Sentenced, a Finnish metal band from Muhos/Oulu, was formed in 1989 by Miika Tenkula and Sami Lopakka on guitars, along with Vesa Ranta on drums. The group initially played death metal, releasing their first demo When Death Joins Us... in 1990. They signed with a French label and released their debut album Shadows of the Past in November 1991. In 1993, Sentenced switched to Spinefarm Records and released North from Here, marking a shift towards the Gothenburg-style metal. The band then moved to Century Media, releasing Amok in 1995, which sold over thirty-five thousand copies. In 1996, Taneli Jarva left Sentenced, and Ville Laihiala joined as the new vocalist for their album Down. Subsequent albums included Frozen (1998), Crimson (2000), and The Cold White Light (2002). The band's final album, The Funeral Album, was released in 2005. Miika Tenkula passed away on February 19, 2009.
