Interview for Kuravilu, October 2003
1. Thank you very much Tom for granting me this interview, and we want to congratulate you on the work that you have been realizing during all these years.
It's my pleasure to speak with you I assure you, and thank you for this opportunity as well as your support!
2. Epic Doom Metal, fabulous concept to define your music: what were the reasons or motives that led you to orientate your music to something so melancholy, moving and simultaneously heavy?
The music that I write is what comes naturally to me, and it is most commonly defined as Epic Doom Metal. Admittedly, it has a lot more in common with bands like Solitude Aeternus, Candlemass, and Solstice than a lot of other things, but I think (especially now) that we are moving beyond the confines of any particular genre, but there is no question that it remains Epic in sound and scope. This makes a lot of sense considering I grew up listening to bands like Candlemass, Fates Warning, Bathory, Manowar, and Iron Maiden…that's what's in my blood. The reason a lot of our music is melancholic or even completely hopeless is because it's derived from traumatic events and experiences in my life.
3. Investigating the beginnings of the band, I was surprised by the great quantity of changes in alignment that you have had during all these years. Do you believe that finally you have found with your new partners the ideal and definitive formation for what WHW will be in the future?
We have been through quite a few people haven't we? (laughing) To be honest, I can't ever really be sure that any line-up will ever last as far as this band is concerned, but there is no question that this is the ideal formation in terms of vision, chemistry, and ability. While we don't always agree about everything, generally it can be said that everyone really does feel and believe in the music we are playing, unlike some of the previous incarnations where I was truly alone. Probably one of the most important facets of the current line-up is the fact that we are all really good friends outside of the band too, and that helps to insure some degree of solidity. I wouldn't be surprised if some years from now that this line-up is considered the definitive one, and I certainly hope we'll continue to work together for many years. At the very least, we'll record the 2 CD's we have scheduled for release in the next couple of years!
4. Your participation in other bands such as Arise From Thorns is also known, and it is inevitable to extract you for a few brief moments from talking about WHW to discuss your participation in the legendary British band Solstice. Really we never knew with accuracy the real motives behind the sad dissolution of the band in its years of climax. What unleashed everything?
Well, I'd actually already been out of the band for a couple years before they broke up, but having maintained regular contact with Rich, I can tell you what transpired in the final days of Solstice. First of all, Solstice, like many of us faced much adversity in their homeland and in the industry in general, which always weighs heavily on one's heart, mind, and soul. Fighting valiantly for years against this, and certainly claiming quite a bit of ground, Rich ultimately found himself standing alone, as the rest of the members did not share his convictions. Already disheartened and embittered after a series of betrayals and misfortunes, Rich decided to dissolve the band once he realized the rest of the group's interest had waned (or never was there to begin with). It was certainly a sad day for Doom Metal, but Rich was already working on his other project Isen Torr which is much more NWOBHM oriented, but no less Epic (and the debut vinyl EP will be out soon!).
5. Pleasant news is the regrouping of Solstice, a sign that Epic Doom Metal is reborn from the ashes. How did this come to be? Will we have news of a new album soon, and tell me how do you manage to be employed by two bands from such distant lands?
After only a couple months of the breakup of the last Solstice line-up, Rich resolved to reform the band with people he could count on, that believed in the music as much as he did. So he called upon members from various bands (as he did for Isen Torr), including myself, the only current member having any history of working with Solstice. I accepted the offer to join Solstice once again because I felt like we never realized our full potential during our previous collaboration (1995-1997), and I've always loved the music…plus, Rich is brethren to me. Thus, the line-up was fleshed out with the addition of Greg Haa (The Lord Weird Slough Feg) on drums, Jim Hunter (WHW/Twisted Tower Dire/Revelation) on bass, Scott Waldrop (Twisted Tower Dire/ex-WHW) on guitar, and myself on vocals, with Rich handling guitars and the majority of the composition. As for a new album, I really have no idea; right now Rich and I are planning to demo at least one new song by ourselves before the end of this year, and the only planned release for Solstice in the foreseeable future is the "To Sol A Thane" vinyl EP. The way we're handling the ocean between us is by sending CDR's back and forth through the mail for the time being, and we'll rehearse then record here in the States when the time comes. Solstice is not that much of a demand on anyone's time right now, as we're all focusing on the latest releases from our respective bands, and in Rich's case he's also promoting the new titles from his label, The Miskatonic Foundation. Fear not! The time will come when all of our focus is on Solstice exclusively, and you can expect nothing less than bastard heavy, arcane, Epic Doom Metal!
