Zeraphine
Encyclopedia
Zeraphine are a gothic
alternative rock
from Berlin
, Germany
, formed in 2000 by Sven Friedrich (vocals, programming, lead song writing) and Norman Selbig (guitars) from the then-defunct Dreadful Shadows
.
’s concepts of the ‘seraph
’ (or seraphim), which is a class of angel in traditional Judaism
and Orthodox Christianity
. Once Zeraphine, the band signed onto the Drakkar Entertainment
record label.
Originally, additional band members Manuel Senger (guitars), Michael Nepp (bass), and Marcellus Puhlemann (drums) joined the project as studio musicians. This changed after their debut album was released, and each member began contributing music and ideas to all following releases.
Zeraphine’s debut album, Kalte Sonne (2002), gained notoriety for its lyrics; unlike Dreadful Shadows, whose songs were written entirely in English, Sven elected to pen an album completely in German, citing that “I simply tried to transfer my style of writing to my mother tongue and I liked it quite a lot. I always thought it would be impossible.” Their following album, Traumaworld (2003), saw Sven return to English, with only two songs written in German
. Tonally, the album’s lyrics were harsher, as the band drew inspiration from their feelings on the Iraq war. However, when it came to promoting the album, the more upbeat "Be My Rain" (2003) was chosen as the single. A music video was made for "Be My Rain" (consisting of live footage), and a limited promo CD was released, featuring album, radio, and club mixes of the title track, and a cover of the Depeche Mode
song "In Your Room".
In 2004, Zeraphine joined HIM on an acclaimed tour of Europe, which exposed the band to an even wider audience. In anticipation for the tour, Zeraphine hit the studio again to record the single "New Year’s Day" (2004), featuring a cover version of the U2
song, and two other original tracks. Promptly after the tour finished, Zeraphine again entered the studio and churned out another single, "Die Macht In Dir" (2004), which promised a full album at the beginning of the following year. The single, as well as the title track, consisted of alternative versions of "Kaltes Herz", "Die Macht In Dir", (and on the limited edition release) "Until I Finally Drown". Blind Camera (2005) was released with a positive response by both fans and critics, and sent Zeraphine on the road once more, headlining their own trip across Europe. A particular point of well-reception was the balance in German and English lyrics – nearly half the songs on Blind Camera are written in German. The record itself was written as a semi-concept album
, dealing with themes such as perception
and reality
.
In 2006, Zeraphine announced that they were severing their ties with their label, Drakkar Entertainment, so that they could have more creative control over their next record. Still
(2006), released on the Phonyx Records label (a record label managed by the band themselves, and producer Thommy Hein), was handled with noticeably less ‘polish’ than their previous albums. This was per the band’s decision to move to a less studio-oriented, more live sounding style of recording. Two editions of the album were released, a regular and an enhanced version; the enhanced featuring an additional song, and the music video (and outtakes) to the title track and single, "Still". The record’s title is meant to represent both it’s German and English meanings, commenting on the duality of the album’s lyrical content.
The band was decidedly less active in 2007, when Sven and Norman rejoined Dreadful Shadows for live shows exclusively. Also during this time, Sven began working on a side project, an electronic solo project titled Solar Fake. A compilation album was also released during this time, titled Years in Black (2007), by Phoynx Records and Drakkar Entertainment; It contained songs from all four albums, and while no unreleased material was put on it (an update on their official website cited such an act as a ‘fan rip-off’), the currently out-of-print radio mix of "Be My Rain" was added in place of the album version. Zeraphine continued to tour and do festivals throughout 2007 and 2008, with a few new songs slipping into setlists during the later half of 2008.
As of March 2009, it is rumored that the band is working on a fifth album. In the end of month Zeraphine announced that new album is complete and it is planned to be released on June 11, 2010.
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
from Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, formed in 2000 by Sven Friedrich (vocals, programming, lead song writing) and Norman Selbig (guitars) from the then-defunct Dreadful Shadows
Dreadful Shadows
Dreadful Shadows is a German Gothic metal band, formed in 1993 in Berlin. Initially part of the Gothic rock and Dark Wave movement, the band had developed considerably by the time of the release of their debut album, incorporating metal elements and modern electronics, causing the band to be...
.
History
After the acclaimed goth rock band Dreadful Shadows decided to split and go their separate ways, Sven and Norman collaborated with ex-Dreadful Shadows producer Thommy Hein on a project called Helix. However, since the Helix name was taken by another band, they were forced to rename themselves Zeraphine – taken from the Hebrew bibleHebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
’s concepts of the ‘seraph
Seraph
A seraph is a type of celestial being in Judaism and Christianity...
