Interview with Dark Spirit In A Candle, November 2003
As for a beginning, it's a bit ticklish to tackle some questions about your band, Tom, While Heaven Wept - without taking into account something that distinguishs your evolution - I mean the frequent unsteadying of the lineup - [ even if unfortunatly it's also the case for lots of bands -] as well as some other external problems which stand in the way of your musical process - Could we say that While Heaven Wept is a phoenix ?
Well, aside from occasional vacations if you will, WHW has been ongoing for the past 14 years despite all the line-up changes and such, so I wouldn't say we are a phoenix as much as veteran soldiers!
As we're talking about the line-up and stuff like that, and as your new line-up includes people involved into other bands as well as yourself, isn't it too difficult to manage all things linked with the life into the band - I mean rehearsals, recording sessions, live performances, things dealing with the promotion ?
We manage to communicate really well with the other bands (Twisted Tower Dire, Revelation, Brave, etc.) so that there aren't scheduling conflicts. Generally every band has their specific practice days, and we plan tours, recordings, and everything else really far in advance.
Are you still into the british Solstice? Was it a fortune for you to play with them?
Solstice and WHW have been interrelated for a long time, being that both bands perform Epic Doom Metal, and I am a member of both. Originally, I sang with them from 1995-1997, but because of various logistical and financial problems, I stayed in the US and carried on with WHW, who were at the time preparing our debut full-length. Just last year when Rich decided to resurrect Solstice, he asked me to rejoin, and I am very glad to have another opportunity to do something with them, because our first collaboration never really fulfilled the possibilities.
Still linked with the line-up - by reading your biography, we could also notice that - although you're the solitary "keeper of the keys" into WHW there's also someone that was frequently by your side into the band - Jon Paquin - How did you come to work together into WHW?
I met Jon in college in 1992, and at the time WHW's previous drummer James Wharton left the band to get married and focus on family life. I discovered that Jon was an incredible drummer who was playing in a local death metal band called Parasitic Infestation. It turned out that they needed another guitarist, and I ended up joining them so that I could continue playing music while searching for the next WHW drummer. Chad Peevy, then bassist for WHW also joined Parasitic, and we started playing lots of gigs rather swiftly. I asked Jon if he would do the drums on the first proper WHW recording, and he essentially joined as a favor to me. He ended up playing with us for about 8 years !
Why did he finally choose to let the band?
When we first started playing together, I think we were more emotionally and musically aligned - we had quite a few really magical moments, but towards the end of our collaboration, Jon was becoming more and more despondent and unreliable - not showing up for rehearsals, etc. Basically Jon couldn't handle the intensely negative emotions entwined through the music at the time, as he was dealing with quite a few personal problems outside of the band. Additionally, he really wanted to do other things musically all along; as I said, he only joined as a personal favor to me, being one of my best friends and whatnot. He definitely wanted to play more upbeat, rocking music or full on jazz. I can say that he's developed into quite a monster jazz drummer that's for sure ! Jon is still one of my closest friends, and probably the best drummer I know anywhere, but I just don't think we can function well within the boundaries of WHW. It's always possible that he may play with us again, but its more likely that I'll be involved with one of his projects instead. It was pretty hard to part ways with him, but it was a mutual decision, and for the best in the end.
Concerning to your monicker - did you especially dwell on this special name cos it was pretty designful to include it into a drawing , a logo or is there any other reason, more poetical or phonetical one?
While Heaven Wept comes from the events of a particular day, actually described in the lyrics of the song 'Sorrow Of The Angels.' Basically, on a clear, sunny day in October 1990, I received a letter from my estranged beloved that said 'she had just given up' and that she 'wasn't the only one in the world' - but she was to me. I was completely gutted...tears streaming from my eyes...on my knees, overcome with grief and helplessness. At that very moment, the sky turned black and burst into tears, as if empathetic to my pain. Thus, with a kiss I died while heaven wept.
