Interview with Reflections of Doom (Belgium), May 2003

1/To start things off, let's get back to the 'Sorrow Of The Angels' CD. This was, just as the new 'Of Empires Forlorn' release, a limited pressing of 1000 (?) copies, which are completely sold out now. Wouldn't you rather have had more copies or a 2nd pressing of the CD? How long did it take for it to sell out?

"Sorrow Of The Angels" is indeed totally sold out now, and this does actually include a second pressing. Personally, I would've liked more copies for the band so that we could've taken care of a few more close friends ourselves, but I believe that most everyone within our "innermost circle" did obtain a copy eventually. Being that I was never really satisfied with the final production, I wanted to limit the number of copies made available, although, at the time, Eibon did not do ads, promos, or any widespread distribution, so this was underground in extremis. Having said that, with virtually no mainstream promotion, the two pressings essentially sold out within 3 years.

2/Like I said, the new cd is also limited to 1000 copies, aren't there any plans to have it released Stateside as well?

We definitely intended to release "Of Empires Forlorn" in an unlimited capacity by ourselves initially (you know we've always self-financed all our recordings), but considering both the sizeable recording costs and the end production result, we then decided to shop this album to a shortlist of labels. We received quite a bit of positive feedback, several offers Stateside and abroad, and have ultimately signed a licensing agreement with the UK label Rage Of Achilles, who contacted us after hearing "The Drowning Years" single. Rage Of Achilles will release the unlimited jewel-box pressing of the album in Europe and The End Records will exclusively distribute this version of the album in North America (including Canada). The Rage Of Achilles version will feature slightly different artwork, an improved production, a different tracklisting, and is slated for release in September 2003.

3/Tell me something more about the 'Epistle No.81' song; most of us will know this as a song from Candlemass but the song wasn't written by Leif and co., so please explain it's origins some more and why you chose to do your own rendition of the song.

"Epistle No.81" is a hymn composed by Carl Michael Bellman, Sweden's national poet (their equivalent to Shakespeare). It has been interpreted by a countless number of artists, predominantly of Swedish origin, including Daniel Bryntse's Februari 93 project. My introduction to the piece was, of course, Candlemass' "Ancient Dreams" album, and since then, I've always wanted to do an interpretation of it myself, as I think it is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever composed. "Epistle No.81" is certainly an appropriate composition for WHW to undertake, considering it's mood and subject matter, plus as you know Candlemass heavily influenced us in the beginning, but we wanted to opt for a less obvious cover than "Solitude" or "Under The Oak." Our version is clearly based on Leif's arrangement, but I composed a new keyboard arrangement, the "trance" guitar line in the background, and we harmonized Lars' stellar guitar solo. This song was done with the utmost respect for Candlemass, Bellman, and Sweden in general.

4/You are the only person remaining from the very first line-up, what am I saying, even from the line-up that recorded 'Sorrow of the Angels'! Up to now some 60+ (according to some sources) line-up changes have occurred within the WHW ranks…are you that hard a person to work with?

Yes, I am a complete bastard (laughing). Really, the truth is that people come and go for a variety of reasons from personal and career decisions, to relocations, to joining other bands, or even giving up on music period. Very few people that have been involved with WHW have ever been asked to leave or quit the band because of personality conflicts, and in fact, the current line-up has essentially remained intact since the end of 1998 (when we formed the original performing line-up of the band), with the exception of Jason Gray replacing long-time drummer Jon Paquin in 2001. We are continuing to go through additional members for a further expanded performing line-up, as internal chemistry is just as important as musical ability now, but hopefully this will be resolved in the relatively near future (in a permanent sense). It appears that various members of Brave, the defunct Rain Fell Within, Revelation, and Cold Mourning will be lending us a hand for various upcoming commitments.