’ (or seraphim), which is a class of angel in traditional Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and Orthodox Christianity
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
. Once Zeraphine, the band signed onto the Drakkar Entertainment
Drakkar Entertainment
Drakkar Entertainment GmbH, also called Drakkar Records or Drakkar Publishing, is a German record label with its headquarters in Witten. It is a joint venture with Bertelsmann Music Group.-History:...
record label.
Originally, additional band members Manuel Senger (guitars), Michael Nepp (bass), and Marcellus Puhlemann (drums) joined the project as studio musicians. This changed after their debut album was released, and each member began contributing music and ideas to all following releases.
Zeraphine’s debut album, Kalte Sonne (2002), gained notoriety for its lyrics; unlike Dreadful Shadows, whose songs were written entirely in English, Sven elected to pen an album completely in German, citing that “I simply tried to transfer my style of writing to my mother tongue and I liked it quite a lot. I always thought it would be impossible.” Their following album, Traumaworld (2003), saw Sven return to English, with only two songs written in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. Tonally, the album’s lyrics were harsher, as the band drew inspiration from their feelings on the Iraq war. However, when it came to promoting the album, the more upbeat "Be My Rain" (2003) was chosen as the single. A music video was made for "Be My Rain" (consisting of live footage), and a limited promo CD was released, featuring album, radio, and club mixes of the title track, and a cover of the Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
song "In Your Room".
In 2004, Zeraphine joined HIM on an acclaimed tour of Europe, which exposed the band to an even wider audience. In anticipation for the tour, Zeraphine hit the studio again to record the single "New Year’s Day" (2004), featuring a cover version of the U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
song, and two other original tracks. Promptly after the tour finished, Zeraphine again entered the studio and churned out another single, "Die Macht In Dir" (2004), which promised a full album at the beginning of the following year. The single, as well as the title track, consisted of alternative versions of "Kaltes Herz", "Die Macht In Dir", (and on the limited edition release) "Until I Finally Drown". Blind Camera (2005) was released with a positive response by both fans and critics, and sent Zeraphine on the road once more, headlining their own trip across Europe. A particular point of well-reception was the balance in German and English lyrics – nearly half the songs on Blind Camera are written in German. The record itself was written as a semi-concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
, dealing with themes such as perception
Perception
Perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of the environment by organizing and interpreting sensory information. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical stimulation of the sense organs...
and reality
Reality
In philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...
.
In 2006, Zeraphine announced that they were severing their ties with their label, Drakkar Entertainment, so that they could have more creative control over their next record. Still
Still
A still is a permanent apparatus used to distill miscible or immiscible liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor...
(2006), released on the Phonyx Records label (a record label managed by the band themselves, and producer Thommy Hein), was handled with noticeably less ‘polish’ than their previous albums. This was per the band’s decision to move to a less studio-oriented, more live sounding style of recording. Two editions of the album were released, a regular and an enhanced version; the enhanced featuring an additional song, and the music video (and outtakes) to the title track and single, "Still". The record’s title is meant to represent both it’s German and English meanings, commenting on the duality of the album’s lyrical content.
The band was decidedly less active in 2007, when Sven and Norman rejoined Dreadful Shadows for live shows exclusively. Also during this time, Sven began working on a side project, an electronic solo project titled Solar Fake. A compilation album was also released during this time, titled Years in Black (2007), by Phoynx Records and Drakkar Entertainment; It contained songs from all four albums, and while no unreleased material was put on it (an update on their official website cited such an act as a ‘fan rip-off’), the currently out-of-print radio mix of "Be My Rain" was added in place of the album version. Zeraphine continued to tour and do festivals throughout 2007 and 2008, with a few new songs slipping into setlists during the later half of 2008.
As of March 2009, it is rumored that the band is working on a fifth album. In the end of month Zeraphine announced that new album is complete and it is planned to be released on June 11, 2010.
Albums
- Whiteout (2010)
- Still (2006)
- Blind Camera (2005)
- Traumaworld (2003)
- Kalte Sonne (2002)
Singles
- "Die Macht In Dir" (2004)
- "New Year's Day" (2004)
- "Be My Rain" (2003 Promo-only single)
- "Die Wirklichkeit" (2002 Promo-only single)