Psychotherapeuts, psychiatrics and all this people working to make us feel better with ourselves insist since a few years on the fact that music is a very cureful remedy for our blossom - and more and more they develop into their programs what is now called musicotherapy - Don't know so much how work the things in the Usa [ ? ? ? ? ] but as you seem to be well concern by this approach as well as most of who listen to music, do you think we should - in our material societies - develop all things linked with unmaterial things, something to feed our souls, and in this aim, propose to our governments subventions, various helps to protect all artistic domains in view of balancing the external difficulties and the inner ill-at-ease, each one having some benefits in this deal ?
I totally advocate any movements that implement music and art for any purposes, and I can tell you exactly how powerful a remedy music is for me personally; when everything else failed me, friends, family, religion, philosophy, psycology, drugs (etc.), I ultimately found my solace in the music that was within and around me the whole time ! That's where I found an answer to every question that was plaguing me in my time of despair. There are songs that I can empathize with on every level, so I didn't feel as alone, and also I knew music would never abandon me. I consume and compose so much music of all varieties...it really has become my religion ! Over the years, many people have written to me about how much the music of WHW means to them, saying I was expressing exactly what they are feeling, and I have to tell you there is nothing more gratifying than knowing my music helps people to not feel alone anymore. Apart from the fact that I do it out of necessity for myself, this aspect is one of the main reasons WHW is still together.
Eh Tom, tell us... Sorrow of the Angels has been composed into several times since 1995 but achieved in 1997 - Why did you take so much time to complete this special track?... Didn't it correspond with what you felt and heard inside at this time ?
Really, all of the songs released prior to 2003 are continually evolving as if they really were my children. Sometimes this evolution is very slight, as in the case of "Sorrow Of The Angels", and others quite extreme - 'In Aeternum' for example. Really, the main reason I've recorded several of the songs numerous times is because either the production or the performance (or both) was lacking in one way or another. My goal is to accurately realize exactly what I hear in my head for every song I write ultimately. It's not a problem to convey the right emotions, because they are so powerful to begin with, but achieving the exact sound I envision is not always as easy, especially in the earlier days when we were limited by time, experience, and money. Now, I refuse to spare any expense, and we don't cut corners at all, even though we are still entirely self-financed.
Are you satisfied now?
Speaking strictly of that song, absolutely... we finally got it right. "In Aeternum" (the bonus track on the Rage Of Achilles pressing) however still needs a little bit of work, but its pretty damn close in my opinion. All that remains for us to do now is the re-recording of the Sorrow Of The Angels material, then we will never re-visit these older songs again. Apart from personal satisfaction, which is paramount, everything released before 2002 is completely out-of-print, and I don't want those songs to vanish in total obscurity !
Sorrow of the Angels has been released in 1998 and exclusively produced by Mauro Berchi, also involved in a time into Ras Algheti , still leader into Canaan and boss of Eibon records - How did you come to this relationship according to some professionnal or more personal points or tastes?
I've known Mauro since the very first Ras Algethi demo, and we've had a very special bond ever since, both on an emotional and ideological level, so when he decided to start Eibon, we were one of the first bands after Canaan to align ourselves with them. Part of that is because of the connection Mauro and I have, and furthermore, because he was a friend and a fan, I knew I could trust him completely. I've always appreciated the fact that he only releases music he truly loves, and has never been concerned with financial gain. That's why he chooses to invest in elaborate packaging, rather than promotion and such...he releases works of art out of love and appreciation strictly. Canaan and WHW have always been sister acts, that essentially complete one another, and all the empathy and mutual admiration insures a lasting collaboration, even with While Heaven Wept now affiliated with Rage Of Achilles.
You're distributed via Eibon in Italy but not signed cos you own your label - Vast Music Lachrymose - I guess cos of some financial, creative reasons - Isn't it too difficult to deal with some various and numerous activities even if they deal with the band?
Sure it's pretty exhausting and otherwise time-consuming to be the composer, spokesman, producer, promoter and performer... not to mention the main financial contributor to WHW, but it's far more gratifying to handle things personally; we have a lot more control in every department than bands that rely on their labels for everything, plus this way, we really are responsible for our own success and failure. I've always come from the 'do it yourself' ideology, and a lot of that came from my work with Parasitic Infestation, who had a very independent attitude like that. Generally, it is a much harder road to travel, but its pretty damn gratifying when things go well !