5/We all know Jim Hunter but please tell me a bit more about the other new guys, which bands were they involved in before they joined WHW, etc…

Yes, Jim is a bit of a celebrity isn't he? I still don't know how he balances time between WHW, Twisted Tower Dire, October 31, Revelation, and other projects! Anyway, our current drummer Jason Gray came from the defunct death/doom band Forty Days Longing, and was an ideal choice because he had no problem playing funeral-paced beats, which are admittedly not gratifying for most drummers. His style is very different from Jon Paquin's, but he does a great job with interpreting the older material. I'd say his greatest qualities are his militant devotion to learning the material, developing his own skills, and performing with great conviction. Guitarist Scott Loose and his sister, keyboardist Michelle Loose, both come from the band Brave (who were once known as Arise From Thorns), whom I also recorded and performed with between 1998 and 2000. Scott had actually played with WHW back in 1995 for a brief period of time, so he was an obvious choice for the performing line-up; our guitar styles are very similar because I actually taught him at one point in time. Michelle did not perform on the "Empires" album, but returned to the band shortly before its completion. Because Brave, TTD, October and Revelation are all active bands, sometimes the primary musicians are unable to perform or commit to certain endeavours, so we try to have "back-up" members available at all times.

6/So which recordings did you make with Brave? Were these just the usual demo recordings or was an official CD (or more than one even) released as well? If this was just demo stuff,any plans to release these recordings somewhere in the future?

I actually recorded a few things with them - first I contributed some guitars and keyboards to the "Before An Audience Of Stars" album (released under the old Arise From Thorns moniker in 1999), but mostly I helped them develop some of the songs' arrangements, most notably "Bluer Skies." "Before An Audience Of Stars" was originally a self-financed release like the self-titled debut, but was re-released on the American label Dark Symphonies the following year. When I started contributing in a compositional sense, the band became known as Brave, who were musically heavier and more progressive than the predominantly acoustic AFT at the time. I contributed heavily to the debut Brave release, the "Waist Deep In Dark Waters" MCD; I pretty much had a hand in all of the songs lyrically, and musically, and aside from the intro segment of "To Search A Soul," I supplied two complete compositions, "Lost In Retrospect" (originally composed in 1993, but with brand new lyrics for this version), and the aforementioned "Search…" After the release of the MCD, we began work on material for the next album, but musical and personal differences divided us, and I ended up leaving the band. However, two songs that I helped them to write did appear on their latest release, their debut full-length effort "Searching For The Sun," also released by Dark Symphonies. All of the Arise From Thorns/Brave releases are available directly from the band. Check out www.bravemusic.com for more information regarding them.

7/In the past you were in charge of practically all the song writing and arrangements but since Jim has joined the band it does look like you have (finally) found the person who from now on will be contributing a lot more than most of the previous members have done…I don't mean to sound disrespectful to people like Jon Paquin, Gabe Funston, Danny Ingerson or Scott or Jason but that's just how it comes across…so if I'm totally wrong here don't hold back and set the record straight for once and for all…

Well, as it stands, I am still the only composer of WHW material, and I do develop most of the arrangements as well, but Jim has become instrumental in this process; almost every suggestion or idea he has had has been implemented. He is the only one who will sit down and dissect our rough mixes to microscopic size with me, and he's contributed greatly to production details as well as musical nuances throughout the "Empires" album. I've been bouncing a lot of ideas for the next album off of him too. Additionally, he's been very involved with the development of artwork for the band, and he created our website. That is not to say that in the past or present the other members have not contributed in some capacity, but without a doubt, Jim has made the most significant contributions to WHW after myself. Things are more democratic in a collective sense now, in the respect that we do at least try out EVERYONE'S ideas, and decide what works best for each song (we are talking about number of repetitions, lead breaks, harmonic construction, etc.) on a case-by-case basis. There is no doubt that the final recorded outcome will vary depending upon who is involved with the shaping of the material, and for the record, both Jon Paquin and Danny Ingerson developed many of their own ideas during their time with WHW. I've always encouraged everyone to express themselves any way they can within the confines of the compositions.

