Interview with Bells Of Acheron - October 2009

1-Greetings Tom! What’s going on with WHW nowadays? The band is sort of “waking up”; do you see this as a “return”?

Greetings to you and your readers as well! We’re literally a week away from the release of our new CD “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” and I’ve been quite busy with the advance preparations; we’ve had to update all of our websites, prepare graphics for merchandise and advertising, several interviews, post-mastering work for the digital downloads, etc. It’s more or less been non-stop action since I returned to the studio this past May, and even though the album is complete, the work behind it never seems to end! As to whether or not this is a “return” – perhaps in some ways it is, and I’m sure due to the lengthy silence between albums many people are apt to assume we’re no more, but the fact is WHW is far from finished and though we’ve taken a couple breaks over the last 20 years, the band has in fact been ongoing.

2-What brought WHW to this 2 year break? Was it “dead but dreaming” like Cthulhu?

Haha…yes, perhaps it is a bit like Cthulu! I’m assuming you’re referring to the 2 years between updates on our official website, and that is a fairly accurate calculation in that we were very much active through the end of 2006, by which time we’d completed all of the basic tracks for the “VOL” album. There was a bit of a hiatus, which first transpired due to the decision to procure all of the musical equipment we’d ever dreamed of prior to the completion of the album, so as to avoid any later urges to re-record it (as I’m prone to have). This ended up being a rather lengthy, time-consuming (and expensive) process that ultimately resulted in the design and creation of 100% custom gear. Once this mission had been completed, I was completely exhausted, as were our finances, so there was no way for us to resume work on the album at that time. Frankly, I also had grown somewhat distanced from the material, unable to identify with the emotions contained within it, and thus, it had to be set aside until it was genuinely felt again – I’m sure you know how important it is for me that our music is always sincere. Meanwhile, the other members were not only pre-occupied with their other musical endeavors such as Brave and Twisted Tower Dire, they were also getting married, having children, and so forth – and of course the latter aspects are much greater priorities than any band. I myself also had gotten deeply involved with yet another relationship and wanted to give it an honest chance, without WHW impacting it in any way. Needless to say, this end up being a disastrous situation for me, as I invested everything I had, only for it to fall to ruin…crushing me in a way I hadn’t felt in nearly 20 years (since the original dissolution that lead to WHW in the first place). After a couple months spiraling downward in a deep, alcohol-fueled depression, I finally came to the conclusion that only WHW could save me from myself, and therefore it was time to awaken the slumbering beast once again; for as distanced as I felt from the music which comprised the then-unfinished “VOL” album just a year or so before, suddenly it was more relevant than ever, even vital to my survival, hence, I’ve been going non-stop ever since May…and it has in fact saved me once again.

3-I’d say the most important news is the arrival of Rain Irving on vocals. What can you tell us about him?

Some people may remember Rain from the Magna Carta/Roadrunner prog metal band Altura, who released a single album called “Mercy” back in 1996 to much critical acclaim. Since then, that band evolved into a very different project before ultimately going on indefinite hiatus. After a period of inactivity, Rain worked on his own projects Nailed and Every Waking Hour, where he not only sang but played all of the instruments as well – in both cases. What I can say about my experience in working with him is that he’s got a lot of soul, is a loving family man, has great taste in music (and beer!), he’s a real soldier of a singer with so much talent…and best of all, he fits in with the WHW band chemistry perfectly. It truly is a honor to be working with him, and despite the many people who were skeptical about him “stepping into my shoes,” I think now it is very clear that we made the right decision – both to us and the listeners, though I know there are those who wish I were still singing, and perhaps next album (as well as live), we’ll opt for the “best of both worlds.”

4-“Of Empires Forlorn” features a great range on vocals. Why did you decide to give up working the vocals?