"Of empires forlorn" undoubtly is a great album and doomers highly spoke of this album - You confirm?
The response has been almost universally extremely positive, even outside the boundaries of the doom metal scene. There have only been a couple exceptions, where the reviewer clearly didn't get what the album was all about, and panned it as a Candlemass imitation, which couldn't be further from the truth ! I've determined that 'Empires' really is an album that is either completely adored or totally rejected, which is fine with me. The most important thing is that I am very satisfied with the realization of this album, and really this is literally the first instance out of everything I've recorded with any band that I can say this.
You said to me the album will be released in Germany next 16 th February 2004 - So when could we expect it to be distributed here in our music shops, mail order catalogs , Tom ?
It should be available from French stores and distros around the same time. Rage Of Achilles will be exclusively distributed by Listenable in France, but apparently they are sorting out some logistics at the moment, so we don't have an exact date just yet. However, as I said you should be able to find it everywhere in the early part of 2004. In the meantime, the album is available now directly from Rage Of Achilles in the UK and The End Records in the US.
What can we expect for in terms of packaging,etc?
The Rage Of Achilles pressing is in the standard jewel box, and has the song "In Aeternum" instead of the Eibon bonus track "From Empires To Oceans". The packaging was designed Mauro from Eibon, and is based on the original digipak in some capacity. An important note is that the ROA version features a completely new mix and was also totally re-mastered, so it is actually a different release altogether.
One of the most striking points by listening to "Of empires forlorn" is your particularly fucking good and effective sound - respecting all the relief of your compositions - How did you work on your sound ?
We spent a lot of time listening to the mixes on numerous sets of speakers, at home and in the studio, and supplemented that with some serious headphone analysis. This album is definitely designed for both headphone listening and high volume speaker play!
As you were involved into the mixing for some other productions, did you advice things for the mix? ....for engineering things, did you discuss a lot about your sound or did you perfectly know how you wanted the album to sound? Have you played with your usual instruments or no?
We've been developing our now signature sound for all these years really, and the main aspects to it are the dense arrangements and relatively huge size of it. We spent a lot of time in pre-production planning our approach for this material, and analyzed every last, minute detail throughout the entire recording process. I literally have 42 separate CDR's that document the evolution of this album! We did everything we possibly could considering the limitations of self-financing the whole recording, and we definitely achieved exactly what Jim and I intended for this album. And yes, most of the instruments we used were in fact our regular gear, apart from one extra guitar and a couple of the many keyboards we used.
The album seems to be as a necklace, built around some samples of ocean - Is this album a conceptual one?
It's really more thematic than conceptual, because not all of the songs are related to the same subjects. Abstractly, you could percieve the album having a storyline proper, but that really was incidental. It's difficult to include some samples into tracks - especially in metal i think - cos it could sometimes appear as being artificial , not so much connected with the compositions - but it's not your case! - how did you think of their place into the tracks? Smoking a lot of marijuana! Seriously! That's why there are all these wild panning effects, trancial layers, and the samples! Total head candy! That's why you have to listen to it on headphones for all the nuances! Basically Jim and I spent a lot of nights discussing all the crazy things we heard while listening to some of the early rough mixes, and we implemented every one of those ideas ultimately! Wait until you hear the next album! (Laughing)
"Of empires forlorn" is various concerning to the atmospheres - from epic doom-metal to more neoclassical track as the melancholic but also introspective beautiful ' From empires to oceans ' - with some moments not so far from Solitude Aeternus, Candlemass - Does it reflect your deep influences and tastes?
Absolutely. We wanted to create an album that has elements of all our influences, and to be honest, I don't know why nobody else has done something like this already ! I mean, there really is nothing else out there right now that sounds exactly like 'Of Empires Forlorn.' Probably the closest references would be some old progressive rock from the 70's like Pulsar or Grobschnitt, but obviously we are a lot heavier and more epic. I certainly can't complain about being distinct from all the other bands we are often related to!
