1. What is the main reason of the fact that between „Of Empires Forlorn“ and „Vast Oceans Lachrymose“ was 6-year silence?
We actually started recording “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” in 2005, the year after the tour for “Of Empires Forlorn”, and the sessions continued into 2006, but it was decided that we should invest in all of the musical equipment we had ever dreamed of to utilize on the album (to reduce any later urges to revisit/re-record the material, as we’ve been prone to do in the past). This became a lengthy and expensive process; I even went so far as to have equipment designed and created specifically for this music, all of this in the end resulted in having no budget to resume the sessions at the end of 2007. To top it off both Rage Of Achilles and then Black Lotus Records ultimately folded, so we had to sort out a new alliance to even release the album once it was done. Meanwhile the other band members were involved with other musical projects such as Brave and Twisted Tower Dire, as well as focusing on family, moving into new houses, getting married, etc.
At the beginning of 2008 I was personally so distanced from the music (because there was no need to even have hopes of completing the album until the budget was replenished), and found myself in a new relationship…one that I felt was worth investing in deeply…so much so that I was prepared to keep the band on hold until further notice (she was living in the EU and myself in the States, so the idea was WHW would not reactivate until we were together in the same place, because the band has cost me so many friendships and romances over the years, I wanted to give this one an honest chance). Unfortunately, after 6 amazing months, this relationship gradually turned into a torture for me, culminating in a heartbreaking moment over the icy Nissan river in Sweden, where I stood in January 2009 centimeters from throwing myself in…
I was gutted because I realized that I had invested everything I had in this, only to be abandoned and betrayed yet again…but it affected me in such a profound way, I wasn’t sure if I would ever transcend the agony and depression. For several months I drank myself away, extremely depressed and lost…finally I had the realization that the only thing that ever saved me from the hell of myself in the past was none other than While Heaven Wept. So I pulled myself together enough to take baby steps towards reactivating the band…after a very promising 1st rehearsal with new singer Rain Irving (who came out of nowhere mid 2008), the fires were lit and have been raging out of control ever since.
2. It`s possible to say that the recent three years have been exactly different than mentioned horrible period, isn`t it?
The fury of activity is driven solely by the fact that I needed to do this band like never before; there were so many complex and intense emotions inside of me…I needed to face my demons and purge myself of all the sorrow and horror I was carrying. Thus, I threw myself into this music like never before and the process of healing that began with “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” has finally reached a point of closure with “Fear Of Infinity”. This is what I needed to do to be “whole” again…to find myself…to heal and carry on a relatively “normal” life. I cannot however diminish the value of having these incredible musicians around me; it is they who have realized what I needed to express, and extremely proficiently I might add. We do get on tremendously well being that it is like a family; the core of the band has been together since 1998, but some relationships stretch back well before this…really only Rain was new to our “circle” and honestly, he fit right in as far as chemistry/personality is concerned.
3. How has new vocalist, Hank „Rain“ Irving, changed the life in your band? Does he inspire other members?
Rain coming into the fold essentially marks WHW coming “full circle” back to the original blueprints of the band in the late 80’s; I never had any intention of becoming the voice of the band…I’m a guitarist first and foremost…and only ever assumed that role because we could never find anyone else suitable to do so who wasn’t a diva, psychotic, or megalomaniac. Plus, it made sense for me to sing these songs as they are all based on events and relationships from my own life…but I digress here; when WHW first formed, there was a dedicated singer, and that is the way this band was always supposed to be configured, so in effect, Rain taking over that role has restored the original vision of the band. More practically, this has freed me up to focus on my primary instrument…where I am far more comfortable, and has enabled us to perform music that is far more demanding in a technical sense without compromising the quality of the vocals; it would’ve taken years for me to be even close to pulling off something like “The Furthest Shore” live as both the lead singer and guitarist for example.
