Here is statement from SENTENCED official site:

"We’d better put this out in the open before you hear it somewhere else.
The title of the new album is ”The Funeral Album”, and with it we, SENTENCED, are coming to the end of our road. This album will be our last one.

The decision is mutual, thoroughly thought over and final.

Metaphorically speaking, this is a mass suicide of 5, and the new album is the kind of note we want to leave behind. One last time around for good-byes.

The decision was made during 2004. The reasons are many, and I don’t feel any need to go into details here. I will say however, that everyone will walk away as friends. In my eyes we are even not splitting up, but ending our recording career together. And there is major difference between those two. Our wish was always to go out with style and at the peak of our so called success. I think with ”The Funeral Album” we will do exactly that.

Once the album is released, there will be an undefined number of farewell shows. When, where and how many, those are questions that at this point remain open. Intense and long touring, however, will unfortunately not follow, and most of these shows will take place on festivals where we can reach as much people as possible at one time. At the moment it seems that all of these funeral shows will be in Europe.

If everything goes as planned, we will also make a live-DVD out of those last shows and include a lot of stuff from the past on it. Not to mention all the music-videos we have done during the years. The working title for the DVD is ”Buried Alive”.

After that SENTENCED is no more.

And: THIS IS IT. There will not be a re-union, come-back, or any other pathetic and soap-operish circus that seems to be in fashion these days. SENTENCED will rest in peace.

We will make the most out of the band’s last year, and hope you will all join us.

See you on the last run.
/Lopakka & SENTENCED "

SENTENCED has chosen producer for the next album. Producer is Hiili Hiilesmaa who has also produced their last two albums (Crimson, TCWL). Band are working with new material and will enter studios in the beginning of autumn. New SENTENCED album should be out in the beginning of 2005.

On the official homepage of the band is the program of a European tour:

September 2002:

9/16 SLIM’S – SAN FRANCISCO, CA
9/17 GLASSHOUSE – POMONA, CA
9/18 BASH ON ASH – TEMPE, AZ
9/20 FOX THEATER – BOULDER, CO
9/21 BOTTLENECK – LAWRENCE, KS
9/22 THE RAVE – MILWAUKEE, WI
9/23 I-ROCK – DETROIT, MI
9/24 AGORA BALLROOM – CLEVELAND, OH
9/25 TROCADERO – PHILADELPHIA, PA
9/26 JAXX – W. SPRINGFIELD, VA
9/27 BIRCH HILL – OLD BRIDGE, NJ
9/28 LUPO’S – PROVIDENCE, RI

Oktober 2002:

Thu 24 Copenhagen (DK) Loppen
Fri 25 Helsingborg (S) Tivoli
Sat 26 Oslo (N) John Dee
Sun 27 Gothenburg (S) Musikens Hus
Tue 29 Dordrecht (NL) Bibelot
Wed 30 Lille (F) Le Splendid
Thu 31 London (GB) Mean Fiddler

November 2002:

Fri 01 Vosselaar (B) Biebob
Sat 02 Haarlem (NL) Patronaat
Sun 03 Eindhoven (NL) Effenaar
Mon 04 Essen (D) Zeche Carl
Tue 05 Paris (F) La Locomotive
Wed 06 Montpellier (F) Rockstore
Thu 07 Barcelona (E) Razzmattazz 2
Fri 08 Bilbao (E) Bilborock
Sat 09 Valencia (E) Sala Roxi
Sun 10 Granada (E) La Copera
Tue 12 Milan (I) Transilvania
Wed 13 Rome (I) Blackout
Thu 14 Cesena (I) Vidia
Fri 15 Treviso (I) New Age
Sat 16 Salzburg (A) Rockhaus
Sun 17 Vienna (A) Planet Music
Mon 18 Nürnberg (D) Hirsch
Tue 19 Pratteln (CH) Z7
Wed 20 Frankfurt (D) Batschkapp
Thu 21 Halle (D) Easy Schorre
Fri 22 Hamburg (D) Markthalle

Sat 23* Thessaloniki (GR) Hydrogios
Sun 24* Athens (GR) Gagarin 205 sl

*In two last gigs will participate only Sentenced

Here is how the metal/hard rock genre fared in the German Media Control (Top 100) chart for the week ending May 27th (as reported by Rock Hard magazine):

04. BÖHSE ONKELZ - Dopamin
08. P.O.D. - Satellite
12. DIE TOTEN HOSEN - Auswärtsspiel
14. PUDDLE OF MUDD - Come Clean
25. NICKELBACK - Silver Side Up
33. SYSTEM OF A DOWN - Toxicity
45. SENTENCED - The Cold White Light
46. RAGE - Unity
63. LINKIN PARK - Hybrid Theory
80. COAL CHAMBER - Dark Days
88. RAMMSTEIN - Mutter
90. IRON MAIDEN - Rock In Rio
91. AXEL RUDI PELL - Shadow Zone
96. CRADLE OF FILTH - Lovecraft & Witch Hearts

SENTENCED's latest CD, The Cold White Light, has entered the German Media Control Album chart at position #45. As previously reported, the album debuted on the Finnish Album chart at position #1.

Century Media is pleased to announce the scheduling of the new Sentenced album, The Cold White Light, for North American release on July 9th, 2002.

