Charon was a Finnish gothic metal band from

Raahe Raahe (; sv, Brahestad; ) is a town and municipality of Finland. Founded by Swedish statesman and Governor General of Finland Count Per Brahe the Younger in 1649, it is one of 10 historic wooden towns (or town centers) remaining in Finland. Exam ...

Biography

Charon was founded in 1992 by Antti Karihtala, Teemu Hautamäki, Pasi Sipilä, and Jasse Hast and was originally a brutal

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...

act. After releasing three promo albums and two demos, all self-released, the band signed a record deal with Emanzipation Productions. Through Emanzipation, Charon released their first two full-length albums Sorrowburn and

Tearstained Tearstained is the second studio album by Finnish gothic metal band Charon. Track listing # "Worthless" – 3:35 # "Sorrowbringer" – 4:44 # "4 Seasons Rush" – 4:05 # "Christina Bleeds" – 3:06 # "Deepest Scar" – 4:29 # "The Drift" – ...

in 1998 and 2000 respectively. After touring with fellow Finlanders

Sentenced Sentenced was a Finnish gothic metal band that played melodic death metal in their early years. The band formed in 1989 in the town of Muhos and broke up in 2005. History Early years (1988–1991) Sentenced started in 1988 as Deformity and c ...

, the band parted ways with Emanzipation and signed to Spinefarm Records. During the summer of 2001 Charon recorded their third studio album Downhearted. Prior to the release of the full album, the single ''

Little Angel ''Little Angel'' is Ana Johnsson's second album, released on October 18, 2006, in Sweden and in Japan on February 14, 2007. The album had sold over 20,500 copies in Japan by April 13, 2007. Album information The album was recorded half in Swed ...

'', which rose to number 5 on the Finnish singles chart, was released. In early 2002, Downhearted was released, and it proved to be just as popular as the single. The album rose to the number 3 slot on the Finnish Album Charts while the video for the song "Little Angel" hit No. 1 on the Nordic Video List. The summer following the release of Downhearted the band went on tour in their native Finland, and directly thereafter the band toured through Europe with

Nightwish Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka N ...

and After Forever. Then in April 2003, the band released another single, ''

In Trust of No One "In Trust of No One" is a single by the Finnish gothic metal band Charon from the album ''The Dying Daylights''. The single entered the Finnish charts at number one.- Track listing # "In Trust of No One" # "Death Can Dance" Credits * Recorde ...

'', which made its debut at No. 1 on the Finnish Singles Chart. Five months later the ''

Religious/Delicious ''The Dying Daylights'' is the fourth studio album by Finnish gothic metal band Charon. Track listing # "Failed" – 3:50 # " Religious/Delicious" – 3:26 # "Death Can Dance" – 3:41 # "In Brief War" – 3:49 # "Guilt on Skin" – 3:16 # "U ...

'' single was released, followed quickly by the band's fourth studio album

The Dying Daylights ''The Dying Daylights'' is the fourth studio album by Finnish gothic metal band Charon. Track listing # "Failed" – 3:50 # " Religious/Delicious" – 3:26 # "Death Can Dance" – 3:41 # "In Brief War" – 3:49 # "Guilt on Skin" – 3:16 # "U ...

. Immediately after the releases the band went on tour in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

to support the album. In November 2003, guitarist Jasse von Hast left the band, citing a lack of interest in playing for the group and boredom with band-related activities as reason for doing so. Lauri Tuohimaa stepped in and officially became the band's new guitarist in January 2004. Charon then went on yet another tour through Finland to support

. After several more tours and the release of the single ''Colder'', the band released its fifth album

Songs for the Sinners ''Songs for the Sinners'' is the fifth and last full-length album by the Finnish gothic metal act Charon. Track listing # "Colder" – 4:50 # "Deep Water" – 4:15 # "Bullet" – 4:11 # "Rain" – 3:57 # "Air" – 3:31 # "She Hates" – 4:21 ...

on 31 August 2005. Since then the band has toured extensively in Europe and Russia. Concerning further releases, the band stated, during the summer, that they had six new tracks ready to record. Then, that autumn, another update was posted on the bands site stating that they have spent the last few weeks recording five new tracks for a demo and that they are currently negotiating a new record deal. On 3 June 2011, the band has posted a news release on their website stating that they have decided to disband after summer concerts in their native Finland.www.charon.fi
In an interview with Leppaluoto, the band felt they had nothing more to contribute in the genre. And some members where not interested anymore, with conflict going back to 2005. In 2015 (2015-10-31), Lead Singer JP-Leppaluoto and other member's of Charon participated in a music gig in Tavistia on Halloween, effectively reviving Charon for a final time for a show. Since then, Charon has again disbanded, despite some source's labeling the band on an 'indefinite hiatus'. Charon's Twitter is still somewhat active, only used as promoting other artist's.

Members

Final members

* Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto – vocals (1995–2011, 2015) * Lauri Tuohimaa – guitar (2003–2011, 2015) *Antti Karihtala – drums (1992–2011, 2015) *Teemu Hautamäki – bass (1992–2011, 2015), vocals (1992–1995)

Former members

*Jasse von Hast – guitar (1992–2003) *Pasi Sipilä – guitar (1992–2010)

Timeline

Discography

Albums

*'' Sorrowburn'' (1998) *''

'' (2000) *'' Downhearted'' (2001) *''

'' (2003) *''

'' (2005)

Singles

" (2001) *"

" (2003) *"

Ride on Tears ''Songs for the Sinners'' is the fifth and last full-length album by the Finnish gothic metal act Charon. Track listing # "Colder" – 4:50 # "Deep Water" – 4:15 # "Bullet" – 4:11 # "Rain" – 3:57 # "Air" – 3:31 # "She Hates" – 4:21 ...

" (2005) *"Colder" (2005)

Compilation albums

*''

A-Sides, B-Sides & Suicides A-Sides, B-Sides & Suicides is a compilation album by the Finnish metal band Charon. It was released on June 22, 2010, containing old material, as well as unreleased stuff, such as b-sides and their first unreleased demo. The demo is very atypical ...

'' (2010)

Music videos

*"November's Eve" *"

" *"Colder" *"

References

External links

Official MyspaceUnofficial French Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charon Finnish gothic metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Musical quartets 1992 establishments in Finland 2011 disestablishments in Finland