Seraphim

[Ugly Bastard]

I noticed Titan left a Download of the Day at the bottom of this page, for Seraphim.

I was wondering what you guys thought of Seraphim. I'll offer my two-cents, then reply with yours, because I'm curious of what the over-all consensus is.

Here is what I think of Seraphim:

1. Are they a good band?
Hell yes they are. But only for a bunch of kids just getting started. If they were all like 30 and had been around forever, and put out some of the music that they do, I might not be so enthusiastic about their stuff. But on the whole, I would say that they have a lot of talent, and a good future ahead of them if they keep their shoulders straight.

2. Are they full of themselves?
Hmm. I would say yes. They are a bit too enthusiastic about themselves. Sometimes I get confused as to who are their fans, and who is actually in the band, because sometimes they act like they're fans of their own music. The thing that they do that bugs me the most is when they wear their own T-shirts. I mean, I realize that they are just trying to promote themselves, but it's a little much seeing a band wear their own T-Shirts.

3. Did they deserve to beat the Mad Cowboys at last year's Battle of the Bands?
I would say yes, and here is why. While the Mad Cowboys were a helluva band with a shit load of talent, all of their songs were covers. I would have voted for Seraphim (even though I didn't) because at least their songs are originals (except Say it Ain't So, of course).


To summarize, I would say that they are a half-way decent band that is fun to listen to. Are they going to be the next Tool? Probably Not. But I'm guessing if they really wanted to, they could have a decent career in front of them with a lot of work.

What do you think?

-Ugly Bastard

[victim]

Hmmm... Now, I've had the Stereofade (live) mp3 in my playlist now for almost 3 months, and I was there, in the front row when they performed it. I don't think that recording shows the enthusiasm of the crowd, which was absolutely insane, because throughout the recording all you here is laughter and other background noise. Also, it doesn't really sound like them, because as I recall, it was Zach, not Drew, dominating the vocals. It's... interesting.

[Timmy Two Beers]

They have talent ..... however they def. are full of themselves and need to vary the sounds of there music with more creative style. All of the songs sound similar and "toolish."

[Titan]

yeah that whole selling buttons thing was pretty gay... they went overboard with the promotions at the beginning but thankfully they cooled down.

i always thought they wore their own t-shirts to be funny, that's what i would do anyway, but it is pretty arrogant if they're not just being funny.

one thing i will have to disagree with was the fact that their sound doesn't vary enough. this is one thing that i, being the semi-fan that i am, realize is not true... at least from my musical opinion, they've got stuff that sounds toolish... definitely, but also stuff like incubus and staind and even led zeppelin and radiohead, i think it varies pretty well for rock... especially for the shit that's out there nowadays, beats the pants off of sounding like slipknot or puddle of mudd or some shit like that


and ugly, while seraphim did play a good show... an overall around better show (for what i usually look for in a show)... for me the deciding factor on the mad cowboys was just the overwhelming soulful feeling i got out of their performance... it was entrancing really... even though they did play all covers... ah... i guess that's a good point... course you voted for the mad cowboys too so yeah... whatever... can't wait to see what happens at this year's battle of the bands.

[buckeye]

i agree that they probably did go a little overboard with promoting themselves. However i do think that there is nothing wrong with a band promoting themselves, music is a buisness and they are trying to get started. But one exception to this is that before you advertise you must get a base group of people to like you because of the quality of your product, or in this case music. Promotion of yourself is a necessary part of any buisness

"Buisness without advertisement is like winking at a girl in the dark, only you know what you are doing."

On i do feel they started promoting themselves a little early.

Their music on the other hand i feel is quite good, at first i admit alot of it sounds alike, as was my first impression of them. Once you listen to them enough you will notice quite a bit of difference. They are still a young band and its not uncommon for there to be alot of similarities in each song. Seraphim has grown alot since i first heard them and i agree with UB they do have a bright future ahead of them, just ask 98.9 The Bear. Seraphim was one of the few bands picked to compete in their competition for the Locabazooka tour.

I'll speak for myself, i don't know about the rest of the members of seraphim, but yeah (by the way, i'm the skinny, pathetic guitarist)

Did we promote ourselves too much, yeah, and looking back, it was kinda gay. The real downside to it is that I think we turned off a lot of people who would've really liked our music.

The fact that we're excited and enthusiastic about being is a band is (i think) understandable. If you're in a band and the music and performing don't excite you, you shouldn't be in a band.

The Mad Cow Boys, they fuckin' rock my world, and i think they deserved to win the BotB. I'm hopin' we'll get to see some original stuff here in the future.

Wearing the tshirts. Yeah, i can see how thats gay, but i'm poor, and i am also a fan of our music. Hell, why would i be in a band i wasn't the fan of the music. If you aren't, then you are either in it only for the chicks or only for the money. I personally haven't seen either in years, but our music still excites me.

I would like to thank the people who compared us to Tool. They are gods, but we are definately and most certainly not.

Do we plan on getting rich and famous or something like that? Fuck no. That'd be cool as shit, but it's so unrealistic. You wanna know what i'm in it for? Making music. The only think better is making love (not that i'd know, i've just heard.)