There are a plethora of reasons as to why I’ve elected to step aside vocally, mostly relating live performance issues; all the years that I’ve been singing for WHW, I’ve felt as if I’ve never been able to give the same 110% that I’ve always wanted to give on stage, having been “spread thin” trying to give my all to two instruments – ultimately resulting in 50% devoted to each, which for me, was unacceptable. Further, the material that we’ve been working on as of late (both for “VOL” and it’s follow-up “Fear Of Infinity”) is extremely demanding musically, so it would take many years for me to come even close to mastering the ability to play AND sing these songs simultaneously…and being that in many ways these songs are something of a “full circle” back to the beginnings of WHW, I thought that rather than torturing myself, I’d simply revert back to the original vision of the band, where I was simply the guitarist supporting a dedicated singer, exactly the way it was back in the early days before “Lovesongs Of The Forsaken.”

5-Do you think this new situation brings the “cycle” of “Of Empires Forlorn” to a close? What labels released the different editions of this album? Was it also released by Brazil’s Rock Machine Records?

I feel like the “Of Empires Forlorn” cycle ended immediately after the European tour in support of the album back in 2004, after which a new line-up solidified and we immediately began working on “Vast Oceans Lachrymose.” The original pressing of “Empires” was released as a gorgeous digipak via Eibon Records in Italy, followed by a jewelcase pressing on the now-defunct U.K. label Rage Of Achilles, and finally by Brazil’s Rock Machine Records in 2005. Of course, it’s now currently out-of-print, but we’ll address that issue after the completion of “Fear Of Infinity.”

6-The album was recorded in 2002, and yet, it remains contemporary and interesting to listen to. The lyrics are very personal, and it possesses a unique balance between sad, sorrowful moods, and inspiring, epic moments. What’s behind this?

Hopefully what makes “Of Empires Forlorn” relevant and fresh to this day has something to do with the fact that the production and performances were of high quality, plus I believe albums that come from the heart tend to have more of a lasting impact – I can honestly say that all of our albums are 100% sincere, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Lyrically, WHW has always been and will always be based entirely upon real-life events, relationships, experiences; I’ve personally known incredible highs and devastating lows – often this music is the only way that I can truly express myself or deal with major changes throughout the journey that is life.

7-This album is full of contrast like life itself: sadness, pain, anger, joy. Have you exorcised some personal demons through your lyrics?

While Heaven Wept is most definitely all about catharsis and the need for personal expression; our music is borne from genuine emotion and especially in the case of negative feelings it allows the purgation of them in a positive way. Sometimes, the songs have a tendency to drag me back down into the place I was the day they were written, but more often than not, it feels as if a great weight has been lifted from my soul – this is certainly true to this very day considering “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” even.

8-“Of Empires Forlorn” breathes a sense of emotional loss. I believe you can overcome the loss but the void is never filled. What’s your take on this?

Sure, I know exactly what you mean and where you’re coming from…I know this to be absolutely true, in that some events are so profoundly life-altering that you’re never the same afterwards, but the question is: do you allow these things to drag you down for eternity or do you accept them, soldiering on with the wounds and scars regardless? I truly hope that those who empathize the most with our music will be aware of the fact that despite all the challenges, downfalls, and utterly crushing events in my life, I’m still here, striving to make the best of every day, loving as if I’ve never lost, and I’ve never given up despite the many times where it’s all I’ve wanted to do. Consider also that giving away pieces of one’s heart and soul – or even having them stolen, taken for granted, even downright brutalized, it doesn’t make you any weaker, rather quite the opposite.

9- The song “Voice in the Wind” outstands in this album. I wasn’t aware that it had been recorded originally by Jane, a symphonic prog/rock band from Germany. What can you tell us about them? How did you incorporate this song to WHW’s style?

