Exciting times here in the WHW camp as we get closer and closer to the completion of "VOL" which as I'm sure everyone is now aware will be released via Cruz Del Sur Music later this year.
This month, I'll be finishing off the acoustic parts and that will leave guitar solos, vocals, and final nuances/layers before mixing/mastering. We'll start making some samples available after this last phase of pre-vocal tracking has been completed, so watch this space!
Now, for something new here on the website:
Onyx Forge Guitars in California is in the process of building me a custom SG-style baritone guitar and I thought it would be interesting for many of you to see the entire process as it happens, along with my own explanation as to why I've gone this route after so many years of using Gibsons.
You can view this new page (which will be updated throughout the process) via the "members" section or simply by clicking here!
More news as it comes!
In the meantime, I speak on behalf of all of WHW in wishing everyone a fantastic new year, and you'll be hearing a LOT more from us soon!
Cheers
Tom Phillips
January 2, 2007
Official press release from the band:While Heaven Wept is pleased to announce our collaboration with Italy's Cruz Del Sur Music for the worldwide release of our 3rd full-length CD "Vast Oceans Lachrymose" in late 2007. Although there were many fair and generous offers from various entities after the untimely closure of Black Lotus Records, we felt that working with CDSM would be the best option for us at this time, and that aside, several members of our "extended musical family" including Slough Feg and Widow are part of the ever-growing (and strengthening) roster.
We're very much looking forward to delivering the most epic, diverse, and bastard heavy WHW album thus far via Cruz Del Sur, and we'll start making free samples available to the public during the first quarter of 2007, up until the albums actual release.
I know it's been quite some time since the last update, but we have by no means been sitting around idle!
Since the last update we have made major progress on the "Vast Oceans Lachrymose" recording, completing all of the drum cleanup, a second pass of rhythm guitars, basslines for extra material we weren't sure if we were using or not, and even completely re-arranged and re-recorded one song that originally not up to our high standards (and it sounds AMAZING now)!
As of this update, Jim and Trevor are now done with their contributions to this album, and by November, Scott will be done with his last bits; then it's pretty much up to myself and our guests to finish this massive project.
All that remains undone at this time are a handful of clean/acoustic layers (mostly 2nd passes), guitar solos, vocals, and finishing touches/nuances/atmospheres.
We're going to be mixing down the album as we go along, so each of these remaining layers need only be woven into the mix as they are completed, making the final mixdown process much less strenuous and complicated.
Regarding a label and release date, we're still entertaining any and all offers, but we're pretty confident that we've found our new home, and based upon that we're looking at an Autumn 2007 release date. I know that probably seems a million miles away, but the fact is we're in no hurry as this is the most detailed, diverse, and expensive recording WHW has ever done, and I assure you IT WILL BE WORTH THE WAIT!
Very soon we'll be making the first sample of the VOL album publically available via our various online pages, and we'll also be sharing some of the outtakes from our recent promo photo session (the first with the current line-up)!
In the meantime, once again we appreciate your patience and I do apologize for the silence as of late, but we're getting things done that need doing!
More soon!
Cheers
Tom Phillips
As I'm sure many of you have heard, the news is that Black Lotus Records is going on indefinite hiatus effective immediately. We're still awaiting the absolute final word on this matter, but we're proceeding as if WHW are free agents.
That means we will continue with all of the previously announced plans, the recording will continue, and we WILL be releasing "Vast Oceans Lachrymose" one way or another upon it's completion.
We are of course already accepting and reviewing offers from labels, and any interested party should contact me directly via the email address on this website.
To our friends and fans, do not despair.....VOL is coming and nothing is going to prevent us from getting it to you!
Tom
It's been quite some time since our site was last up and running (following the shutdown of our previous server), and this is partially due to the fact that we viewed this as an opportunity to completely re-design www.whileheavenwept.net.
I'm sure you'll notice the new graphic design straight away, but we've also added a brand new autobiography, a new individual bio page for the current band members, as well as numerous small details that we hope you'll find interesting and informative.
And now, I'll move on to the latest news:
We've completed a good 80% of the "Vast Oceans Lachrymose" recording, but had to suspend further tracking for the last 3 months to take care of annual taxes and such (being that as always, this is a completely self-financed recording). Now that those financial obligations are behind us, we're about to resume tracking in May, and we won't be taking another break until the album is completely finished!
During the downtime, I've been expanding our arsenal of gear to insure "VOL" is overflowing with great tones, developing the lyrical focus of the album, and getting deeper into the nuances/layers of the whole thing. I'm quite confident that we're making the greatest album of our careers so far, on every level.
After the next couple of sessions, I'll assemble some kind of mp3 samples for our official sites, and as soon as we get to the mixing stage, we'll set a release date.
Following the completion of "VOL" there will be no live appearances directly supporting the album (although I will do an extensive promotional tour upon it's release), as we will begin recording the 4th full-length album "Fear Of Infinity" immediately!
Trevor and I have been rehearsing the material for the last couple months, and at the time of this writing have only 1 last song to finalize the arrangements for! The gameplan is to completely clear out the WHW archives of all remaining material (brand new and that which was shelved over the years) so that we are left with a "clean slate."
Half of the "FOI" album will consist of songs we originally rehearsed for "VOL," but elected to save for the 4th one (primarily due to the way our new 17+ minute epic "The Furthest Shore" evolved; I decided to make that the focal point of "VOL" and base the 'flow' of the album upon that), and the other half will feature 3-4 brand new songs including the first co-written track in over a decade (courtesy of Scott Loose and myself), and another lengthy doom epic - perhaps our greatest of all - that recalls the intense brooding of "Soulsadness" and "Thus With A Kiss I Die."
Already the bandmembers feel that "FOI" will be THE ultimate WHW album, and we're very fired up to see it realized!
We're also planning some special things for the upcoming 20th anniversary of WHW for 2009-2010, which will be likely to include a limited edition boxset spanning our entire existence, the definitive (and completely re-constructed) "Sorrow" & "Empires" CD's, limited audiophile vinyl pressings, and a special live set/tour that will again run the gamut from our demo days to the present (and future).
Other than that I would just like to again thank everyone for their ongoing support and patience while we take our time in making the absolute best, most sincere and impassioned recordings we're capable of.
Tom Phillips, May 15, 2006
ps. Just as a footnote, we're always seeking singers and instrumentalists that are interested in working with and/or contributing to WHW, so don't hesitate to contact us regardless of your stature or location!