Interview with Raging Steel, August 2002

A big mighty HAIL, Tom! I hope you are feeling more optimistic at the moment, than your music sounds?

Things are certainly looking up right now; the band is hard at work rehearsing material for live performances and recordings, we are nearing the completion if the current album "Of Empires Forlorn," the advance single for "The Drowning Years" is about to be sent off to the pressing plant, and our "Chapter One" double vinyl anthology has just been released.

First, I would like to thank you for "Chapter One," this is a wonderful, timeless piece of Epic Doom Metal!!! I am really impressed with such intense, deep, and atmospheric music. How do you feel about this compilation yourself?

Well, first and foremost, I would like to extend massive hails of appreciation to Hermann and Andrea of Metal Supremacy for all the effort and enthusiasm that they have put into the making of this anthology. It has been a labor of love to all that were involved. I knew that it would turn out stunning considering what Metal Supremacy has done with the vinyl pressings for the other bands in our immediate "family:" Solstice, Twisted Tower Dire, and October 31 specifically. I consider the anthology to be somewhat of a closure to our first decade, hence the title of the collection. The actual music contained within the collection will always occupy a special place for me, being a nearly complete account of the first era of While Heaven Wept, documenting where I've come from.

What makes the anthology even more special is the fact that all of the recordings that it is comprised of are out of print, and will not be available again in their original forms ever…or at least anytime in the foreseeable future. The only drawbacks to "Chapter One" are the problems Metal Supremacy had with the pressing plant, and the fact that sides 2 and 3 are not continuous, but that is really my fault for not grouping the songs into "suites" beforehand. All and all, I am very proud of this collection. "Chapter One" gives the music I have created a much greater legitimacy, stretching far beyond my personal triumphs in realizing the compositions to begin with.

From what I've read in the liner notes inside the gatefold of "Chapter One," you express very personal things in your lyrics. I think it must feel strange to reveal such feelings publicly, or am I wrong?

Sometimes it is difficult to play our music for the people I am closest to, that I interact with on a daily basis, but I do strive to be both brave and brutally honest in general. I don't think I could write any other way after all this time; it has become a natural thing, and even if personal need did not dictate such introspective expression, my philosophies would regardless. I believe the fact that my lyrics are so "real," they can only help other people identify with WHW more so than if we opted for a more fantasy-oriented approach. By offering something so personal, it is automatically unique and clearly demonstrative of what the music is all about; there is no mistaking the music of WHW for anything other than Epic Doom Metal.

I also read that more than 50 (!) members have been involved with the band? I can hardly believe that! Is this really true, or have I misunderstood something?

Yes, amazingly, over the years there have been over 63 different members of While Heaven Wept, and we're still counting! The revolving door of members started to turn within the first two weeks of our existence, and has seldom slowed since. Admittedly, I was pretty difficult to work with at times, especially in the beginning, because I had such a strong, clear vision of the band, and to be honest, after the first few line-up changes, I simply did not trust anyone until they put in a significant amount of time. The band expands and contracts as necessary to accommodate the compositional needs, but the core line-up has more or less remained intact since 1998, with the exception of the drumming position, which has been anything but stable since Jon Paquin left us after 9 years.

What do you want to express with your music?

The truth. My innermost thoughts and feelings; the things I could not express otherwise. Having said this, WHW was born from necessity rather than ambition; I compose and perform what I feel, when I feel the need to do so. WHW will never perform doom for the sake of doom, although the epic aspect will always be present. For example, some of the music on our forthcoming albums is significantly faster, but no less introspective or epic, and this corresponds with where my head is. On the same token, recent events in my life have reconfirmed that I will never completely escape the infinitudes of doom, so it is likely that you will not hear anything cheerful coming from us anytime soon.

I was a bit shocked as I listened to the last few songs on "Chapter One" for the first time. "Shores Of Desolation" is a death metal influenced song, while "Unplenitude" is almost a pop song! Really controversial haha! You have many influences I assume?

