Interview with Lords Of Metal, November 2009

Hey Tom, how are you doing these days? I guess you must be glad Vast Oceans Lachrymose finally is finished?

I’m doing great brother, thanks for asking…I hope you’re doing well too; it’s been quite some time since we last visited you in Rotterdam huh? We’ll have to remedy that some time soon! And indeed, the completion of Vast Oceans Lachrymose is quite a relief as there were times when I wasn’t sure if we’d ever finish it! Of course, there was no way I’d discuss it so openly in the past and not deliver it ultimately, but it had to be done when the time was right for me mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. I hope that everyone can understand that WHW is very much related to the heart and soul rather than a business plan, and we all appreciate everyone’s patience all these years.

I got a promotional download through your label Cruz del Sur, but you provided me with a different, better mix. So I was wondering if the promotional version that was provided to journalists isn’t the version that will be in the shops? Can you explain this?

Well, this was the result of being a bit short-sighted as far as planning was concerned; I was quite sure that I’d booked a more than generous amount of studio time to allow for a relaxed approach to the final release date – I had no idea the final production would become such an ordeal. Ultimately, due to publishing deadlines and ads having already been paid for, it became essential to deliver at least some approximation of the master to the media, thus Chris Salamone and I produced an initial master that we felt was good enough to fall back upon in the event that we were unable complete the actual final master in time. Thankfully, delivering that initial master bought us an extra week to finalize the album the way we actually envisioned it. The initial master will not be released officially at this time, rather the final production master that I provided you with, and I think rightly so…it is superior sonically in several ways. That being said, the initial master has it’s own charm and features completely different mixes, so perhaps at some point we’ll do a limited vinyl pressing of this for the diehards. Time will tell…

Most people know that you are a perfectionist when it comes to writing and recording your music. You have mentioned Vast Oceans Lachrymose several times already in the past and now it’s here. Still it took about 5 years since your album Of Empires Forlorn. I guess a lot of things influenced the time between the releases, so what happened that we had to wait for such a long time?

After the last tour in 2004, where the line-up at the time had clearly run its course, first it was necessary that we resolved this by procuring new members that shared the same vision as Jim Hunter and myself, which took a little time of course, despite the obvious answers being right in front of us. The rest of that year was spent rehearsing the material (all of which had been written prior to the recording of “Empires”) and taking “test drives” in various studios – not that we were at all unsatisfied with Assembly Line whatsoever, but we felt like we needed to take a look into all of our options. Once we’d settled upon Salamone’s Recording Studio, we actually began the tracking for this album in early 2005 and had continued laying down overdubs throughout 2006. Somewhere in the middle of all this, I thought that it would be wise to procure all the gear we’d ever dreamed of, for use on this album, before it was completed, so as to avoid the urge to re-record anything later. This “tonequest” was a very expensive, exhausting endeavour and eventually even resulted in the designing our own custom instruments, effects, amps, etc. – a process that took more than a year to complete, but I must say it was absolutely worth it in the end. The drawback of course was, by this time finances completely dried up, our sister bands had become embroiled in other projects/commitments, and frankly I was burnt out. I guess in some capacity because I knew we didn’t have the funds to complete “VOL” there was no point in even dwelling upon it…which in turn distanced me from the material we’d already tracked. Further, as various life-altering events transpired, I started to prioritize other things, and as you might have heard, the other members started building families and so forth as well, so WHW was placed on indefinite hiatus for a while. Fast forward to 2009, after yet another deep relationship ended in complete devastation for me along with the news that both my brother and mother had cancer, I found myself in the darkest place I’d been in 19 years, and in fact, quite ready to be done with this existence entirely. Plunging into an alcoholic coma, I’d sunken to a place where bad decision upon bad decision seemed to be the norm, making everything worse…an endless spiral of anger, sadness, and insanity. It took quite a bit of soul searching to discover the way “out” of all this misery, and just as when WHW had first formed, the realization came to me – only WHW can save me from myself. That very realization, along with an extremely fruitful demo session at Rain’s house lead to the complete reactivation of WHW en force, and from there the remaining layers of the album came together swiftly; lyrics poured out in a way that they had not in years, I was completely identifying with the emotions woven into this material, and knew it was the only thing I could possibly do to transcend the hell of myself once again. I do, however apologize to all those who have been waiting all this time, but I hope everyone who was can appreciate the need for “keeping it real” and will feel satisfied with the end result.

This album is also the debut of your new vocalist Rain Irving. Why did you decide to quit singing yourself and find a new vocalist? And where and how did you find Rain?

