There were plenty of buzz-saw guitar riffing and smoke inhalation at hand during local metal band Exseraphim’s Sunday night show at High Five Bar and Grill on 1227 N. High St. on the corner of High and Fifth Avenue, along with bands Dismal, Body and Kenshiro.

Ohio State students Ross Wilson, a graduate student in biochemistry, and Chris Gifford, a senior in anthropology, front the band on guitar and bass guitar, respectively. Other members of the band are Adam Boehme on drums and Eliot Hodgson on guitar.

To set the mood, Exseraphim cranked up the smoke machine to fill the room with an eerie haze. Although the haze did not last for long periods of time, the audience was amused every time a fresh puff of smoke was blown into their faces.

What the band lacked in timing was made up in enthusiasm and humor. Gifford and Wilson spoke in raspy metal voices between songs while Gifford let his long, dark, curly tendrils of hair flail as he banged his head to the music. Boehme struggled to keep up with the fast pace while sweat dripped to the floor.

Wilson said the topics for the bands lyrics range from vampirism, suicide, Judgment Day and dragons to anthropology, natural selection and love-scorned elves.

Gifford said he describes Exseraphim as “the thinking man’s death metal,” and cites influences like Slayer, Carcass, Undying, Exhumed, Venom and Megadeath.

“My influence is alcohol,” Boehme said.

Releases from the band include a demo in 2002 entitled “Dismantling the Heavens,” a 2003 demo “Basement Defacement: One Take, No Restraint” and a self-titled full-length album in 2004. Also in the near future, “Chris is coming out of the closet,” Boehme said.

Although busy with school and work, Wilson said the things that keep him going are the “money, women and pizza.” When asked how they handle attention from the ladies, Gifford said “one at a time.”

“In five years I see myself on a pile of money,” Boehme said. Wilson said, “In the future, I predict that I will be gold-plated.”

Fan and friend of the band, Kara Mae Brown, a 2004 OSU graduate, said she likes Exseraphim but “their name is really stupid.”