6. I'm sorry for having extracted you from WHW (I am much thrilled by the comeback of Solstice he he) let's return to the principal topic of the interview.
No worries, I know a lot of people are curious about the goings-on of Solstice, and I'm just as excited as you are about it.
7. "Of Empire Forlorn" the latest great production of the band…what can I say about this disc…it's really surprising; to be honest I never imagined when listening to your previous works that this would come hereinafter … wow!! (To me, the disc of the year!!) Tell me how the ideas and concepts were born and achieved on this simply outstanding disc?
Originally, we were going to release a MCD on The Miskatonic Foundation that contained a couple new songs, a cover and one old song re-recorded, but Rich kept pressing me for more new songs and eventually he wanted a full-length album of all-new material. I tried to appease him by adding some new songs, but being that I had very definite vision of the release, I refused to omit the material that was to be re-recorded. Ultimately, we agreed that WHW should pursue other options for the release of "Empires," which ironically did end up being a full-length. We subsequently re-aligned ourselves with Italy's Eibon Records (who released our 1998 album "Sorrow Of The Angels") and developed the material once the line-up was in place, and Mauro was on board as co-executive producer. As for the songs themselves, they came together or evolved throughout 2001 primarily, and we entered the studio early in 2002. Throughout the sessions, the album took on a life of its own and we allowed it to grow into whatever it would become. We did not spare any expense or cut any corner in the realization of this album, thus it's the most accurate recording WHW has ever produced. Every last detail as far as the subtle nuances in the songs to the overall flow of the album was intentional, essentially the brainchild of Jim Hunter and myself. Regarding the topics of the songs and such, the scope widened from our past endeavors, which focused strictly upon one particular relationship's demise, whereas the "Empires" album covers a plethora of events, circumstances, and relationships.
8. On this album there are two topics that attract my attention for epic, obvious reasons, "Of Empires Forlorn" and "Voice In The Wind." What inspired you to compose these two real anthems of melancholy?
Those are two very different songs lyrically and musically; "Of Empires Forlorn" is a crushingly heavy, densely orchestrated, mid-tempo Epic in the vein of "Viking-era" Bathory, whereas "Voice In The Wind" is my adaptation of a sparse, somber ballad inspired by the original song done by the obscure 70's German band Jane. I don't really want to unravel the mysteries behind the lyrics of "Empires," but I will say that they refer to 3 separate circumstances/groups of people that once were very close to me specifically, yet they also have more general meanings as well. "Voice In The Wind" on the other hand, is interesting because it sounds almost nothing like the original 1977 song, as I created a new vocal melody, lyrics, and all of the instrumental parts…only the title and basic keyboard progression (which too is actually altered) remain intact. The original song actually sounded like While Heaven Wept to me, so it was an obvious choice for us to interpret, but none of us expected it to turn out as powerfully as it did. Eventually, we will release a 7" with our version and an exact cover of the original as the B-side.
9. The followers of real Doom Metal consider "Of Empires Forlorn" to be one of the best discs of the year 2003. In your opinion, does it deserve this honor?
I'm very pleased with the album to make an understatement; it truly is the most accurate realization of what I originally heard in my head out of anything I've ever done with any band. We worked very hard on it, and invested a lot of time, money, blood, sweat and tears, so we're obviously elated by the reception it's been granted. It's not my place to say whether or not it is one of the best albums of the year, but it's definitely the best album we could make, and in my opinion, the best album While Heaven Wept has ever produced. What else I can say is that there really isn't anything else out there right now that sounds like this album, and I can't complain about that! Only time will tell how important this album is in the grand scheme of things.
10. Tell me about the distribution of this disc under the Italian label Eibon records? Have you had more tantalizing offers to promote and to distribute While Heaven Wept in a much wider capacity from some important labels in Europe?