I am influenced by virtually everything I've ever heard; if it's something I find inspiring it is automatically assimilated into my vocabulary, whereas if it is something I loathe, then I do everything in my power to be the antithesis of it. While Heaven Wept was established as a hybrid of diverse influences upon a foundation of ideals inherited from progressive music; when we started the primary influences ranged from early Fates Warning, Candlemass, and Slayer to Kitaro, Beethoven, and Allan Holdsworth!

Over the years, I've found new inspiration in everything from 70's Krautrock to gothic darkwave to contemporary classical music. While it may sound ludicrous, some people who've heard the forthcoming album material describe it as a cross between Celtic Frost and Styx, which is a pretty bizarre combination, but it makes perfect sense to me.
My perspective is that WHW comfortably navigates a territory somewhere between Bathory, Candlemass, Celtic Frost, Manowar, Pink Floyd, early King Crimson, and, of course, Black Sabbath. The bottom line is that I define doom as "mood" rather than a pre-fabricated compositional style.

The friendly relation between many of the bands in the doom metal scene is a bit conspicuous to me. Do you think that this condition could be attributed to the small size of the scene?

I think that the relatively small population within the doom cult does contribute to the family-like atmosphere, but the ultimate truth is that we genuinely enjoy each other's music as well as the common ground of influences.Back in the early 90's when we started out, you could pretty much count the number of doom bands on your fingers, and to be honest, the number of "true" doom bands has not really increased since, considering every time we gain a new band like Thunderstorm, we lose another like Solstice or Vitus. I would have to say outside of the realm of true doom, things get less friendly, because most of us do not share any love for stoner rock or other styles we are often associated with, but then again, some of us are more militant than others.

Are there any other cool epic doom bands where you live? Maybe you can recommend a few underground acts to our readers…

Man, I wish I could suggest some new/undiscovered epic doom bands ANYWHERE, let alone here in the Northern Virginian (Washington DC) area, but sadly, you can still only count all of the epic doom bands ever on your fingers alone…Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, While Heaven Wept, Solstice, Forlorn (SWE), and Millarca. Even if you push the envelope to include bands like Sorceror or Memory Garden, the number is still pathetic. There ARE plenty of formidable acts from this area, but none of them are doom at all: Twisted Tower Dire, October 31, Brave, Deceased, Betray My Trust, Modulus, Garden Of Shadows, Grand Belial's Key, etc. One exciting prospect is the upcoming Revelation reunion…that is something everyone into true doom should be looking forward to.

What are you planning for the future? A new album and maybe some live gigs somewhere in Europe (the Doom Shall Rise festival here in Germany would be a good opportunity)?

Well, "The Drowning Years," the first single from the forthcoming "Of Empires Forlorn" album should be available this October as a limited edition 7" courtesy of Maniacal Records (Maniacalrecords@aol.com), then the album itself will follow sometime in early 2003. We're currently rehearsing material for the album following "Empires…," entitled "Vast Oceans Lachrymose," and plan to record that in the middle of next year before we start gigging again. The line-up has expanded to a 7 piece and will be preparing for extensive live performances beginning in 2003.

Unfortunately, we will not be a part of the Doom Shall Rise event, but hopefully we will make it over to at least Germany to do the same circuit our brethren in Solstice, Twisted Tower Dire, Mirror Of Deception, and Slough Feg have been doing these last couple years. We really need to hook up with some kind of label, management, or promoter inevitably, because the costs of our production can be intimidating, however, as I said, our focus is on recording for the time being. Needless to say, any interested parties should contact us.

Alright Tom, your last words…

First of all thank you for the opportunity to discuss the goings on of WHW; it's been 4 years since our last album, and we are coming back out en force this time around. I would like to invite everyone to our brand new website to check out free Mp3's of the new 7" material. http://www.whileheavenwept.com, http://www.mp3.com/whw.

Should anyone want to contact the band directly for information/updates, they can email me via: plomerus@hotmail.com