I heard you already worked on the track "Of empires forlorn" when you were into Solstice some years ago - Right?
Yes, originally when this song was developing, I was still a member of Solstice at the time, and I thought it was right in line with the direction we were taking at that time...heading more towards Manowar/Bathory/NWOBHM territory than doom. The song wasn't finished until after I'd left Solstice though, so we kept it for WHW instead.
Did you think at this time this track was more in adequation with While Heaven Wept's universe than with Solstice's one?
"Of Empires Forlorn" is definitely an indication of where we are now and also what to expect in the future in some capacity. What's really interesting is the fact that Solstice, who on the 'New Dark Age' album was heading in more of a purely epic metal direction (while WHW was clearly 100% doom), are now returning to our Epic Doom Metal roots, while WHW is heading into more epic and aggressive areas!
You took some times to study more specific genre into the music as classical music - so, do you have some lust to keep on melting this new genre with your metal ones in WhW in the future ? or do you think of a parallel project dedicated to more neoclassical side, apart While Heaven Wept?
There's absolutely no reason why WHW cannot incorporate more orchestral music into our sound. It's in there already; all of the songs are scored in classical fashion, we implement compositional techniques like counterpoint and such, and the keyboards for example are composed in a chorale form. If I were to start another project, it would either be completely different from WHW, probably more like old American and British hard rock, or it would be very similar to WHW, with less boundaries (with various vocal styles, really fast parts, etc.).
Into ' Of Empires Forlorn' , you made a cover from Candlemass' s "Ancient Dreams" - "Epistle no 81" - Why this special cover ?
I've just always had a particular affinity for 'Epistle' and it is in part, a tribute to Candlemass, even though they didn't write it either. I thought it was a good idea to opt for something more obscure rather than a more obvious choice like 'Solitude' or 'Samarithan.' I've wanted to my own version of the Carl Michael Bellman piece for years, so we finally realized that ambition. I'm for the most part pleased with our interpretation, which was done with the utmost respect, even if the tempo is a bit faster than the Candlemass version. At least it sounds more natural and not as stiff.
Is there any link between this cover and the other tracks?
Not particularly. It simply fit in perfectly within the ebb and flow of the album, exactly in the order that it appears.
Your lyrics reflect your experiences, moments of life, hard times and wanders - Could we say that While Heaven Wept is your flesh and blood , implying that musicians working with you must understand how work things?
I suppose some degree of understanding where I'm coming from is necessary, but just because I've composed everything we've released so far, and the fact that I'm the only founding member left doesn't mean we aren't a democratic entity. Everyone brings their own ideas to the table, and we at least try them all out, and then decide what is best collectively, on a song by song basis. I've always encouraged the other members past and present to contribute some material to the band, but usually they've already got their hands full with their other projects. We're trying out some of their ideas right now as a matter of fact. To be honest, I would be pretty happy if they wrote more often, because having me alone doing it is pretty damn demanding on me emotionally and physically! I think everyone involved with the band now understands what is and what isn't meant for the WHW sound. On a side note, I'd have to say good communication, personal chemistry, talent, willingness to learn, and affinity for the music are the real prerequisites for becoming a member of WHW.
Do you think your music could have been less effective if the lyrics were less meaningful with regard to your intimacy?
I don't think this music would exist at all without my need for catharsis and emotional expression! I imagine if it weren't so personal and honest that it would be as soulless as most of these bands that play doom for the sake of doom, which we do not do at all. We always play what we feel, and nothing less.
Your musical world is sorrowful, honnest, touching and I could find so much positive adjectives to qualify it ...- and it's not to criticize bands as Motley Crue , Poison, or stuff like that J - but isn't the doom genre one of the ideal one to express in a so meaningful and efficient way sorrow, sadness, melancholy .... How is your vision of doom genre? scene? do you prefer some specific ones into the doom or do you like them all?
