Zeraphine: album reviews and ratings

Musicfolio.com

Reviews & Recommendations

Zeraphine

Buy Tickets at ABC
including
Bruce Springsteen
Hannah Montana

Reserve this space
for your AD on
Musicfolio.com

Concert Tickets
U2 Tickets
Broadway Tickets
Coldplay Tickets

Ticket Solutions
Concert Tickets
Theatre Tickets
Sports Tickets

Artist Listing:

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obvious change since the debut album is the fact that German as the chosen language of ZERAPHINE’s lyrical world has been replaced by English, as a quick glance at the track list reveals.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

______

Recommended Links:

The Official Zeraphine site