 FI
	Miika Tenkula g, acg, key 1974-2009 FI
	Sami Lopakka g, acg *1975 FI
	Vesa Ranta dr *1973 FI
	Sami Kukkohovi b *1974 FI
	Lari Kylmänen b