Being a fan of underground music, you're sometimes faced with an excruciating inaccessibility to the output you crave. Case in point: While Heaven Wept. Over the course of a decade, this band has put out two CDs and two 7"ers (one a split with Cold Mourning). Unfortunately, each of these releases have come in editions of 1000 copies or less, making them rather difficult to come by. Thanks to Germany's Metal Supremacy label, now all the recordings of While Heaven Wept's first ten years have been packaged together in this amazing double LP, Chapter One: 1989-1999. This collection is ultimately a monument to the brilliance of this band and the songwriting skills of leader Tom Phillips. It all confirms that While Heaven Wept is not only the best epic doom band in the world but one of the best bands, period.

For those unfamiliar with While Heaven Wept's sound, they play a flawless brand of epic doom metal that is very symphonic in nature. Majestic and melancholy guitar passages (both electric and acoustic) are often augmented by tasteful synth accompaniment. This is all topped off with impassioned vocals which are of a soaring, vibrato-heavy, operatic nature. Many bands have incorporated these characteristics into their music throughout the years, but none with the grace, beauty, mastery, or overall success of While Heaven Wept. This music is the stuff of legend.

One thing very clear about While Heaven Wept is that, while most people merely write tunes, Tom Phillips composes songs. Too many bands of late try to pile up time signature changes in an attempt to compensate for weak riffs. Not so in the case of While Heaven Wept. Such shifts are executed with purpose and surgical precision. That being said, what is truly amazing about this band is their ability to remain brilliant over many stylistic shifts. The four songs which comprised the Sorrow of the Angels CD see While Heaven Wept creating possibly the greatest, fully produced epic doom metal album ever. In the next breath, listening to the songs off the band's first 7" reveals While Heaven Wept mastering the doom/death style of bands such as My Dying Bride and Anathema. Even when they step out of the doom realm, While Heaven Wept shines. This is exemplified by the previously unreleased track "Unplentitude." On this song, While Heaven Wept blesses the listener with an alternative/post-modern gem which recalls the greatness of bands like the Chameleons UK. In the end, the three songs which appeared as the Lovesongs of the Forsaken EP outshine all the rest. Most of this particular material is performed acoustically with a rainstorm audible in the background. The Sorrow of the Angels material may have fuller production, but this is the stuff that really opens new musical horizons. These three songs take the idea put out there by the opening acoustic strains of the first song on the very first Candlemass album and expand it inconceivably into pure acoustic doom. It is absolute genius. From any angle, While Heaven Wept is without peer.

In virtual obscurity (which is criminal), Tom Phillips has captained While Heaven Wept for over ten magnificent years. With Solstice no longer a band and the off-again/on-again rumblings around Warning, While Heaven Wept stands as the leader and greatest hope for epic doom metal. If Chapter One: 1989-1999 is any indication, the best is yet to come. Please note: true to form, this is a super-limited pressing of 500 copies and, once this is sold out, these particular recordings won't be re-pressed. So, act fast, because when music is this special, it's practically a sin not to have it within your grasp. - Dan Rowe, House Of Smut/Tremble Saith Thy Master, USA (2003)

While Heaven Wept is the best doom band in the world, and this is a double LP compilation (thanks to German label Metal Supremacy, of all places) of the singles and splits from the 10 years that WHW languished through all the troubled times of obscurity and lineup changes. If you can find it for sale (only 500 pressings were reportedly made, which I do not understand at all, because while WHW is not that popular, a double album of their entire catalogue of impossible to find material for the last 10 years is far more than '500 copies' popular) then you will want to take care of it, because WHW may be gone soon, leaving behind an underground legacy few will be able to match. Why is While Heaven Wept so damned impressive? Simple. They play epic, sorrowful doom better than anyone else in history. Every song on this EP cries out agony and pain from every riff, chorus, and vocal section. The effect, while not as powerful as on Of Empires Forlorn, (their only true, and probably only album period) it is very strong indeed. Plus, there are classic songs on here that you can't find anywhere else, such as the staggering "Thus With a Kiss I Die", which clocks in at a hefty 16:38 in length. (I did say this was epic doom, didn't I?)

The production varies, as these songs were recorded at different times and places during the history of the band, but overall it's decent. Some songs are better than others, but some are very poor quality. (such as the original recording of "Sorrow of the Angels", fortunately we have that excellent song re-recorded for Of Empires Forlorn) Tom Phillips has clearly improved his vocals over the years, and you can clearly see it on this album. Some songs he is average, some make you cringe a little ("Sorrow of the Angels"), but for most he is very good, though not as clear and powerful as on Of Empires Forlorn. This album is not necessary listening for most metal fans. It will appeal to many doom fans, however, and of course is absolutely essential for WHW fans. If in doubt, check out Of Empires Forlorn first, and if you think it's the best thing to happen to music in decades, then you will want this one, too. Rating: 4/5 ­ Anthony R. Brock, www.metalcrypt.com, USA (10/2003)