Beyond this, the fact is Rain has a world-class voice that is far more universal compared to mine; I may be able to better express emotions regarding lyrics based upon my own life, but he is technically superior and in no way just a “cult” vocalist if that makes sense. So yeah, the band is inspired to back up such a talent…and we have given him a “new lease on life”; he’d essentially crossed that bridge into marriage and domestication…thus giving up on the dreams of youth…to rock haha…and that was unacceptable to me…he deserved to be heard. It’s really a great union and though it may not last forever, we’re making the best of it right now!
4. You signed the contract with Nuclear Blast. Could you possibly say how it happened, did they contact you or something like that?
Andy from Nuclear Blast initiated a conversation the Monday morning after our Hammer Of Doom 3 performance, and this lasted for months (Jaap also became involved ultimately)…we first developed a relationship as friends and then talked about the possibilities for WHW. Literally we spent hours lamenting the plights of CIRITH UNGOL and discussing the state of the industry today long before we “got down to business”…and this is an important point; WHW has been so “closed circle” or family-oriented this whole time…we would never align ourselves with bastards to put it bluntly. When Andy and Jaap first approached the boss about us, it was during a time when NB was focused on procuring big name acts like SEPULTURA, DORO, DESTRUCTION, FILTER…so we were passed over initially…and that was totally fine…we would’ve continued to do what we have done the past 21 years…however they ultimately went back to Markus to fight for us, and it came to fruition.
5. The first album of your collaboration is „Fear Of Infinity“. Could you possibly introduce us to its content?
Every album is an entity unto its own; we always allow the music to dictate where everything goes….but I can tell you that “Fear Of Infinity” ultimately became something unlike anything else prior. Emotionally, it IS a natural progression as far as the process that began with “Vast Ocean Lachrymose”…but musically it is the sound of WHW moving forward and reaching back simultaneously. Again, nothing has changed at the core of all this and almost all of the material was originally destined for “Vast Oceans Lachrymose”, but clearly this album is an island unto itself. From one perspective “Fear Of Infinity” is the most raw and straightforward of our albums (unfortunately is the weakest one, too – author), but stepping back to see it for what it really is…the stages of bereavement set to music…it is more complex than anything prior.
6. A lot of people blamed you about giving more Power Metal riffs and faster passages on „Vast Oceans Lachrymosae“. I think these musical elements have always been a part of your music. What do you think?
I’m glad that you recognize that we’ve always traversed a plethora of musical styles and pushed the boundaries, because that is the absolute truth; we never swore allegiance to a particular genre, though we have no problem being labeled as Doom, Prog, or Power really – it’s just that WHW doesn’t conveniently fit into the parameters of any one genre really. The fact is, we’ve had the same influences all along and each release represents different ratios of the same elements, filtered through the prism of the events and relationships that are most current in our lives. No WHW release has ever been forced into being or preconceived…whatever they ultimately become is based entirely upon where we are as individuals at the time of inception.
I do agree that “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” is the most overtly progressive of our albums, but on the same token it isn’t really THAT different from what we’ve done in the past; sure, every release is really its own entity and vastly different in atmosphere/production compared to the others, but they are completely natural in their origins nonetheless. The ironic thing is we have no interest in what people refer to as Power Metal in the contemporary sense; all of our influences are rooted in 80’s Power Metal (the first OVERKILL, ATTACKER, LIEGE LORD), 80’s Prog Metal (FATES WARNING, CRIMSON GLORY, QUEENSRYCHE), 80’s Doom (CANDLEMASS, WITCHFINDER GENERAL, TROUBLE), and tons of 70’s bands…from the giants to the obscure. The faster passages in our music are actually far more inspired by the likes of SLAYER, HOLY TERROR, and ARTILLERY than RHAPSODY for example. It’s like people have never heard double bass and clean vocals before or something!
7. Can you explain the orchestral and classic influences in your music, particularly in the past and now?
The bottom line is While Heaven Wept performs music that is very much classically orchestrated, but utilizing the instrumentation of a Metal band. I studied classical composition at University and have a deep love of this music from the Renaissance (Josquin, Palestrina, etc.) on through the 20th Century (Gorecki, Kilar, etc.) I also was nurtured on the music of RUSH, YES, and IRON MAIDEN courtesy of my brother (also a guitarist) and my cousins, so it’s all I my blood you know? And all of the band members of WHW have extremely diverse palettes musically, so the results are truly unique. The few constants are that this music is always sincere, melodic, heavy, orchestrated, and intense!