8/Jim is of course active in bands like October 31,Revelation, etc…so I can imagine this won't make things any easier when it comes to rehearsing, playing live and so on. How do you guys work stuff like that out?

It involves a lot of communication between all the bands, and we tend to have regularly scheduled practice days, unless a major event is coming up. Then we have to do some shuffling of schedules, but somehow we manage. In extreme situations, this is where the "back up" members are called in, but for the most part, we all try to plan everything as far in advance as possible.

9/And now, to make things even more complicated it looks like you have re-joined Albion Doom gods Solstice (there's even talk about Jim joining them as well)…how on earth are you guys planning to combine all those different bands??? Why did you decide to accept Rich's offer to team up with him again? After all, the first time you were in Solstice I thought it was a mutual agreement that you weren't the right person for the band…

Once again, this involves a lot of planning and communication between the bands, perhaps even more so in the case of Solstice, as Rich obviously lives quite a distance from the rest of us (the current line-up of Solstice consists of members of WHW, TTD, and The Lord Weird Slough Feg - all American). It's not really that complicated when all is said and done, as Rich will send us demos to work with - Jim, Scott, and I all live in the same area so we can rehearse and develop ideas together. When the time comes, Rich and Greg (Haa) will fly over here for some final rehearsals, and then we'll record here, most likely at Assembly Line Studios, where WHW, Brave, TTD, Grand Belial's Key, and Arghoslent have recorded. As for why I've rejoined Solstice, first of all the reasons we parted ways in the first place were because of the extreme distance between us, our lack of a record company and financial support, and on my part, I was also trying to record "Sorrow Of The Angels." It was mutually agreed that it would be best for both bands to carry on however they could, considering these realities. Admittedly, I was not as comfortable in Solstice as I was with WHW back then, nor was I particularly confident in my own abilities…we've all grown quite a bit since then. It was a shame that our previous time together was not very productive, and there was always a sense of having never reached our full potential, so now we have a chance to give it a go again. And, I think we're all feeling pretty confident about this line-up personally and musically.

10/So when are you guys planning to record some new material (with Solstice that is) and when do you think we can expect the new album?

Rich is currently developing the material that will comprise "To Sol A Thane," which will actually be more of a mini-LP rather than an album (albeit lengthy in the old Solstice tradition). First, however he will complete the Isen Torr recording (his NWOBHM battle metal band), so I don't see any work commencing on the new Solstice until the end of the year, and even that may be a bit sooner than circumstances will allow. I am sure that news will be made available as it develops via the various forums online and other traditional media outlets. From what I understand, "To Sol A Thane" may be a vinyl release exclusively, and even if it were to appear on CD, it would be EXTREMELY limited.

11/OK back to WHW then, prior to the release of the 'Empires' CD, the 'Drowning Years' 7" was released through the Maniacal Records label. How did you get in touch with Mike Pritchard's label and why did you decide to release two songs, which are taken off the new album? Mainly as an appetizer for 'Empires' or to let people know you were actually still around and the new album was on it's way or something?

Mike Pritchard is actually a long-time friend of mine; we've worked together, used to be roommates, and I still hang out at his house (the metal museum!) at least once a week for metal listening holocausts, so our 7" was actually planned as one of the first releases on his Maniacal imprint. Jim has also been involved with the artwork for several of the Maniacal releases, and for any trivia freaks out there, he also plays bass on the first three releases from the label (October 31, Twisted Tower Dire, and While Heaven Wept). We knew that "The Drowning Years" would be our first new song released to the public since "Sorrow Of The Angels" in 1998 pretty much since it was composed, and the omitted title track from the last album would serve as the B-side for obvious reasons (it's length and relation to our past legacy). Although both songs also appear on the "Empires" album, these are completely different early mixes from the album sessions which were completed in June of 2002; we knew we would not be back in the studio to complete the album until November (because another artist had booked it solid for the rest of the summer and fall), so we elected to unleash this 7" for all of the reasons you mentioned above - to let people know we were still around, that a new album was coming, and as a hint of what to expect from the album (although, the album took on a life of its own in the later sessions, so even the 7" was not entirely representative of what was to come). The release of "The Drowning Years" single came hot on the heels of the "Chapter One" anthology, and could that could not have been better orchestrated in my opinion.

