Interview with Terrorizer, November 2003
01 To many of our readers (and to this writer too) you will be a new act, even though you've been around for ages, so please introduce yourself and WHW.
While Heaven Wept arose from the ashes of a melodic thrash band called Polaris in 1989. I am the sole founding remember remaining, the primary composer, guitarist, and vocalist. Our music has largely been considered Epic Doom Metal, but there are plenty of symphonic, NWOBHM, p rogressive , and even Kosmiche elements involved as well.
02 My first impression of WHW was that you sounded very European, I was surprised to find you weren't! Would this be a fair comment?
Absolutely; almost every one of our early influences from Candlemass and Bathory to Klaus Schulze to Bach and Wagner are European in origin, so naturally our own music has similar characteristics, and I'm sure the fact that I studied classical composition for years only embellishes the parallels.
03 With over 60 line-up changes, are you that hard to work with? ;-)
Oh I'm a maniacal bastard indeed (Laughing)! No, the truth is that while I admit I was a bit tyrannical in the early days, the vast number of line-up changes can be attributed to the fact that the band started when we were barely into our teens, so as people evolved musically and personally, priorities shifted and circumstances changed. Some of the past members have continued their musical explorations in bands as diverse as Twisted Tower Dire, Brave, Dysrythmia, and Grand Belial's Key amongst others.
04 Out of all the metal styles, doom has always struck me as having the greatest emotional content, what do you draw spiritually from doom?
For me it's always been about catharsis more than anything else, and I've been able to express things through this music that I probably could not have otherwise. What I've come to realize is that over the years I've passed through the various stages of bereavement by creating the brutally honest music that we do, so ultimately it's both a vehicle for coping with grief as much as it is instrumental in healing.
05 "Of Empires Forlorn" contains a few new songs, a cover and a re-recording, is it an accurate introduction to the band?
"Empires" is an accurate portrait of WHW 2003 and after years of development, it's really the first example of our signature sound, which is truly unique within the realm of doom metal. Some people that listen to the album passively may write it off as a Candlemass rip-off, but the fact of the matter is no one in the doom scene has ever attempted to do what we do orchestrally, and no other band of this ilk exhibits this particular blend of influences. You could call us a Krautrock rip-off however (Laughing).
06 Can you write doom without a life of sorrow?
I don't think you can really compose genuine doom without having experienced anguish or oppression. Doom for the sake of doom is contrived "artistic" fallacy. Only music with heart, that is brutally honest and created out of necessity is true in my opinion. WHW will never perform anything just for the sake of doing so, and our evolution is a testament to that - I'm not the same person I was 14 years ago, and the music reflects that.
07 "The Drowning Years" and "Soulsadness" seem to allude to alcoholism. Please comment.
All of our lyrics have literal and abstract meanings, and "Soulsadness" is no exception. I'd rather not elaborate too much however, as I prefer to leave it to each listener to find their own meaning. I will say that I am an alcoholic, and "The Drowning Years," like all of our songs is 100% autobiographical, but I don't want to give anyone the impression that all we do is whinge like many of these shite nu-metallers; I take full responsibility and blame for my own actions, and strive to not repeat past mistakes. While the reality of who I am will never change, something to consider is I've already lived through what I'm singing about, and that would probably help explain the aural paradox of tragedy juxtaposed against triumph in our music.
08 Is "Voice In The Wind" a cover and if so who did the original?
"Voice" is an interpretation of the Jane song of the same title, from their 1977 album "Between Heaven And Hell." Our version is quite different having new lyrics and melodies among other things, but we tried to preserve the starkness of the original. Jane is just one of many 70's acts that remain largely unheard, and it is my intention to keep music like theirs alive.
09 Much of your material has a hymn-like quality, are there any hymn composers you admire?
Everything from the motets and masses of Josquin, Palestrina, and Tallis to the large-scale works of Bach, Beethoven, Part exert some kind of influence on my writing.
10 What are your future plans regarding releases?
We'll be following up "Empires" with an even more diverse (and even aggressive) affair entitled "Vast Oceans Lachrymose" in the early months of 2005, and our long out-of-print 1998 album "Sorrow Of The Angels" will be re-recorded and will follow shortly thereafter.