Origin:	Finland
Genres:	Goth Rock/Metal

Last update/review:	March 31, 2007

Rapture

With their second album, the aptly-titled Songs For The Withering, Finland's Rapture is placed squarely in the melancholic goth field. Late-period Katatonia is the clear and obvious sound-alike here, with other lesser similarities to fellow Finns Sentenced and perhaps a less adventurous Opeth. The band employs two singers (Petri Eskilenin singing clean, Henri Villberg growling death-style), and while they rarely sing in tandem, their contrast in styles lends some variety to the songs that might otherwise be a bit samey. A generally somber, but not overly depressing, mood is maintained throughout the album, thanks to well-constructed guitar melodies and the aforementioned vocals. A bit more originality wouldn't go amiss here, as Rapture still sounds more like other bands than a unique entity, but there's otherwise very little to fault here -- Songs For The Withering is an excellent album for fans of the aforementioned bands.