As with any genre of music, there are bands that are stellar and those who are shite. I prefer those with heart, that play this music out of need, rather than want. There are some who do what they do as a tribute to Sabbath or Saint Vitus, and that's fine provided they perform with enough conviction, and hopefully inject some of their own personality into it as well, like The Reverend Bizarre or Orodruin for example...two of my personal favorites, and brethren bands. I'm not nearly as active as I was even a year ago with the doom scene because of all the infighting and such. I do have many of the same views of the old school True Doom bands, but essentially, if I don't like something I simply don't listen to it, rather than attacking bands and people. I think there has been some sheer idiocy displayed on both sides really. Needless to say, I prefer bands like Dawn Of Winter, Reverend Bizarre, Thunderstorm, Doomshine and such, as opposed to slow death metal bands. I do like the early Peaceville albums, particulary Autopsy and Paradise Lost, but for the most part bands of that ilk do nothing for me. There are exceptions like Mourning Beloveth for example, and I do like some of the funeral doom bands, but clearly they are slow death metal bands; if you removed the violins, keyboards, and other trimmings, there would be nothing doom at all about most of them, even with depressing lyrics. True doom is true emotion that permeates everything from the melodies to the riffs to the overall atmosphere, and I'd have to say the opening sequence of 'Black Sabbath' and the mellotron dirges of early King Crimson are the true embodiment of doom. I will say these drone bands are the absolute worst thing that's ever happened...its not doom...its not even music...its fucking noise. Anyone that feels differently can go back to sipping wine while listening to Opeth and commenting on the "artistic qualities" of that shit, because you won't convince me otherwise. Anyway, like I said, after all the drama and bullshit that's transpired, I try to have as little involvement as possible these days. I have friends on both sides of the doom coin, but I'd rather align myself with bands that truly have similar qualities to WHW, like Doomsword, Battleroar, Twisted Tower Dire, and Battle Ram for example.
I was saying to Adrian Jackson from My Dying Bride last year that they were as The Bronte; sisters of the doom british scene - mmm even including Hamish J - and he answered me in the usual humor tone of the band that they didn't wear so much dresses as hers - and you? Do you?
I'm pretty confident that MDB have more dresses and make up in their wardrobe than your average fashion show. (laughing hysterically) Oh wait...are you asking if WE wear dresses ? Nope, only denim and leather here J .
More seriously, by listening to your epic doom and by looking in your covers , i thought you were close to a true romantic spirit - a black none -as it 's in our books from the 19 century - so do you feel close to it?
I do actually, because I am a very emotional wayfarer, a vagabond with a big heart and fire in my eyes. Plus, there are many extra-musical aspects to WHW, which is typical of Romantic Period art and music. I personally feel that the most beautiful and emotional artistic expressions of all time can be found in the words of Shelley and Byron, the music of Chopin and Faure, and many of the paintings from that time as well.
Does it drive your life and compositions , creativity?
Well aside from following my heart wherever it leads me...you know, actually I think it does now that you mention it. I've never really thought about it that way. I was going to say there was less of an emphasis on Romantic stylings in the more recent lyrics for example, which are more in the Robert Frost mold occassionally, but the the way that I approach life is very much in the Romantic tradition. Very interesting to think about.
Concerning to the live performances, you probably will be in Europe next year - Could you give us more infos about your tourdates? Guest or not?
Sure, we are scheduled to arrive at the beginning of April now. Originally we were going to start the tour in March, but because of some logistical problems that is no longer possible, which unfortunately means we will not make the dates in Greece, Hungary, and Austria. We are however rescheduling Greece for the autumn, after festival season is over. Anyway, we'll be performing numerous shows in Germany, and a couple dates in The Netherlands and Belgium ultimately. We'll have Mourning Beloveth and Pantheist with us for the German dates, and then Officium Trise, Esoteric, and Whispering Gallery for those remaining. Then, after a few shows in North America over the summer, we'll return to Greece in most likely September, and hopefully we'll have some bands like Battleroar, Wotan, Holy Martyr, Thunderstorm, Doomsword, and Raging Storm performing with us.
