Zeraphine is a German rock band from Berlin formed in 2000 by Sven Friedrich (vocals, programming, lead songwriting) and Norman Selbig (guitars) from the then-defunct Dreadful Shadows. 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 Bible's concepts of the seraph (or seraphim), 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