You know, I guess for some it is hard to believe, but I’ve never been a fan of my own voice, and for years have been searching for someone that I felt could express our songs as I felt and envisioned them. Further, I wasn’t the original vocalist of WHW, nor the second…I’d only ever stepped up to the microphone because we could never locate someone who wasn’t a diva or psychotic, but it wasn’t ever meant to be permanent. I’ve always been a guitarist first and foremost, despite aspirations to be a singer all along…but it was always a thorn in my side, because I’d never be even close to those whom I worship vocally (Steve Perry, John Arch, Freddie Mercury, etc.) no matter how hard I practiced. That being said, the one good aspect of my singing was that I was able to convey the emotions of the lyrics in a way no one else could, having lived every word of them. At any rate, over the years, my limitations as a singer became more obvious in a live setting; I always felt torn between my guitar and vocals, unable to give the full 110% I wanted to rather only 50/50 split between two instruments…and for me, this was unacceptable. This reality was a primary motivation to bring in someone who could relieve the burden from my shoulders, and allow me to deliver what I’d always intended for those who’ve supported us so deeply…freedom to express myself as I only can via the guitar. We’d already been talking to various singers, who are all great in their own right, when Rain contacted us through MySpace as a fan of “Empires.” Emails were exchanged and I knew of his work with Altura anyway, but it wasn’t until I noticed he lived right here in Virginia that the cogs started turning in my head. I mean, here was this world-class singer, sitting around in rural Virginia, doing homemade demos rather than standing on stage in front of a vast audience…it boggled my mind really. Thus, I just threw the idea out there that perhaps he might be interested in auditioning for WHW (although, having heard his work with Altura and Every Waking Hour, I knew he was exactly what we’d been looking for all this time), and although he, like many others, couldn’t fathom a WHW without me singing, said he’d give it a go. Needless to say, we sent mp3’s back and forth for over a year, but it wasn’t until I drove out to his house and explained my own visions/melodies/ideas that it all started to come together. Not only did things come together very quickly in musical terms, but it was clear the chemistry was right for WHW, and that “sealed the deal” so to speak. I really hope that even the most sceptical will embrace Rain as a true, contributing member of WHW, as he’s more than proven himself on the “VOL” album in my opinion.

Some other new faces in the band are drummer Trevor Schrotz and keyboard-player Michelle Schrotz. Tell us how they got in the band?

Well, I’d like to clarify something regarding Michelle, as she’s been performing with WHW live since 1999…just as long as her brother Scott and Jim…but for many years she was “Michelle Loose” until she wed Trevor, so perhaps this is the cause for some confusion. As for Trevor himself, we’d previously worked together in Brave, and he also rehearsed some of the “Empires” material with us after Jon Paquin parted ways with the band in 2001, but then we had a falling out related to Brave that rendered the collaboration mute – and I’ll take the majority of the blame for that (and probably deserve more). With time, wounds had healed, bridges burnt were rebuilt, and we reached some semblance of homeostasis again, so when Jim and I were discussing how we would approach this obviously more intense material, Trevor was the first drummer that came to mind. Fortunately, we’d grown both as individuals and musicians and the desire to collaborate was mutual – much like Rain, Trevor’s contribution to this album is undeniable, and he deserves all of the accolades that he’s receiving as far as I’m concerned. For the first time ever, it really does feel like WHW is a band, and this is no slight on past members…but everything just feels “right” in a way that could never be forced or contrived.

Compared to your previous material VOL differs on some aspects. The trademark WHW melodies and so on are still there but you also included faster parts, more technical and even progressive parts. I’d say as a band you’ve become more versatile. I assume you already had this musical picture in your mind? Still it’s interesting to hear from you how this progression came about?

As aforementioned, all of this material was composed prior to the recording of “Empires,” and in some cases, even a decade before, so really “VOL” is simply the revealing of other facets of WHW that the members of the band always knew to exist. Of course, everyone has progressed as musicians, but compositionally this material has existed for a long period of time. Typically, there IS a musical portrait indeed; in that each album is an entity or expression unto itself…there’s never been anything random about any WHW release. I’ve always been very adamant about the flow from song-to-song on every album, and the material is selected from that which we have amassed over the last 20 years and based upon what I’m attempting to convey as well as that which naturally fits together. I know some of our past releases seem more monochromatic or one-dimensional, but there is a reason for this…for example, the unyielding doom of “Sorrow of the Angels” is a musical personification of the monotony of deep depression. At any rate, as I’ve grown as a musician and individual, I have come to better recognize the value of contrasts, so from “VOL” forward, every release will be more gratifying in terms of diversity and expression…yet, still dependent upon where we are emotionally, spiritually, mentally, because if it isn’t sincere…we’re not doing it.

I know you have a tendency to take quite some time in the studio mixing and remixing the music. So tell us did it take a long time to finish the album? Was there any pressure from the label or something like that to come up with the album?

Once the sleeping giant awakened, the album took on its own course, which involved countless rough mixes, tracking and re-tracking, experiments, but still no compromises. Literally, I possess over 50 rough mixes of “VOL” – some of which feature completely different instrumentation and arrangements, as well as different methods of mixing (aesthetically). On one hand, I could say “well…it did take 6 years….” but that wouldn’t be entirely accurate, as most of the production work took place in 2009, along with extensive improvisation and additional arranging. Truth is, I could’ve easily spent another 6 months on the production, but you know how it is Pim…eventually a line must be drawn or the album may never see the light of day. As far as label pressure, I’m quite sure Enrico of Cruz Del Sur experienced more than a few sleepless nights, being aware of my penchant for perfectionism, and he did apply some pressure when the aforementioned publication and distribution deadlines began looming ever closer, but at the same time, I think he knew what he’d gotten himself into before we even tracked the first note. I certainly felt quite a bit of pressure on this album because in the past, I’d at least had Jim or Scott in the studio with me during the production phase; this time I was on my own - but after a zillion mixes I got to a point where I couldn’t trust my ears any longer…it became quite torturous really with one second guess after another. In the end, it all boiled down to whether or not the album accurately portrayed what I heard in my head and felt in my heart…and I believe it does…so it’s a case of all’s well that ends well. But make no mistake bro…it nearly killed me.