12/The next WHW release should be out within a few months, I am now talking about the split release with The Doomsday Cult of course. I do hope you're planning to use a new song for this release? Anything you'd like to share with us about the upcoming 7"?

Well, actually it will not feature an entirely new track, rather an exclusive re-mix of the song "Epistle No.81," as well as the album version; this was not exactly a "planned" release, as we'd already laid plans for everything related to the "Empires" album as early as December 2001, but when Ola (of The Doomsday Cult) informed me of his I Hate label doing some vinyl releases (including Isole, the band formerly known as Forlorn…YES! It's about damn time Daniel!), I approached him with the idea of doing a special release for the Swedish market primarily. Being that "Epistle No.81" is something of a national tradition in Sweden, we wanted to do something special with our version of the piece, and what better way than to couple it with an up-and-coming Swedish doom metal band? The Doomsday Cult is one of the best new true doom bands in the scene, and hopefully this split will help to spread their name and music further.

13/This will be the 2nd split 7" release for WHW the first one being of course the one you did with Cold Mourning for the Game Two label in '96.Why didn't you include the 'original' version which ended up on the 'Scencubator' compilation tape back in '94.Now the 'Chapter One' lp isn't as complete as most people think it is…

Ha ha…such a stickler for detail Jean! I suppose the reason it was not included is because it is not really very different from the version that appeared on the Cold Mourning split. Only the production and guitar solo were different, along with the editing of one section of the song. "Scenecubator" was never widely distributed, and I don't think that more than 100 copies were ever made, so it is truly a rare item indeed. My opinion is that "Chapter One" is complete as far as representing 99% of our released output in the first 10 years of our existence. Mind you, there are numerous still-unreleased tracks in various stages of completion from that time period, from the "Lovesongs…" and "Sorrow…" sessions, as well as rehearsal recordings. I doubt any of those will ever surface in their current versions, unless we did some kind of "complete recordings of WHW" set or something, and even then, it is unlikely.

14/And while we're discussing 'Chapter One' was it your own decision to include all the old releases or was an idea presented to you by the record company (Metal Supremacy)?

I think the idea developed during a few phone conversations with Rich Walker, who hooked us up with Metal Supremacy; since all of the releases from the first decade were completely out-of-print, and I knew we would not be making them available again, I decided to package them all together for one last extremely limited edition pressing. On vinyl only, no less; you know I've never been satisfied with any of the productions or performances on those old releases, so I had no intention of making them all widely available; "Chapter One" was just for the fanatics, and late-comers to the epic doom of WHW.

15/Something seems to have gone wrong at the pressing plant because a number of sleeves have surfaced with a golden colour instead of the normal black and my copy has one record on clear and one on black vinyl…or were you simply trying to give the collectors out there a reason to buy several copies? (Just kidding)

Well, there was in fact a fuck up at the pressing plant, where the entire first pressing was printed incorrectly, with the golden colour, and the insert was misprinted as well. The unfortunate aspect of this was the fact that the pressing plant did not accept responsibility for this, and charged Metal Supremacy again to correct the problem, so I must extend massive hails to Hermann and Andrea for doing what they felt they had to do to sort it out. Originally, both vinyls were meant to be clear as well, but after the first debacle, one of each colour was a small pill to digest. Harder to swallow was the shoddy editing between songs, which I will accept responsibility for; I forgot that each song has a separate band on vinyl, and had I known that it wasn't to be continuous music on each side, I would have edited everything professionally myself.

