Now that SENTENCED is obsolete lead vocalist Ville can concentrate more on his new band. The debut was ok, but is was very much saturated in Goth. It was ok at the time, but not too interesting for me anymore since I am not into the scene. So, when I heard about the new record and received it I wasn’t too thrilled about it, but nonetheless gave it a spin. I was quite surprised by what came out. “Nothing Else Remains” is jam packed with killer riffs and a good mid pacing. It rocks out quite nicely with a touch of Goth, but never sounding glum. The track was always grooving and never lost a beat.

“Hollow Be My Name” goes for the dark sound with its Gothic and moody ways. It comes complete with atmospheric keyboard sounds and the voice is more remorseful. The tempo drops down just a bit, but it still manages to rock out. After basically the first two tracks, things slip more into the mode that this band was meant to be in, dark, gloomy and depressing complete with somber vocals and moody vibes provided by the ivory keys. There are moments from time to time on each track where the song comes to life and the music is spiced up with heavier riffs with powerful solos and drumming that refuses to stop pounding. “Pain Becomes Me” is a ballad of sorts that all the young Hot Topic kids will die for. SENTENCED this is not, but there are some choice cuts on here and some minor surprises from time to time. This is something that I wouldn’t go back to often, but every now and then is ok.

(Online November 4, 2006)