8. It is known, that you are the main composer of music. How did particular members of the group participate on the new album, did they bring good ideas?
While there were some ideas thrown around, the fact is we had a very short timeframe to realize the album, so it required a lot of trust on the part of the other musicians; while we did attempt to satiate every idea, the fact is if we didn’t adhere to the original vision and direction, this album would have never been completed on time. And it wasn’t! We delivered it late to the label, and that really was embarrassing, but yet, we can only do what we do. We have not even begun to tap into the talents and writing of all the band members…as everyone is in fact a writer unto themselves….but “Saturn And Sacrifice” is a joint composition between Scott and myself while “Obsessions Now Effigies” originates in a studio jam that went down in 2004 in Athens, Greece involving myself and members of BATTLEROAR, so steps forward in this regard are being taken. It’s actually rather exciting to consider we haven’t really tapped into our true potential yet!
9. What about the lyrics? Is there some message or did you directly make a conceptual album?
As it turns out “Fear Of Infinity” is very much a concept album, though it wasn’t planned; what you hear on this is a man cycling through the stages of bereavement through the prism that is music. Lyrically, as usual, it is primarily an A/B conversation, but simultaneously a cry from the masses that have been forsaken. It is extremely personal and as deep as it gets, but it is the only way that we know. All I can tell you is that through this music everything that ever needed to be said, is conveyed. It is as real as it gets.
10. So, does the lyrics state about suffering? Have the title and cover-artwork got a deeper sense?
In many ways this album revolves around the song “To Grieve Forever” in that there is a fear that this sorrow…this loneliness…will never end…in the words of our song “Voice In The Wind”….that eternity will be filled with the same regret. So as far as the cover art, all Gustavo would tell me is that it represents “a relationship” and I have my own interpretation of it; and I would prefer that the individual listeners would envision all this through their own eyes anyway. I know what it means to me….but this music is bigger than all of us.
11. Are you satisfied with the final form of music? Would you mind if you tell us something about production?
There is no question that this music is everything I ever had to say regarding the specific circumstances involved…it is what we do…convey real life in music. But that said, obviously if we had a few more weeks or months the final result would be superior (I completely agree –author); while I do believe “Fear Of Infinity” is a step forward in terms of production, there is still so much farther we could go. This aspect is the only unfortunate thing as far as this deal with NB is concerned. Musically “Fear Of Infinity” is exactly what I needed to say, so I would not change a thing and Gustavo unknowingly created a very appropriate cover, as it represents “a relationship” as he put it. So yes, I cannot complain at all about the album..it is what it is…and it is as real as it gets!
12. Which songs from your new album are you going to play live?
At this time, this is difficult to ascertain; being that we are playing several countries for the first time, we have to dive deep into the back catalogue, but if I were to hazard a guess at this point, I’d say “Saturn And Sacrifice”, „Finality”, “Effigies” and “To Grieve Forever” are all strong contenders! Eventually I’d love to perform the entire album complete!
13. In summer, you are planning to make some concerts in Slovenia, Hungary and Czech republic. Do you look forward to see your fans there?
I personally have neither knowledge nor evidence that anyone even cares who we are in these places, but we are most definitely ready and inspired to do what we do! It will most certainly be eye-opening for us, and I hope that we appease the handful of folks in these regions that I know have been waiting! There is never anything more important that reaching out and interacting with those who actually care!
14. Have you got a message for your long-time and newer fans?
Thank you to everyone who has supported us throughout the years; we would not be where we are without you. I hope you will embrace the new album as it is quite a different experience, but as always from the heart. Pick it up on April 22nd, and keep the tissues close…its an intense thing for sure. We hope to see you all out on the road!