"The 2-year break since Crimson was not only intentional but very necessary as well," states guitarist and founding member Sami Lopakka from his home in Oulu, Finland. "We needed a long break to calm our nerves and to regain some energy after touring. It got ugly at one point. The alternative besides the break was to split up, but none of us were willing or ready to do that. The break turned out to be the wisest band decision in our history. When we started rehearsing again after seven months of silence, the songs came out easily and naturally, and faster than ever before. The band is fresh and relaxed, and you can hear that in what we're doing."

The Cold White Light marks the second time Sentenced has worked with producer Hiili Hiilesmaa. What he's been able to capture on this album suggests a stronger bond than the usual producer/artist rapport. Sami elaborates:

"We have a strong bond with him as he's a sick bastard like the rest of us [laughs]. For example, the perverted ass-clapping in "Neverlasting" (after the solo) was originally his idea. It's very important that you are able to forget about the recordings when you finish your day at the studio, and with Hiili we can always truly do that. As he lives 400 miles away from our home town, we don't see each other that much when we're not recording, but it always at once feels like we have known him forever."

For music fans who are also literary enthusiasts, the track "Brief Is The Light" was inspired by these passages from Edward Fitzgerald's translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam of Naishapur:

You know how little while we have to stay,
And, once departed, may return no more.
(I:3)

Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend,
Before we too into the Dust descend;
Dust into Dust, and under Dust to lie,
Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and - sans End!
(V:24)

Keep in mind, any music born in a region close to the Arctic Circle that receives very little sunlight during the winter months and where temperatures fall ridiculously below freezing is a ripe breeding place for anthems of despair, self-doubt, and suicide. Sentenced are highly skilled in resignation and pessimism, and have a long-standing association with self-destruction. Allow them to share their authentically haunted expertise with you, as it will only validate your personal despair and keep you one with your misery.

The final tracklisting for The Cold White Light is:

1. Konevitsan Kirkonkellot
2. Cross My Heart And Hope To Die
3. Brief Is The Light
4. Neverlasting
5. Aika Multaa Muistot [Everything Is Nothing]
6. Excuse Me While I Kill Myself
7. Blood & Tears
8. You Are The One
9. Guilt And Regret
10. The Luxury Of A Grave
11. No One There

Finland's SENTENCED have set The Cold White Light as the title of their forthcoming studio CD, which has just been mastered in Helsinki for a mid-May release through Century Media Records. A single will be released before the album comes out and an accompanying video clip will be shot in March. SENTENCED are tentatively scheduled to perform several gigs in their home country in the spring, to be followed by select festival appearances during the summer. A full European tour is unlikely to take place before the fall. Among the titles set to appear on The Cold White Light are the following:

01. Guilt And Regret
02. As Hard As I Try
03. At Your Grave
04. You Are The One
05. Neverlasting
06. Aika Multaa Muistot (Everything Is Nothing)
07. Excuse Me While I Kill Mysel
08. Losing My Faith
09. Wither
10. Blood & Tears
11. Man In The Bottle

As previously reported, The Cold White Light was recorded in part at Finnvox Studios, where SENTENCED tracked all drums and bass with producer Hiili Hiilesmaa (who collaborated with the group on their Crimson opus) before moving over to Mastervox Studios in Oulu, Finland for the remainder of the recording process.

Finland's SENTENCED have finished recording their brand as-yet-untitled album and are due to enter Helsinki's Finnvox Studios today to begin mixing the effort late a late spring release through Century Media Records. In other news, SENTENCED have selected Pasi Pauni, who was responsible for the “Killing Me, Killing You” clip, to direct the group's next video for an as-yet-undetermined cut off the new CD.

As previously reported, SENTENCED started recording their latest album at Finnvox Studios, where they tracked all drums and bass with producer Hiili Hiilesmaa (who collaborated with the group on their Crimson opus) before moving over to Mastervox Studios in Oulu, Finland for the remainder of the recording process. Song titles set to appear on the album include the following:

01. Guilt And Regret
02. As Hard As I Try
03. At Your Grave
04. You Are The One
05. Neverlasting
06. Aika Multaa Muistot (Everything Is Nothing)
07. Excuse Me While I Kill Myself
08. Losing My Faith
09. Wither
10. Blood & Tears
11. Man In The Bottle

Finland’s SENTENCED will enter Tico-Tico Studios in Kemi, Finland in December to record their next studio effort, for which no producer has yet been chosen. The as-yet-untitled CD will reportedly be tracked and mixed over a three-month period, with the mixing sessions due to take place at Finnvox Studios. Working song titles for the album include the following: 01. Neverlasting 02. Aika Multaa Muistot (Everything Is Nothing) 03. Excuse Me While I Kill Myself 04. Losing My Faith 05. Wither 06. Blood & Tears 07. Man In The Bottle. Source: BLABBERMOUTH.NET

Finland's THE BLACK LEAGUE, featuring former SENTENCED vocalist Taneli Jarva, will have a new EP, entitled The Doomsday Sun, released on May 2nd. The Doomsday Sun includes four previously unreleased original tracks, a cover of NICK CAVE’s “City Of Refuge”, and a remix of the song “The Everlasting Pt. III”, which was previously only available on the vinyl version of Ichor (the group’s full-length debut). Here is the full track listing: 01. Monster Truckin' 02. City of Refuge 03. Black Java 04. Many A Good Man 05. Sanguinary Blues 06. The Everlasting Pt. III (remix)