SERAPHIM (Taiwan)
The Soul That Never Die
Magnum Music, 2001
Heard so many good things about this band. "The Soul..." is their debut and is also released in Europe by Arise Records (Spain). I thought they played symphonic power metal. They open for Angra's show in Taipei so I took the easy way making my conclusion. Musically they are not far away from Angra and both the bands are quite alike (and even Iron Maiden, In Flames). Great guitar works throughout the CD (for 60 minutes!) which will make you bang your head like mad till they fall off. I am amazed with them musically. Even traces of Iron Maiden can be heard! The only thing I am not quite fond of is the vocals. Using both male blackish growling and a lead female (normal) vocal, both I think does not suit the music. The female vocal really gets on my nerves sometimes. If the only thing you care about is the music and like the female vocals, this one for you.
3.5/5

SERAPHIM (Taiwan)
Equal Spirit
Magnum Music, 2002
The label didn't seem to sacrifice the packaging of its products. "Equal Spirit" comes with neatly design and thick booklet. Sadly, it is in Chinese but the music (in CD-R) is the English version of this album (the songs in Metal Treasure compilation taken from this album). As the press sheet stated, "Once again, Seraphim will blow their fans away". The debut left not-so-good impact on me but the mixing by the guys at Studio Fredman does make me a bit "blown away". Pay didn't change much of her vocals but in "Equal Spirit" everything is well placed. They head into an even more melodic metal style. Still, they have a touch of their power metal trademark but the solos sometimes remind me of the Gothenburg death metal. I rarely find a 70+ minutes album that doesn't bore me and I found it in "Equal Spirit".
Email: seraphimstudio@hotmail.com
5/5