Speed Of Light (SLOVAKIA) - 10/10
SERAPHIM from Taipei are quiet creative definitely. Because they release new CD every year and it's longer than a hour! It guilts also for the newcomer called "Ai".

"Ai" doesn't means Artificial Intelligence but the chinese expression for "love". The CD adorns perfect cover... In the band came to line-up change. The guitarist Evil Dan was replaced by Lucas. But I suppose that the guitar player change was not so meaningful concerning production. All tracks are also composed by Kessier.

After two original CD in power/speed genre with some black/death influences were two possibilities : the 3 . CD will be the same type as first two or something quiet different. The truth is "in between". The band uses the advances from first two albums (mostly guitars, drums), but the music became new "scandinavian" components

SERAPHIM are pretty oriented on Finland. Not only because the CD was mixed in Finnvox Studios again. But it's OK. The band won't to make the same album as previous (with death or black backing vocals), so that goes to some known areas. And the choose was right! The album has great sound, the instruments sounds made in Finnvox! The tracks are sophisticated, it's mix of "old production" with little of NIGHTWISH. Jax obtains less space in vocals, the opera voice of Pay is dominant. The "typical" changes is only in 1 track maybe and blackish voice is most rare. CD contains less "black metal" drums as in the past. It's clean nordic power/speed metal with SERAPHIM's originality.

The album contains pure speed metal tracks and also slower tracks where I am feeling the "Wishmaster" . But quiet all tracks have varied structure (the playing times over 6 minutes are common). The track contains f.e. speedy beginning, then mid-tempo, technical break then speed metal again, slowing, guitar solo and at the end speed again! This have one big advantage: CD is impossible to have listened in short time! It's not easy and non-variable music! The lyrics is really about love mostly, what is by this kind of music very untypical! In other metal ballads is similar lyrics but don't heard it in speed metal yet. For me is the new album of SERAPHIM the best what they made. Genial artwork of power/speed metal, which thrown down the glove to NIGHTWISH. The music is very technical, the band is running like machine! The album is total "profi", far before the last STRATOVARIUS works! It has power, isn't boring or commercial anyway! Thanx God it's without any modern parts! I recommend it to every metal fan. If the older works were little "strange" to you, the new CD wouldn't! For every melodic metal fan, the influences of black /death/Children of Bodom are quiet away!


Matej Kimlicka