Charon were founded in 1992 as a raw conventional yet little significant death metal act. After three years in an all knobs on ten situation both Charon and their next door neighbours thought it was time for a change. From 1995 to 1996 Charon then slowly developed their style into a much more melodic atmospheric multi-dimensional breed of metal. 1997 - a demo and a video tape later - Charon caught the attention of Danish based Emanzipation Productions. A deal was made and from December 1997 throughout January 1998 Charon recorded ten tracks for their debut album Sorrowburn. A total of ten carefully selected metal compositions steaming of loneliness, longing atmosphere, sensuality, and eroticism. This again caught the interest of Diehard Music who licensed Sorrowburn and released it in the summer of 1998. The press response was indeed very positive, and actually Sorrowburn entered the official Finnish chart topping such prominent artists as Celine Dion, Massive Attack, Cradle of Filth, and Rancid. Critics praised Charon for their great crossover potential with an appeal to both fans of goth, doom and classic metal, and Sorrowburn soon established Charon¹s name in the European goth metal scene.
Tearstained; Almost two years have passed and Charon are now finally ready with their 2nd full length effort entitled Tearstained. Once again Charon entered the Brr-studios in Helsinki where they had recorded Sorrowburn and after two months of hard work the band had laid 11 brand new tracks down on tape, which was then taken to the Finnvox-studios (Amorphis, HIM, Sentenced) to be mixed. To explore new musical territories and to expand their own musical horizon Charon called upon the skills of cellist Jarmo Paloniemi and female opera singer Jenny Heinonen. According to Charon frontman J.P. the adding of a cello and Jenny Heinonens beautiful vocal work did in fact help the band travel a less travelled musical road.
- Jenny has a voice of radiant power and I really think she helped us bring a somewhat dramatic intensity into our songs, says J.P.
The writing of the lyrics for Tearstained turned out to be a very personal and perhaps even slightly painful experience for front singer J.P.
- I¹ve always been much more at ease in my lyrical approach when writing about personal things that I can relate to, instead of just writing something purely fictional, says J.P. This time I dug deep within myself and found that my personal life had reached a new all-time low. The songwriting process helped me back on my feet again, and that¹s exactly why I can say that the lyrics are truly something of a very personal matter to me.
Essentially, Charon have once again proved themselves to be a highly innovative band constantly seeking new musical challenges. For the time being Tearstained marks a definite highlight in Charon¹s career. 11 beautiful and atmospheric tracks with vast emotional depth. Allow yourself to sink deep into the vastness of this album and you will see a new world unfold before your eyes.
