Charon - Songs For The Sinners (CD)

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Gothic Rock at its best. Charon, alongside To/Die/For, are the heavy arsenal Spinefarm has to offer regarding the Gothic Rock phenomenon. Parallel lives with their fellow countrymen, this band has offered nothing less but the best in their field of expertise. Songs For The Sinners was highly anticipated by the fans of the genre (I don't consider myself one of them but I have to be honest and mention that I was also eager for this release).
The first thing I noticed was the totally different artistic approach of the band regarding the artwork. The computer graphics gray / sepia based artwork has been replaced by a dark red front cover and a pitch-black booklet. I also liked the carved title upon the jewel box. You don't get to see a lot of these details often.
Songs For The Sinners pretty much catches the band's course where it had stopped with their previous release The Dying Daylights (2003). Without being too different sonically there are signs of progress especially if you get to listen to the album several times (like I did). The quite dark atmosphere is often enriched with female vocals (very good ones I have to say) stuck nicely on the refrains (even taking the lead some times) and other details (some keyboard solos, a cello etc).
Leppaluoto's (their names are killing me and my word editor) voice is once again dominant (than again that's something normal in Gothic Rock, right?) and it is quite easy to be attracted by it forgetting everything else. The production helps to the maximum while the album's duration (less than 45 minutes) helps the listener to absorb the album in one breath (metaphorically speaking - stupid kids, don't try this at home).
All in all Songs For The Sinners is a fine example of how the big boys of Gothic Rock music stand their ground. Alongside the new To/Die/For, this one is a perfect gift for your depressed friend (well, not really).