Have you some festivals scheduled?
Nothing like Wacken, Grasspop, or Donnington! Yet! We are however headling one night of Doom Shall Rise II, and one night of Belgian Doom Nights. Oh, I can give you the dates for those: DSR is April 2 and 3, BDN is April 9 and 10 - WHW is performing the first night of DSR, and the second of BDN. We're in The Netherlands on the 9th and 11th, and in Germany all the other dates. Then in June, we're perfoming in Canada at the Northern Lights festival, sponsored by Unrestrained magazine. I'd like to also mention that we would love to play all the countries we're missing this time at some point in the future, so promoters should not hesitate in contacting us!
As most of your last productions are no more available, and as you deserve more and more credit , do you think of re-releasing some of them or do you think i's not time to do things ? Was it on a purpose way - refering to the traditional doom scene - you choose a special format for your last stuff - or not?
Well, being that I'm not satisfied with the old productions at all, we're simply going to re-record the most important songs at our new studio of choice (Assembly Line Studios), and disperse them into new releases, aside from the fact that we will re-record and re-release the 'Sorrow Of The Angels' album complete, with bonus songs that date back to that era. All of the releases prior to the ROA pressing of 'Empires' were limited editions, and are for the most part out-of-print, and they will stay that way. It has nothing to do with being 'cult' or something; the reason most of those old releases were limited was because that is how the various labels wanted to handle things. Besides, vinyl has a very limited market anyway, and like I said, I've never been happy with any of the old productions, so I asked Mauro to allow 'Sorrow Of The Angels' lapse into obscurity. I knew I'd be re-recording it from day one actually. At least this makes all of those old releases very special and probably fairly valuable for our longtime fans!
Is there any luck to see a new release of your compilation - ' Chapter one -1989 -1999 - published in 2002 by Metal Supremacy records under a new format - I mean a cd one? Or could it be considered as a collector piece by now?
Nope, you're pretty much out of luck unless you get the vinyl pressing, because as I've said, that material is never going to be widely available again in its original form. The only reason I even allowed it to be released by Metal Supremacy was because I collect vinyl myself, and most of the material on that Anthology was never available in that format before.
How are the things with ' Vast Oceans Lachrymose?
The material is definitely coming along. We actually had a large portion of it written before we even entered the studio to record "Empires", but since I do have a very distinct vision for every release, none of it was included. Besides, some of it was brand new, and Jason our drummer only had 3 months to learn all the material as it is. Anyway, I thought we more or less had the whole album ready to rehearse and record, but I've decided it's best to continue developing more material so we have plenty to choose from when it comes time to realize it in the studio.
When can we expect it to be released?
It's looking like a 2005 release at the moment considering we have the upcoming tour and various live shows for the first three quarters of 2004, and only after all of that will we focus 100% on the 'V.O.L.' material.
What can we expect for as well as in terms of musical atmospheres as sound?
It's going to be another diverse affair along the lines of 'Empires,' but surely even more so. The material varies quite a bit; some of the songs are among the fastest and most aggressive I've ever written...coming across not unlike Manowar/Bathory meets Holy Terror or something like that, others are very spacial and orchestrated... some of the most beautiful melodies I've ever composed, many seem to be instantaneously memorable. We're not abandoning doom completely, but because we play what we feel, it reflects where we are now personally and emotionally...so for example, my frustration with the doom scene has lead to more aggressive music. There are some very doomed songs still pending, that I need to realize at some point, but I'm not sure if they will appear on 'V.O.L.' or not; basically the subjects of them are the very personal, and things that will never go away... it just depends on whether or not the music fits in schematically with everything else. There will be a lot more emphasis on the instrumental passages of 'V.O.L.' too by the way - we've never really cut loose like this on an album before, so that should be quite enjoyable. When all is said and done, you can expect the music will be very epic and powerful on this album, but otherwise, expect the unexpected!