Jane was a long-running German hard rock/symphonic rock band with numerous albums to their credit, who never really achieved much in the way of international success but in their home country, at the height of their career were only second to The Scorpions. Stylistically, they ran the gamut from straightforward hard rock to lush, symphonic rock – and towards the mid-to-late 70s exuded a strong Pink Floyd influence, much in the same way as Eloy. One of my former colleagues at Tower Records years ago had heard our older releases like “Lovesongs Of The Forsaken” and “Sorrow Of The Angels” then said to me that we reminded him of Jane – of course, this made me curious and I explored their full discography, unable to do anything other than agree with him. What I discovered was that WHW had a lot more in common with 70s symphonic rock bands such as Jane, Novalis, Pulsar, Grobschnitt (etc.) than anything else happening today, and it pained me to discover that these were bands who were largely overlooked due to the fact they sang in their vernacular language or were rendering obsolete in the media during the eras of disco/punk/new wave. To me, this was absolutely criminal, and I felt that any one of these bands could’ve achieved a much higher degree of success, so it’s become something of an underlying mission of me to do my part to insure these bands and their amazing music is never forgotten. With any luck, our little successes may even bring them some new-found attention as well. To answer the latter part of your question, let me just say that because of the fact that WHW already had so much in common with Jane musically, it wasn’t difficult at all to personalize “Voice In The Wind” at all – it was something of my personal “baby” on that album, was only altered to have real meaning to me emotionally, and otherwise, I strived to really preserve the stark qualities of the original piece, while giving it a more contemporary production. Hopefully, the band knows that it was a labor of love, a tribute to them, and in no way a meant to capitalize on their creativity…it was never about profit (as if there ever is profit to begin with!), only respect.

10-In previous interviews you have mentioned a wide array of influences including Coroner. In my opinion they have been grossly underrated, Are there, in your opinion, many bands that never got the recognition they deserved?

Absolutely; there are so many examples throughout the history of music where artists have either been ahead of their time, or were overlooked due to shifting trends/tastes in music – I mean, just think, just over a decade ago it was considered passé to play classic metal, thrash was being labeled as irrelevant in with the advent of death metal, or how about the many heavy and progressive bands that debuted during the punk/new wave era who where dismissed without prejudice in the late 70’s? I personally feel that the worst cases relate to bands like Manilla Road or Brocas Helm who never really disappeared, yet have for many years been overlooked by the vast majority of the “scene.” Thankfully, the tides have turned to some extent and not only are bands like these finally garnering accolades through the valiant efforts of a few, but additionally great bands that had been away for some time have returned and are finally getting the attention and respect they deserve such as Pentagram or Pagan Altar (believe it or not, just over 15 years ago you could find rare 45’s of Pentagram from the 70’s in bargain bins at second hand record stores around here locally…for little more that $1 US!). Unfortunately, there are bands like Cirith Ungol, who not only never were truly appreciated in their prime, but are still being taken advantage of to this day.

11-On the other hand we have bands that are totally overrated, getting by on their looks and the ability of labels to exploit trends in the market. What do you think of this? Care to mention some of these bands?

This has always been a reality of the music industry, which is more often than not motivated by greed; there are numerous examples throughout the last few decades where powerful record companies wanted a bigger slice of the pie and have subsequently saturated the market with second or even third rate bands that fell into the same category as a band that garnered huge commercial success. I’m not going to mention any names in particular, but just consider the eras of glam, grunge, thrash, death metal, black metal, nu metal to name a few…I’m quite sure that anyone who knows music is aware of the originators and emulators in each case. The bottom line is only a select few artists will have records which will be considered classics in 10, 20, 30 years…and those albums that truly stand the test of time will speak for themselves.

12-Let’s talk about the past. It’s been 20 years since you were with Polaris, and the start of WHW. How do see the trajectory of the band? Do you consider the fact that so many people (50 or more perhaps?) have been part of WHW to be a drawback in this long journey?

I would say that it has been a slow but completely natural evolution over the years, but a development in which we’ve never lost sight of our original influences, which remains as such to this day; we’ve always tended to expand “upward” rather than “outward” in the respect that our musical foundations are still intact – all we’ve ever really done is to experiment with various ratios of existing influences (although occasionally subtle new aspects are introduced). Regarding the admittedly shocking number of line-up changes, apart from the obvious setback of having to teach someone new the older material to get them “up to speed,” I’d say it’s quite the contrary of having been a drawback, rather almost everyone who has passed through the ranks of WHW at one point or another has contributed to the “WHW sound” in a positive way, and we wouldn’t be where we are now without them.

