Shadows of the Past

Shadows of the Past
Studio album by Sentenced
Released November, 1991
Genre Death metal
Death/doom
Length 51:03
Label Thrash Records
Sentenced chronology

Rotting Ways to Misery
(1990)
Shadows of the Past
(1991)
Journey to Pohjola
(1992)

Shadows of the Past is the debut album by the Finnish metal band Sentenced. It was released in 1991 and re-issued by Century Media in 1995, including the "Journey To Pohjola" demo. It was re-issued again in 2001 with "North From Here" and again in 2008 as a 2-CD set along with their first two demos. The album features more prominent death metal elements than would be present later in their career. On the introduction speech of North from Here 2008 re-release Jarva states that at the time of Shadows of the Past the band was just a "Death clone" amongst others, so the band chose to pursue a more technical and personal-sounding direction on their second album.

The album has had three different covers: the original release drawn by Luxi Lahtinen, the Century Media 1995 reissue drawn by Taneli Jarva, and the 2008 reissue which is a reproduction of a medieval woodcut print. This version also includes an insert featuring the first two covers.

Track listing

No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "When the Moment of Death Arrives"  Taneli JarvaMiika Tenkula 6:03
2. "Rot to Dead"  JarvaTenkula 3:44
3. "Disengagement"  Sami LopakkaLopakka, Tenkula 5:17
4. "Rotting Ways to Misery"  LopakkaTenkula 5:50
5. "The Truth"  LopakkaTenkula 6:23
6. "Suffocated Beginning of Life"  (unknown)Tenkula 6:06
7. "Beyond the Distant Valleys"  Korhonen, LopakkaLopakka, Tenkula 5:58
8. "Under the Suffer"  JarvaTenkula 5:18
9. "Descending Curtain of Death"  TenkulaVesa Ranta, Tenkula 5:49

1995 re-issue bonus tracks

No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
10. "Wings"  LopakkaTenkula 5:08
11. "In Memoriam"  JarvaTenkula 5:26
12. "Mythic Silence (as They Wander in the Mist)"  (instrumental)Lopakka, Tenkula 4:14

2008 re-issue bonus disc

When Death Joins Us (Demo 1990)

  1. "Hallucinations" - 2:20
  2. "When Death Joins Us" - 4:54
  3. "Shadows of The Past" - 4:24
  4. "Obscurity ..." - 5:10
  5. "Desperationed Future" - 4:29

Rotting Ways To Misery (Demo 1991)

  1. "Rotting Ways to Misery" - 5:42
  2. "Disengagement" - 6:18
  3. "Suffocated Beginning of Life" - 6:15
  4. "Under the Suffer" - 5:16
  5. "Descending Curtain of Death" - 5:34
  6. "The Truth" - 5:28

Credits