One of the most famous sentences by Nieszche is - What not kills you makes you stronger - Do you think that you're stronger by now or paradoxically more sensitive due to the experiences with what's around you? or the both?
I've always been rather sensitive to things being a man of the heart, but I would absolutely say that I'm stronger for having endured what I have and lived to tell about it. I'm very proud of my progression as a person, as well as the progression of the music. Mind you, there are a lot of things that I never asked or wanted to know, but when all is said and done, knowledge is indeed worth the torment of obtaining it, and wisdom can be found in all things good and bad.
If all is well, would you still be a musician?
Yes, music is my everything really, but if everything in my life was in order, and all was well, While Heaven Wept probably won't exist. But are things ever perfect? I'm certainly happier today than I've probably ever been, but there are still a lot of negative things that I carry with me and deal with on a day to day basis. Needless to say, if it ever feels like I have nothing more to say through WHW, then we shall be no more, however the music is me, and I am it, so I'd certainly pursue something else musically that is honest and accurate to who I am at the time.
We could notice there are lots of angels on ur covers, universe as well as stuff related to heaven hell etc....and we could say - but of course it's only a personal vision - but most of the time heaven isn't so far from hell - and i'ts also quite difficult to see clear in all this - As you're closer to this worlds, why is your own vision into WHW?
I certainly agree with your statement first of all, because I believe in equilibrium wholeheartedly, not in the least because I am a true gemini! Yin and Yang, Heaven and Hell, black and white...none could exist without the other there to define it. That's one of the reasons why 'Empires' comes across as an aural paradox in some capacity, with deep hopelessness juxtaposed against glorious triumph sonically. You see, by incorporating major keys and themes, the darker and sadder aspects are even more so than say on completely hopeless albums like "Sorrow Of The Angels", which is all funereal and minor keyed. Anyway, as for why there is so much religious imagery involved with WHW lyrically and visually, it's because they serve as powerful metaphors for the magnitudes of my emotions. So many people have deep-rooted religious convictions, and because of that we'll provoke a strong reaction. You should also note that most of our covers feature angels who are tortured, dying, piles of carnage... those cast out from Heaven. There are certain aspects of that related in the many of the lyrical dualities. The lyrics are quite complex actually, but completely natural, and revealed through revelation, just like the basic song structures musically.
What are you main and current themes when you write ur lyrics?
In the first decade, all of the lyrics referred to the demise of the relationship I spoke of early, when discussing the origin of our name. Those were written in three specific periods: in the immediate aftermath, a few months further past, and in retrospect years later. What I've come to realize is that really it was a healing process... and the cycle of bereavement. From shock, horror, and disbelief, to anger, to despair, and ultimately acceptance. There is an unreleased song from the "Sorrow Of The Angels" era called "To Grieve Forever" that is the completion of the entire circle really, and you'll get to hear that on the new version of that album (which incidentally should appear in 2005 as well). Anyway, basically with 'Empires' I began discussing a lot of things that have transpired in the succeeding years since that particular relationship ended some 13 years ago. The relationships, events, and circumstances I'm referring to on "Empires" are as recent as 2001, and as old as 1990 really. The lyrical themes on this album include addiction, despair, suicide, loneliness, betrayal, and even vengeance, although that is more inferred. 'Vast Oceans Lachrymose' will continue to run the gamut of topics as well, but again are all entirely real.
It was really a pleasure to discuss with you Tom and thanx for ur time, patience and of course music. Feel free to say anything you want now.
Thank you so much for this interesting and stimulating array of questions Elysia. I appreciate the opportunity you've given me to express myself and discuss WHW a bit. Also, if there are any French fans out there, thank you for your support as well...we'll see you someday I hope! Anyone that requires more information about WHW, or would like to contact the band may do so through www.whileheavenwept.net . 'Of Empires Forlorn' as I said is now available directly from www.rageofachilles.com , www.theendrecords.com , and it wouldn't hurt to check www.eibonrecords.com . I'll also encourage everyone to check out the great bands performing at DSR ( www.doomshallrise.tk ) and BDN! Doom Onward.....