Zeraphine: album reviews and ratings

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Reviews & Recommendations

	Zeraphine

Artist Listing:

S - Z

German gothic rock band formed by former Dreadful Shadows vocalist.
Line up (2002):
Sven Friedrich (vocals, programmings), ex-Dreadful Shadows
Norman Selbig (guitars), ex-Dreadful Shadows
Manuel (guitars, backing-vocals)
Michael (bass)
Marcellus (drums)

Zeraphine Discography - Album / CD Reviews

½ 2002: Kalte Sonne
Track Listing: 1.Flieh mit mir 2.Die Wirklichkeit 3.Unter Eis 4.Sterne sehen 5.In der Tiefe 6.Kannst du verzeihen 7.Siehst du mich 8.Siamesische Einsamkeit 9.Lass mich gehen 10.Ohne dich 11.Licht 12.Deine Welt

"The hard ZERAPHINE core consists of the lyricist/vocalist Sven Friedrich and guitarist Norman Selbig - both famous and acclaimed musicians for their previous work as members of Dreadful Shadows ! Kalte Sonne (Cold Sun) is a recording that consists of authentic, emotional, courageous and at the same time pioneering music. Of course there are passages on Kalte Sonne that bear certain Dreadful Shadows traits, but they are accompanied by a wide range of new and unusual influences. Particularly the intricate and versatile arrangements speak of the accessibility of the musicians involved in many musical styles. Consequently this cd has turned into one of those rare albums that sound self-contained, yet offer numerous surprises - even after listening to the material several times..."

-- Audioglobe News via chaindlk.net

¼ 2003: TraumaWorld
Track Listing: 01. Light your stars 02. No more doubts 03. United and lost 04. Failing breath 05. No tears 06. In your room 07. Schreit Dein Herz 08. Be my rain 09. For a moment 10. Stop pretending 11. Wonderland 12. Traumaworld 13. Wenn Du gehst

"Naturally, the most obvious change since the debut album is the fact that German as the chosen language of ZERAPHINE’s lyrical world has been replaced by English, as a quick glance at the track list reveals. (...) Traumaworld sounds much fresher and much more aggressive, you could almost say more extrovert than its predecessor and speaks of a perceptible maturation. If the debut still betrayed a slightly fevered element of stage fright, the second album sparkles with elegant composure and harmony. A number of sections are carried by drums, bass, and possibly vocals, alone – like the Cure-esque Failing Breath. Then again, the band enchant with haunting melodies like the magnificently arranged single track Be My Rain. ZERAPHINE have consciously ensured that the number of instruments used remains recognizable, preferring to focus instead on what each individual instrument is playing. "

press release

¼ 2005: Blind Camera
Track Listing: 01. I Never Want To Be Like You 02. Die Macht In Dir 03. Blind Camera 1 04. I Feel Your Trace 05. Die Welt Kann Warten 06. Kaltes Herz 07. Hollow Skies 08. I'm Numb 09. Jede Wahrheit 10. Blind Camera 2 11. Falscher Glanz 12. River Of You 13. When Walls Arise 14. Blind Camera 3 15. Until I Finally Drown

"... you have bands like Zeraphine, which seem to draw the best atmospheric elements of goth into a slick, polished, accessible rock sound while not having much of anything in common with arena goth. (...) Zeraphine is thoroughly modern and not a throwback in any way, but just like those 70's bands, I have trouble referring to Zeraphine as goth because they don't seem as limited as most goth bands. With their third album 'Blind Camera', Zeraphine have evolved even further in every way. (...) The songs are still quite catchy, but less forcefully than their last album 'Traumaworld'. In fact, this is a less commercial album than their last one. (...) Overall, it's also a bit more of a return to the noir sounds of their first album in general. (...) Blind Camera should appeal to any fan of goth-oriented rock, as they are fully accessible without sacrificing artistry."

-- Kerry Ledbetter, metalcoven.com, 2/05

½ 2006: Still
Track Listing: 01. Still 02. Niemand kann es sehen 03. Inside your arms 04. Gib mir Dein Gift 05. Nichts aus Liebe 06. Toxic Skies 07. Fang mich 08. Halbes Ende 09. Since we're falling 10. I'll follow you 11. State of the moment 12. Nur ein Tag

"Vocalist Sven is several ticks more animated than most kraut-rockers, not straining away at the chops-licking lasciviousness of Rammstein but clearly putting his back into it. Title track recalls Fields of the Nephilim’s recent doings, infusing them with Fearless Freep jangle and hand-wringing vocal lines. Niemand Kann Es Sehen re-creates the post-punk haunted-house vibe recently co-opted by Birthday Massacre (ditto for Nichts Aus Liebe), Inside Your Arms doles out some metallic EBM in the tradition of Megaherz (ferocious Rammstein mimickers if you’ve never heard them before, and you seriously should), Toxic Skies covers the obligato Sisters of Mercy ground, and Halbes Ende is the ghoul-rock ballad. A nice taste of Berlin for gothies trapped in the States, although it’d be nice if bands like this would stick to English if the few numbers in which it’s used got them signed in the first place."

-- Eric Saeger, Glide Magazine, 7/06

¾ 2010: White Out
Track Listing: 1 Erwachen -- 2 Lieber allein -- 3 I Will Be There -- 4 Out Of Sight -- 5 Tomorrows Morning -- 6 Louisa -- 7 Rain Falls -- 8 Waiting For The Day To End -- 9 Du fragst nicht mehr -- 10 The Stream -- 11 Remaining Desires -- 12 Whiteout

"(...) I Will Be There is a melodious, catchy tune with pop sensibilities introduced by spherical keys before a straight beat is added to the set. Out Of Sight is running a little faster, being another candidate that should be considered for a live performance on the upcoming tour, coupled with a simple synth melody, adding a pleasant trait to the indie rock-tinged track. A melancholic piano melody, soon to be accompanied by subdued strings, leads over into the aggrieving moods of Tomorrows Morning which has its strengths concentrated within the emotional chorus, benefiting a lot from Friedrich’s strong voice. The following Louisa, the second of the already presented live tracks, works in a similar way, only that the tension there keeps building up constantly instead of erupting all towards you all of a sudden. German-voiced Du fragst nicht mehr (You’re not asking anymore) starts all electronically, and then gets hit by the organic touch of soft, accentuated drums. (...) ‘Whiteout’ sound-wise is much more well-rounded than ‘Still’, having a tinny sound most of the time, and it’s recollecting a sound that was very prominent on ‘Traumaworld’ and ‘Blind Camera’, both albums I dig very much. ZERAPHINE certainly don’t reinvent themselves on ‘Whiteout’, but add a few new, well-fitting nuances."

-- Sebastian Huhn , reflectionsofdarkness.com, 6/10

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Recommended Links:

The Official Zeraphine site