16/So, can we expect a vinyl pressing of 'Empires' as well? Or would you like to see one being released eventually? It might not be a bad idea to wait a few years until you've released a few more split ep's and stuff to put together a 'Chapter Two' either…

Metal Supremacy had expressed interest in releasing ALL forthcoming WHW albums on vinyl, so not only is it probable, it is extremely likely that a vinyl pressing of "Empires" will surface towards the end of the year. As for "Chapter Two"…there is no reason that could not come to be eventually as well, considering the number of exclusive tracks, B-sides, and unreleased material available even from the "Empires" sessions. We're planning to record quite a few other things for yet-to-be determined releases as well.

17/The next full-length album, which will surface eventually, will be called 'Vast Oceans Lachrymose', a title that you've decided upon years ago. Does that mean that you also more or less know which songs will end up on the next couple of releases? Are the songs for 'Oceans' finished at this stage and do you know when you'll start the recording process and everything? Will the complete version of 'Unplenitude' end up on 'Oceans'?

Before we even entered the studio for the "Empires" recording, most of the songs for "Vast Oceans Lachrymose" were complete compositionally, so we do have a pretty strong idea as to what songs will appear on that album, as well as that which will surface on the "Sorrow Of The Angels: Definitive Edition" release. We'll actually be demoing material for "V.O.L." this summer, but we'll be recording the "SOTA: DE" before the actual "V.O.L." album is completed. I imagine that both releases will be recorded between now and the end of 2005. And no, a different version of "Unplenitude" will appear on the album it was originally intended for; here are some of the songs that will appear on "V.O.L.": "The Furthest Shore" (working title, referring back to "Shores Of Desolation"), "Sacred Journey II," "Vast Oceans Lachrymose," and possibly "The Sadness Beyond All Sadness." All titles subject to change between now and its release;)

18/And do tell me a bit more about the 'Sorrow of the Angels: Definitive Edition' album. Contrary to 'Oceans,' it looks like this one isn't intended to be released through the Eibon label. Are you planning to re-record it or add some more songs to it?

The "Sorrow Of The Angels: Definitive Edition," will, in fact, replace the original out-of-print version from 1998. We will completely re-record the all of the songs from that version, along with other songs that we'd originally recorded at those sessions but did not make the final tracklisting. "SOTA: DE" will, like "Empires" first appear as a limited edition digipak (with the originally intended artwork) on Eibon, and then in the standard jewel-case format via Rage Of Achilles (with a bonus track from the original 1998 sessions, re-mixed and re-mastered). It is not about re-writing history or anything like that, simply making this music widely available on a higher quality recording - predominantly for people who discover WHW through "Empires," but with enough extras to appease the long-time fanatics. And yes, I promise that this will be the last re-recording from WHW (barring live offerings)! (Laughing)

19/What are some of the biggest differences when you compare the first CD (94's 'Lovesongs Of The Forsaken') with 'Empires'? Or when you compare the 'Into The Wells Of Sorrow' 7" with the latest album…

Whew…there are so many differences between the earliest releases and "Empires" that it could be the subject of an entire interview…but I'll do my best to keep it brief (laughing). I think that "Empires" is ultimately the realization of everything I always wanted to accomplish with those earliest releases - extremely melodic and heavy, densely orchestrated, progressively tinged epic doom metal composed and performed with great emotion. Everything is as sincere as when we began, but the realization is of a higher and deeper quality; it is clear that "Empires" is a product of persistence and development, rather than a tangent. The biggest differences lie in the areas of performance and production; we've grown as musicians, which is natural after all these years, and we are much more experienced in the studio now as well. I think changing studios to Assembly Line really made a huge difference in sonic quality, and it has given us so many more options productionwise. There is no question that I've further honed my craft as a songwriter, but the way the material develops is the same as its always been - through revelation and the need for expression, always inspired by intensely emotional life experiences.

20/Why did you decide to re-name 'La Mort D'Amour' (or translate it rather) to 'The Death Of Love' and re-record it for the 'Sorrow' album?