If you heard us in the past, disregard it. We have matured so much as a band. A lot of our early stuff did sound similar, but our newer stuff is so much more diverse. Give it a chance. We have also written a ton more shit these past few breaks. It blows our old stuff out of the water.

Please, if you get the chance,come see us play. I don't care if you want to fucking slit our throats for how much we suck, just give our music an honest, open-minded chance. Oh well if it's not your style, if thats whats up with you, then thats cool, i just wish people would be more supportive of music in general, not just their personal style of music. If you feel the need to, go ahead and hate the people, at least distinguish what you're out to hate, the people or the music.

[StDx]

take it from someone who does know... a lot of the time, making music is better than making love.

[Combat Chuck]

Alright, I've been asked by a certain someone to resurrect this topic with my own opinion of Seraphim. So don't go shit happy all over my ass for posting on a three week old topic....

Alright, here's my take.

Seraphim. Two of the three guys in the band are my closest friends, the others are good acquaintances. My opinion of their music is not my opinion of the band members themselves.

With that said, I like Seraphim. Heh, I prepared you all for a massive slam, and I didn't deliver. Sorry.

But I'll elaborate.

When listening to their first album for the first time, the first thing (yeah, the first thing) was that it didn't have any of the power that they possess during live shows.

As most of us, the first time we heard Seraphim was at a live concert. So, it was disappointing to hear that their CD lacked the "oomph" that made their live performances so great.

You may not like their music, you may not like the guys, but you can't say that they don't put on a kick-mutha-fuckin-ass live show. These guys visibly put time and effort and love into what they have crafted, and while they themselves have some less than affectionate opinions of some of their sound, they still keep it close to their bosoms like that of a mother to her suckling child.

But enough about their own opinions. What do I think of the music?

I also agree with Titan in saying that they need more.....rounded music. And I'm not talking about the sound. You can't form a rock band these days and escape being categorized with the predecessors that have revolutionized and defined the industry. You just can't. Of course god-like bands such as Tool, Incubus, A Perfect Circle, and maybe even Radiohead (talkin bout olskool Radiohead...) are going to be brought up when talking about Seraphim. However, if you talk to the guys, you'll notice that those are their favorite bands. Those are their influence.

No, what I am talking about doesn't involve cookie-cutting, or stealing. I'm talking about the actual crafting of the songs. Know what I'm talking about? Sort of? Let me indulge myself further.

First off, realize that I am basing this opinion off of their first album, and the songs off of it. I have only heard the beginning stages of some of their new stuff, and I'll get to that later.

Initium. (First off, damn sweet title). If you listen straight through, you will hear three types of sounds. The quiet picking. The loud distortion. The buildage (the in-between of picking and distortion). Sure, you say, that's what you get with any other rock band. I say, yeah, but then, listen some more.

Then you realize that all of the songs are crafted in the same manner. Quiet picking during the verse, loud distortive chorus, leads to quiet picking verse, throw in an interlude of sorts, LOUD DISTORTIVE FINISH....maybe sometimes a quiet pick finish after loud distortive chorus.

There are a few tracks thrown in that showcase these factors in a mixed fashion, but you still get the bankable three.

However, if it was only that, I'd say Seraphim is a throw away band. But the fact is, while most of the songs may sound like clones of each other, they all have something in and of themselves that set them apart. Since I do not have the CD with me right now, I can't give any examples (yeah, I'm copping out), but I've talked to some band members and they say the same thing.

However, this is what music is. You can't start out with your formula molded and built exactly to what makes great music. You have to test the water, see what works for you, then test some more to make sure that what works for you is what works for the rest of your band members, then see what works for the audience. It's tough stuff. I know, I'm in the process of working through my own written music.

So, all in all, to cut this off at only a mildly Bible-ish length, Seraphim has loads of discovered talent, and undiscovered potential. I've heard some of their new stuff, and I can see that they are already breaking off from their formula of the first album and reaching out for some really sweet sounding sounds. It's the progression that is always made by good bands, and Seraphim....they're a good band.

[This message has been edited by Combat Chuck (edited December 24, 2002).]

[This message has been edited by Combat Chuck (edited December 24, 2002).]

First off, I'm only resurrecting this topic because I didn't want to have to start another one.

Anyways, seraphim does have a new website, www.seraphimband.com I recommend checking it out, and it has a spiffy message board, so if you hate'em or if you love'em, you can say so there.

[guitarcb7]

Seraphim is very good for a local band. Even if you dont enjoy that style of music you at least have to give it to them...for a small town band they have worked hard and are doing good. An above post said that all their music sounds alike. That is true to an extent.. but most bands,allot of their music sounds alike. So thats hard to judge on. All i can say is ,"I cant wait untill seraphim comes back to my home town!"

[Combat Chuck]

Ah no, another person with the Mr. Burns....if only my avatar was working....fuck.

[guitarcb7]

Well there Combat are you happy....well are ya?

[Combat Chuck]

You bet I am bitch.

[Titan]

Funny that he chose a combat-esque avatar though.