13-Were personal issues a defining factor in the development of WHW’s unique sound?

The best way to gauge this is to consider that when we first started in 1989, it was primarily motivated by musical needs – wanting to expand beyond that which we’d known previously with Polaris and otherwise, however, after some life-altering events the nature of the music certainly changed. WHW soon became a vehicle for deep, personal expression, and like I’ve said, often was the only way that I could express things I was feeling; I was rather shy, introspective, reserved in terms of communicating my feelings verbally as a teenager, so this music became my only means of really articulating what was going on within my heart and soul. I feel like I quickly became very adept at accurately expressing emotions through music, so I’m quite sure this directly related to the development of our sound. I must also give credit to the fact that I devoured so much music (and still do)…I feel that any real musician always has their ears open and thus may find influence in virtually everything they hear. If it weren’t for being open-minded musically and the sheer brilliance of my influences, who knows if WHW would’ve ever developed into something of its own?

14-Finding “The Drowning Years” 7ep and “The Mourning” split has been impossible for me. Are there any plans to release this rare material again?

I know that it’s often frustrating for people trying to find original copies of our past releases, and I do apologize for that, however, I have no intention of making anything other than the actual albums available again at the current time. There are many reasons why I’ve taken this stance, and I’ll try to explain my reasoning for this. First of all, each one of these releases – especially the vinyl singles, were exclusive to the label they were released on and considering those behind the labels typically were personal friends, I feel like I owe it to them to leave it that way. Secondly, I want them to remain special for those people who bought them when they actually were released. Lastly, I’m not the biggest fan of our past releases, and would rather not “relive” them again…this isn’t to diminish their value at the time emotionally or otherwise, but I’d basically rather leave the past to the past. The one exception that I made was the “Chapter One:1989-1999” 2LP release that came out via Metal Supremacy records, which collected together all of the material released during our first decade of existence…I felt at that time that it would be acceptable to offer one last chance to procure the music contained within for those to whom it really mattered (albeit once again in the form of a limited-edition vinyl). Perhaps my perspective will change someday, but I doubt it…and besides, I’m pretty sure that all of our material has since been put out there on torrent sites, so if people REALLY want it, it’s not totally inaccessible – but I’d appreciate it greatly if people didn’t download any of our music that is still commercially available since I actually pay for the recordings myself, and every sale thus makes it possible for the next recording to happen. Or at the very least, if one chooses to download it, and finds something of value in it, please follow through with the purchase of it – otherwise we might no be able to continue further…it’s not a scenario of the recording company losing out, rather WHW ourselves.

15-Will you be remastering Sorrow of the Angels? What’s the reason behind this?

For quite some time now I’ve had plans to revisit “Sorrow Of The Angels” because I was disappointed with the original release from the moment it left the studio…in terms of production, performance, and otherwise (for the record, this isn’t and has never been the fault of anyone in particular…simply that the studio didn’t have the capabilities that we needed, (though it was good for what it was capable of) and also because we felt pressured to complete it, therefore rushed the final mixing – something that will NEVER happen again). That said, the material itself is still very important and close to my heart, so I will not rest until the album has been realized exactly how I originally envisioned it. The plans that I have for “Sorrow Of The Angels” now are far more extensive than simply remastering it, but I’d rather keep the exact details to myself for the time being. I will say however, we’re looking at a 2CD set ultimately and “Of Empires Forlorn” will receive a similar treatment as well – however both of these projects will follow the completion of “Fear Of Infinity.”

16-How important is the past for you? What do you think of people that are new to metal but try to attach themselves to a musical past they didn’t even experience?