Conceptually, the idea was to present the once stark acoustic piece as a bastard heavy doom metal song, with expanded instrumentation and new layers, but I think we only partially succeeded with this; towards the end of the "Sorrow" sessions, we were pressed for time and money, therefore "The Death Of Love" was rushed to completion. This is something that I was not happy about then or now, so you can expect to hear an even different version on the "Definitive Edition." We actually developed the ideal version of this song during the live shows in support of that album, and it ended up being something of a hybrid between the original acoustic version and the heavy adaptation that appeared on "Sorrow."

21/The debut 7" featured of course only part of 'Into The Wells Of Sorrow' so I can imagine that the complete version just had to make it onto the 'Sorrow' cd…

Absolutely. The final version of "Into The Wells" ended up being over 9 minutes long, and that first 7" only had a little over a third of the entire piece, which is one of my favourites still to this day. I am very proud of the midsection of this song because it included my first experiment with counterpoint, and as a whole, I think this song had the best production on the entire "Sorrow" album. This is the only song that does not REALLY need to be re-recorded, but I am sure we can improve upon it in some capacity. An early mix also appeared on the "At The Mountains Of Madness" compilation, released by The Miskatonic Foundation.

22/Do you think you will ever re-record the 'In Aeturnum' and 'Shores Of Desolation' songs as well? Somehow you come across as the sort of person who likes everything to be as perfect as humanly possible so it definitely wouldn't surprise me to see those songs end up on any of the future full length releases…

You've been developing your mind-reading skills over the years I see Jean! Now that you mention it, we have already re-recorded "In Aeturnum," and it will appear on the Rage Of Achilles version of the "Empires" album! But this one is no mere re-recording, as the song has continued to grow and evolve, so some sections are quite different from the "Lovesongs" original. Again, I'd like to stress that all of those old releases are completely unavailable at this point in time, and rather than re-issuing something I am not happy with, why not release something that will stand the test of time, or is at least truly representative of WHW? It's not that I ever wanted the SONGS to go out of print - just the inferior recordings. I've thought about "Shores" quite a bit, and that is probably the one song we won't re-record, but if we did, it would be barely recognizable.

23/I can also imagine that some people (including myself) would love to hear some stuff by the bands which more or less gave birth to WHW, acts such as Polaris and Parasitic Infestation but I guess that's something that's not very likely to ever happen or…?

Well, first of all, Polaris was indeed the precursor to WHW, but only one extremely low-budget demo was ever recorded, and neither I nor co-founder Chris Galvan actually appeared on that recording (but, early WHW drummer Jim Chappell did perform on it). We both however, did spend quite a bit of time with the band during our respective stints, and there were approximately 15 songs completed - yet nothing ever became of them other than "Gothic" evolving into "Shores Of Desolation." Parasitic Infestation on the other hand, released 2 self-financed demos, 1 split cassette with the grind band Enemy Soil, and appeared on the "Midnight Offerings 2" CD compilation (under the moniker Splint). There was actually a 3rd demo recorded, but it was never completed - I still have the mastertapes waiting here for future use. PI did not so much give birth to WHW as much as it existed concurrently with us, but did provide us with some key members like Jon Paquin. It would require a group decision to make either of these bands' music available to the public at this point in time, and while it is not impossible, it is not very likely to happen.

24/Alright then, by this time you have played the 'Born too late' festival so how did that go? How many people showed up, how were the other bands, etc…

