The Finnish supergroup, Sentenced has been through many changes. They started as a Nordic death metal band, but then added a more progressive sound while changing their vocals to singing, rather than the typical death metal growl. Their latest album The Cold White Light is a tribute to the darkness that is Finland, and a tongue-in-cheek look at suicide. This is my interview with singer Ville Laihiala.

I?ve heard that Finland has some of the highest rates for alcoholism and suicide in the world. Is this true?

Yeah it is, don?t ask me why, It?s always been that way.

I guess there?s not much to do during winters in Finland, than sit around, drink and get depressed.

(Laughs) Yes, it?s not that bad really. We?re trying to enjoy life just like anybody else.

The darkness of your winters must have something to do with it.

Yes, it gets very dark in the winter time so there?s only four hours of light. Of course, in the summer we have 20 hours of light. Would you want to live in a warmer climate? No. What brought on the desire to write about suicide? I don?t know, it?s just fascinating. You can end it all if you want to, but that?s not the only reason. It?s just about the whole death thing. It?s like you can die a thousand times in one day, but it doesn?t have to be a physical death, it can be mentally, we?re often presented as a suicidal band, but we?ve always been much more of that. If you look carefully at our songs, they are as much about life as they are death.

Does writing about depression help you fell better?

Yeah, sometimes it does, but the songs are not always about things that really happened. I can only speak for myself.

Was the original press release (mentioning the band?s suicide in July, 2002) the band?s idea? I thought it was quite clever.

(Laughs) We can take some credit for that.

I thought it was clever and funny.

Cool.

Was it your idea?

To do what?

The whole press release.

More or less. We discussed it with the label. I don?t think people are so stupid to think we don?t have a sense of humor. Much of what we do is dark humor.

I think your fans know and like your sense of humor.

Yeah. People come up to us and tell us they feel better after listening to our music.

How is this CD different than past ones, or is it?

The main difference is that I have to go two years back, when we were doing the last tour for our album Crimson. We just played too many shows that year, and at the end of the tour we started to fight with each other, which has never happened before. We had to either take a break or split up. We decided to take a break for seven months. We didn?t even talk to each other. I became a father and all of us just had normal lives. Then we started to work together and immediately it felt like it was fun again. It wasn?t like work. Now when I look back at all those fights, it?s like we didn?t have any fights, everything is new again. You can honestly hear on the album that it?s fun to do again. We?re not taking ourselves seriously again. It?s also a fresh new start.

Congratulations on being a father.

Thank you.

Boy or girl?

Boy.

That changes your attitude I?m sure.

Yeah, I can?t concentrate on my problems anymore. I see the bigger picture.

How long did it take to write the songs for The Cold White Light?

I guess something like three months. We recorded 17 songs. They came out really easily.

Do you write them together?

It?s always been the same with us. Miike composes most of the stuff, and the other guitarist, Sami writes most of the lyrics. I don?t feel any pressure because I?m the front man, it just feels go the way it is. It?s not even hard to sing someone else?s lyrics, we all think the same on most things. Of course, if I don?t agree with them, we?ll talk about and if they still don?t agree, I?ll kick their ass. (Both laugh)

Do you listen to your recordings and have regrets over the way some things turn out? Or are you satisfied?

Yeah, we?re really satisfied wen it?s over, but it?s always, when you listen to the finished album, like two months after it?s done, you feel like doing everything all over again.

In your bio it says ?you will be led by your need for expression, for the dismal joy of validation?. What does the dismal joy of validation mean?

I have no idea. We just do the music. It does sound cool, though. I know, that?s why I?d like to know what it means. (Both laugh)

You prefer self-producing your own recordings, true?

We don?t want to fuck up our albums, and we?re more and more a part of the production, but we feel better with an outside hear, they can see the forest from the trees, if you know what I mean. We?ve been doing so many albums, we know how to use the equipment. So, maybe the next one we?ll do ourselves. This one we had help (Waldemar Sorychta).

Why did the band change from death metal to more melodic metal?

When I joined all the music was written, so I had nothing to do with changing the direction, I think the whole change started in Amok.

If you compare the new one to Amok, there are some similarities. Was there criticism because of it?

Maybe because of the vocals, even from the band. Maybe they were just testing me. They gave me some shit about it. (Laughs) I didn?t have any time to think about it, things were moving so quickly.

When was the first time you knew you wanted to be in a metal band?

Oh??.uh, the first time I knew I wanted to play guitar. My father had a Kiss album, I don?t remember which one, and the first time I heard Metallica?s Ride the Lightening was when I wanted to play.

What was the first metal album you owned?

I listened to a lot of shit when I was a kid, like Twisted Sister. (Laughs) At the time they were ground breaking.

Yeah, they were. I remember their video on MTV.

Yeah, I remember that. The first album I bought was Kiss Alive. Then I bought some Iron Maiden. Then Twisted Sister.

What was the best show you ever played?

Oh man, that?s a hard question. I remember the first time I played Dynamo with 25,000 people. We played at 10 pm, which is a good time. Everyone was drunk and it was a good show. I remember we went back to the tour bus and sat for 30 minutes, no one said anything.

What year did you play?

The first time was 97 and then again in 2000.

What was the worst show?

Dynamo 2000. Honestly, when you?re playing festivals, you don?t get to do any sound check. I didn?t get to hear anything. It was total hell. I wasn?t sure if I was singing on key or not. Afterwards, people told me what a great show it was. Sometimes, when the band thinks the set is band, the crowd loves it. In live situations are live, nothing?s perfect. You don?t have to go out there and worry about your performance, just go out there and kick ass. So, what are you up to this summer? We already started to play some club shows in Finland. We played four sold out shows here. The album went straight to number one. We?re going to do some festivals here (Finland) and at least one in Europe. We?re doing a North American tour in September, just the East Coast and Canada.

What, not the West Coast?

We?re going back to Europe and headlining there, and then we?ll come back and do the West Coast.

Cool! It was great to talk to you.

Thanks, we?ll see you later this year.

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