The past is what made us who we are, so it is valuable in that respect…however it is never wise to dwell within it for the present is all that we really have. As far as latecomers to the “scene” – I’m not one of those to shun them for being neophytes; we all started somewhere, and if someone really wants to learn, by all means I encourage it. I think it is foolish to horde music as if to take it to one’s grave…isn’t the whole point to keep it alive? Is it not a paradox to complain about how certain bands never got the attention they deserved, but then prevent someone who is “green” from learning to appreciate their music too? Of course, frauds are never welcome – people who would seek to gain “instant credibility” on the backs of those who laid the foundation stones of our temple, without doing a damn thing to earn their keep…that, to me, is whole other story. But anyone who gives credit where it is due and is willing to invest themselves in learning about the past, embracing and honoring it, they’re alright by me.

17-What can you tell us about your upcoming album “Vast Oceans Lachrymose”? Who’s producing it? Do you feel the need to have a producer help to somehow “direct” and focus the band?

“Vast Oceans Lachrymose” will be released in the USA on November 3rd, 2009 and in Europe on November 6th via Italy’s Cruz Del Sur Music on CD. My good friend Mike Pritchard of Maniacal Records will be releasing a 180gm LP version in a limited edition of 500 copies shortly thereafter. It is unquestionably the most diverse musical offering so far in the discography of WHW, encompassing every aspect of our musical past – even facets that always existed back to the very beginning, but had never been revealed until now. All of the material contained within existed prior to the recording of “Empires,” and this, I am sure will be surprising to some, considering its diversity. “VOL” is also the most elaborate production to date as far as WHW is concerned; our recording engineer Chris Salamone and I labored to the point of complete physical, emotional, and spiritual collapse upon these final mixes (as well as the mastering) – once the album started to dictate itself how it was meant to be heard, we merely did what was necessary to realize it. And I believe that we have!

18-Is being with a thorough label like Cruz del Sur Music a guarantee to finally have the kind of production you’ve always wanted for WHW?

While Cruz Del Sur Music has been extremely supportive in terms of working with us throughout this process, the fact is that the same could be said of all of our past collaborators as well – the difference I suppose is that Enrico has established a much stronger foothold within the industry comparatively. It is important to keep in mind that any label we work with simply “runs with the ball” as it is WHW ourselves who bankroll the recordings and develop all the basic plans of action, further we are extremely active on all fronts ourselves. We are intimately involved with every aspect of each release because they are so personal, and that will never change. That said, Cruz Del Sur Music have been absolutely wonderful to work with, and we cannot even begin to articulate how appreciative we are of their efforts so far!

19-Is “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” in the same theme line of “Of Empires Forlorn”? Is it full of such personal lyrics and emotions?

“VOL” like all WHW releases is very much related to the heart and soul…the specific experiences, emotions, events detailed within the lyrics may be different, but as always are very much real. Think of each WHW album as something of an aural diary or portrait of where we are during the time in which it was recorded, as that really is the reality of it all. We won’t ever play anything that isn’t genuinely felt, nor do anything just for the sake of doing so; it must be genuine, sincere or it’s bullshit in my opinion.

20-You are a big Candlemass fan. What do you think of their later albums, and the arrival of Robert Lowe to the mythic Swedish band?

Honestly, I haven’t really listened to any of them thoroughly, but I think it’s great for Robert – he certainly was a logical choice for the band. The samples I’ve heard do sound quite good, and it seems the most recent album sees Robert recapturing some of that legendary “Into The Depths Of Sorrow” style in his voice. Also I must say that the guitars in particular sound absolutely amazing on the latest LP! I suppose now that I’ve complete “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” it’s pretty much my duty to give these releases a few good spins, eh?

21- Ok Tom, any final words for WHW followers in Latin America?

Thank you so much for your support and patience all throughout these 20 years, I really hope that everyone will feel that “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” was worth waiting for, and I do apologize for the lack of distribution down there…hopefully we’ll be able to resolve this at some point in the near future, perhaps with even a dedicated licensing (if any labels are interested, please contact me directly!). In the meantime, please check out our websites for the latest news, streaming audio, and regular updates:
www.whileheavenwept.com
http://www.myspace.com/whileheavenwept
http://www.garageband.com/artist/WHW
http://www.last.fm/group/While+Heaven+Wept

Cheers and take care! Chau!