The Born Too Late festival turned out to be a really amazing event…one full day of pure doom, which has never happened before on these shores (events like Stoner Hands of Doom obviously involve non-doom and non-metal bands). The audience at BTL was small, but very receptive, and all the bands were cool. We gathered with Orodruin and Revelation the night before for a night of drinking and debauchery, which was great, and a similar "family reunion" occurred in our hotel room after the show itself with members of Penance, Pale Divine, Soul Preacher, Orodruin, and Revelation attending. Incriminating photo evidence is surfacing online as we speak (laughing). As for the actual performances, I've never seen so many Gibson SG's in one day! There was not a weak moment in the entire day, and for once, a festival actually ran relatively on time, without incident. We were the 7th band on the bill, and after a somewhat lengthy set-up we launched in "Sorrow Of The Angels" which segued into "In Aeturnum." The rest of our set consisted of "Soulsadness," "The Drowning Years," "Of Empires Forlorn," and "Thus With A Kiss I Die." This was our first live appearance since the cursed Stoner Hands Of Doom 1 show in 1999…and it was a very powerful, energetic performance. The audience, as I said, were extremely receptive, even singing along with me, which was pretty amazing. I felt the best about our performance of "Thus" personally. Otherwise, the highlights of the show for me were Orodruin, who delivered a powerful and crushing set of old, new and unreleased songs, and Revelation who I'd not seen since 1999. Hails to 137, Soul Preacher, Gates Of Slumber, Orodruin, Unearthly Trance, Pale Divine, Penance, and Revelation! I hope this will become and annual event here in the States!

25/A lot of people are hoping that you guys will make it over to Europe someday and personally I am hoping that an appearance at next year's Doom Shall Rise will definitely take place. Have you received an invitation at this point? I guess you wouldn't mind playing a number of European dates in the not too distant future?!?

Nothing has been confirmed at this point in time regarding Doom Shall Rise 2, but from what I understand, an announcement will be made in July or so about the line-up, venue, and subsequent tours. All I can say is that if we are in fact asked to appear, WHW will DEFINITELY be there, and it would be likely that if we were to travel such a distance that we'd be doing some additional shows. As soon as I know more, we'll be posting information on our website as well. I know WHW in Europe is long overdue, and I am committed to making it happen.

26/In the band's early years it did look like it wasn't easy for you to present WHW in a live environment, but by now you have managed to play quite a few shows, so how does it feel to play the songs live? I can imagine that especially at first it must have been weird to perform the songs on stage after all, WHW's music isn't exactly the ideal headbanging setting for a night out on the town…

The songs are all much more raw, heavy, and powerful live, and as of late, our performances have become quite intense emotionally and sonically. You're right that at first it was strange playing the slow funeral dirges live, and surely most of the audiences did not "get it," but it's become much more gratifying now that we've integrated the more uptempo songs into our set. Just like on our CD's I strive to arrange the live set so that each song flows from one to the other, making our gigs more of a complete experience. We put 110% into our performances, and it is truly rewarding when we pull them off convincingly.

27/Although I've known and loved your music for so many years now it still strikes me how emotional and honest WHW's music sounds…does writing this music come natural to you or do you often come up with bits and pieces that just don't fit in with the band's overall approach and direction-if such a thing exists in the first place that is…

I suppose that it is a natural thing to some degree, only because the music requires an emotional catalyst to begin with. Generally speaking, the songs tend to write themselves, and I merely channel the notes through my experiences and instruments. The songs are revealed when they are ready to become - sometimes as complete thoughts, other times in fragments, but I do know when the basic exoskeleton is complete. Only after that foundation has materialized, do I take it to the table and apply what I've learned in my studies (as far as arranging and orchestrating the compositions). That is the only unnatural aspect of the whole songwriting process I suppose, but often, I already hear countermelodies and such in my head. Considering I've been involved with numerous musical projects, I do come up with things that don't fit into the WHW schematic, but as we continue to develop, there are fewer boundaries to consider with every release. The only real "rule" in WHW is that the music and lyrics MUST be brutally honest with where I am emotionally/mentally - and if that happens to mean we are not playing purely doom metal so be it. I will not doom for the sake of doom.