Of the two releases we've had on Eibon Records, "Empires" has been distributed far more widely, and this is also the first time we've had a large amount of promo CD's pressed too. I am very, very happy with the effort Mauro has put into this release, from the beautiful layout to the promotion and distribution of it. I couldn't ask for more personally, but considering the fact that we self-financed the recording as a group, and it cost A LOT more than we'd originally anticipated we decided to entertain any offers that happened to come our way. As it turns out, we had quite a few offers from various sized labels in both the US and Europe, but the absolute best came from the UK label Rage Of Achilles, who we licensed "Empires" to after 6 long months of negotiation and deliberation. The ROA version of the album is slated for release on October 27, 2003 in the UK as well as their North American distributor, and it already appears that "Empires" will be receiving a lot more attention and much wider distribution. We do however still need to find labels in South America, Asia, the Eastern Block of Europe, and Australia that would be interested in licensing the album from us directly, so any interested parties should get in touch with me!
11. In a previous edition of our Webzine, we had the privilege of interviewing Leif from Candlemass. We asked him about his opinion on the current Doom bands and he pointed out to us that they were shit (I'm sure that he never listened to WHW and Solstice hahaha). Thinking like this makes him seem like a real monster inside the worldwide Doom Metal scene. What is your opinion of his declarations?
I actually spoke to Leif personally back in May, and he said something pretty similar to me as a matter of fact. I do understand his perspective that no one is doing anything new or exciting within the Doom scene, as much of it is highly derivative, but obviously there are those who ARE pushing the boundaries a bit. So I agree with that much, but there are plenty of bands that perform their music with such conviction…I cannot say that they are all shit. Even if none of these bands are totally revolutionary, there is no denying the quality or conviction of bands like The Reverend Bizarre, Orodruin, Doomshine, Spiritus Mortis, Minotauri, Thunderstorm, The Doomsday Cult, or Voodooshock. I know a lot of people probably took offense to Leif's statement, or were at least disappointed, but I completely understand feeling jaded or burnt out by the 800 zillion bands out there (with only a handful breaking new ground)!
12. Well, snooping on the future of While Heaven Wept, are you preparing new material?
Yes, we began working on new material even before we started recording "Empires!" I don't want to clearly define it just yet, as it's still evolving, but it definitely continues to diversify even beyond "Empires." Some of the material is the fastest and most aggressive that we've ever performed, but at the same time other songs are among the most spacious and beautiful, so it's going to be yet another Epic and boundary-defying journey. At this point in time, we're planning to release it under the long-discussed "Vast Oceans Lachrymose" title, but that is certainly subject to change.
13. What can we expect from WHW this next year? Do you hope to surpass what you've already realized?
We're going to continue promoting the "Empires" album first and foremost in every possible Metal publication, on our European tour in the spring, and through a few US dates in the summer. There will also be a vinyl pressing of the album, and a couple 7" singles are also likely. Other than that, we'll keep rehearsing the new material, and hopefully return to the studio at the end of the year (we're also re-recording the "Sorrow Of The Angels" album which is out of print with a fair amount of bonus material too!).
14. Talking about live presentations, what can you tell us?
Well, as I was saying, we'll be heading to Europe in the spring to perform in Greece, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Belgium, and The Netherlands to name a few locations, including three festival appearances: Athenian Metal Night, Doom Shall Rise II, and Belgian Doom Night (headlining in all three cases). After that, we're planning at least one appearance in Canada too. In all cases, we'll be performing material from all the albums past, present, and future…and with as much energy, conviction, and power as we can muster! We'd love to arrange a show or tour of South America as well, but as I mentioned, we don't have a label down there, and I'm not even sure if we have distribution! Needless to say, we can be contacted directly about any of these issues.
15. Ok master, we will not take any more time from you, and indeed we are very grateful for offering us some of your valuable time. I hope for the best for the band and to you personally in 2004 and certainly to Solstice.
Thank you my friend for this opportunity to express myself, for your support, and wishes. All are very much appreciated. For more information on While Heaven Wept, we invite anyone who is interested to peruse our websites www.whileheavenwept.net and www.mp3.com/whw. We can also be contacted directly through plomerus@hotmail.com. Or via snail mail at While Heaven Wept, c/o Tom Phillips, 4809 Lockwood Lane, Dale City, Virginia 22193, USA.
Doom onward!