28/When it comes to your personal influences classical music seems to quite important to you (something which should be obvious to anyone who reads the liner notes from the 'Chapter One' LP) but you are also a big Journey fan and this might come as quite of a surprise to many…does this perhaps explain (to a certain amount) the emotional and even romantic side of WHW's music? (Journey were, and still are in my opinion, the absolute masters when it comes to writing ballads that are guaranteed to bring a tear to the eye…)

Classical music is the basis for all the orchestration and arrangements of WHW, as that is what I studied in college, and we've always had more of a European sound because of that. I intend to do a full-blown orchestral album of WHW music at some point in the future. As for Journey, they are actually my all-time favourite band, at least the classic Perry line-up from 1978-96 (specifically, I adore the 1978-80 era, where they still rocked pretty hard), and the pre-Perry fusion-esque albums - I will not support those bastards after they tried to make a personal decision about Perry's health a band decision, and this faux-Journey touring around is nothing more than a glorified cover band in my opinion. Anyway, for as much as I love Journey, I would have never thought that their influence would be evident in the music of WHW, but towards the end of the "Empires" sessions, it became apparent that this influence was indeed surfacing. If anything, it was a subconscious thing in the past that helped me to define a strong melody or quality song, but now, aurally, my Journey (and AOR in general) influence seems to be becoming more noticeable. I suppose that Journey's songs were the first that I equated with romance and emotion, and those songs helped defined some extra-musical concepts for me as well. How that translates into WHW, I am not really sure, but perhaps this is where the commitment to delivering music of honest, raw emotion originates. Or perhaps its how I've come to define quality songwriting? Either way, the emotion in our music is very real because I've lived through everything I've sung about with WHW, and that is the most important issue here. I don't want anyone reading this to misinterpret this; we definitely still sound like a hybrid of Candlemass, early Fates Warning, Viking-era Bathory, and Bach, but there is some kind of AOR essence in there somewhere too - most likely in the vocals, which have recently been compared to Dennis DeYoung of Styx.

29/Something completely different now, what happened to your website? Some people have suggested that it might have been attacked, kinda like what happened to the doom-metal.com site…

We've pretty much determined that a program that would hit the site over and over again attacked it. All those hits used up an incredible amount of bandwidth, which resulted in a massive bill from our ISP. The site was taken offline almost immediately, and we began tracing the program back to its source. This investigation is still pending, but progress has been made - its really up to the ISP as to whether or not they wish to pursue legal action. We've since launched a new site that is more closely monitored in all respects…www.whileheavenwept.net

30/To finish the interview in true doom fashion, if you were to die tomorrow what would you like to have engraved on your headstone-what would you like to be remembered for?

My epitaph: "I Gave My Heart Up To Your Knives"

I'd like to be remembered for creating music of depth, heart, and integrity.

31/Please list all available merchandise, where people can buy the CD, etc…anything you'd like to add…you know…

Here is the list of all currently available merchandise; anything else in the discography that is not listed is completely out-of-print:

"Of Empires Forlorn" CD (2003) - available in Europe from Eibon Records, www.eibonrecords.com as well as from various shops and distros including Hellion Records, Displeased Records, Firebox Records, and your local shop
- available in the USA from us directly, email plomerus@hotmail.com for more info, as well as through Century Media

"The Drowning Years" 7" (2002) - available from Maniacal Records, email Maniacalrecords@aol.com for more info or check out The Metal Merchant.

"Chapter One: 1989-1999" 2LP (2002) - available from Metal Supremacy, www.ancientarts.de as well as from various shops and distros including The Metal Merchant and Hellion Records

The following designs are available as T-shirts, Longsleeves, and Sweatshirts: "The Mourning," "Lovesongs Of The Forsaken," and "Chapter One" exclusively from The Metal Merchant, www.metalmerchant.com

As previously mentioned, Rage Of Achilles Records will release the unlimited jewel-box pressing of "Of Empires Forlorn" in September 2003. Sweden's I Hate Records will issue the split with the Doomsday Cult later this summer. For more information on these releases or the band please refer to www.whileheavenwept.net or write to While Heaven Wept, attn: Tom Phillips, 4809 Lockwood Lane, Dale City, VA. 22193, USA (please include return postage or SASE). There are free Mp3's available at: www.mp3.com/whw

Lastly, I'd like to say thank you to you Jean, and welcome back…it's been a damn long time, and it's good to see you dooming onward…