How did you hook up with Cruz Del Sur by the way?

Enrico had contacted us even before “Empires” was released, and had expressed interest in working with WHW for years; he’d even distributed “Sorrow Of The Angels” in Argentina during his years there, so our connection goes back more than a decade. Over time, we developed a close friendship, talking at length about the industry, bands, and life, so when our last label Black Lotus collapsed, it seemed to be a natural move to join the Cruz Del Sur roster – after all, our brothers in Slough Feg and Widow (among others) were already part of the family. We’ve always aligned ourselves with people that really felt and believed in the band, so this collaboration just feels “right.” I hope “VOL” will be mutually gratifying for both WHW and CDSM in the end…I know we’re a bit of a handful to say the least!

When word came out you signed with Cruz Del Sur, a single was mentioned to be released this year and I think the album was planned for next year. So I guess plans changed right?

This actually had more to do with WHW itself, in that I wasn’t sure if I was “ready” to dive in full-on again; the single was intended to be my first step back into “the game” – and possibly the last expression of WHW at the same time…it is, without question the single greatest song of our entire discography…I couldn’t see any possibility of anything greater or subsequent for that matter. We spent several months rehearsing it, primarily out of emotional necessity, but once I’d rolled out to Rain’s to demo some of the “VOL” material, everything changed…a fire was lit, and is now a raging inferno; we set aside the said single and immersed ourselves into the unfinished album with great passion – an act that was very natural and ultimately, necessary. WHW was far from over, and the bottom line is, one thing lead to another, quite literally. I wouldn’t change a thing now, because I’ve found myself again, and like I said, this is the first time everyone involved is clearly on the same page.

As a vinyl fanatic like myself it’s also good news that a vinyl version will be released through Maniacal records. What can you tell about that one and when will it be released?

Maniacal Records will release a 180gm audiophile version of the “VOL” album imminently – literally within a week or two of the CD release – it’s just a matter of us sitting down with the test pressings to verify all is well. It will be housed in a stunning gatefold sleeve designed by Mauro (of Eibon Records/Canaan) and myself. One of the coolest aspects of “VOL” in any format is how personally involved with the graphics I’ve been…I literally took all of the internal photographs myself, and each one corresponds to a song for specific reasons. This album is all about the complete package, and I hope that people will appreciate this.

I guess it also has been a while since you’ve played live right? I know you recently did a gig on the Born Too Late II festival in Rochester, NY. So how was that after a period of silence on the live front?

Ironically, until this year, the last time WHW performed onstage was in fact, in The Netherlands (which we adore after having done so) back in 2004. Needless to say, Born Too Late was an opportunity to “shake off the rust” in many respects (for the veteran WHW members) and also a chance to debut the new line-up as well. It came about because John Gallo (of Orodruin/Blizaro/Crucifist fames) had asked us as a personal request to participate once again (we’d played the original Born Too Late festival as well), and there was no way we could turn “the Professor” down. Beyond that, what I thought was really cool about the event was that all of the bands from the first edition were represented in one way or another on this billing, so to me, it was more of a family reunion than anything else. While we all know we could’ve done better, considering we’d only had 2 full-band rehearsals prior to the event, it was fantastic…probably the best this band has sounded live since 1999 really…but we really are aware that it could be better, with more experience together as a cohesive unit and more rehearsal. All in all, it was an incredible festival and such an honour to share the stage with such killer bands (and close friends).

You will also head over to Europe again next year. You have been booked on the Hammer Of Doom 3 festival in Germany. Any other plans you can reveal concerning European gigs?

Right now, Hammer Of Doom III (to take place February 6th, 2010 in Wurzburg, Germany) is the only show that is booked – and we’ve signed an exclusivity contract for that event, which is more than fine…I think it’s one of the most important events for the doom metal scene in the world, and we’re quite honoured to have been asked to partake in it. That being said, there are some other offers and ideas on the table, so you can be sure we will return to the EU before the end of 2010 for other festivals and possibly a short tour. There are even plans extending into 2011 for Europe, but a lot truly rests upon the response to this album in general and the financial climate as well – having spent way more than we’ve even earned on the completion of this album, our first priority is paying off this studio debt above all (“VOL” was once again a self-financed affair). No matter what, we’ll definitely hook something up in the near future, and unquestionably we’ll be back to Holland to make good on our promise to perform “Voice in the Wind” next time around!

You usually have a lot of things planned quite a long time ahead, so what’s there to tell concerning the future of WHW and upcoming events?

Apart from arranging performances in support of “VOL” we’re very much intent on getting back into the studio to complete the next album “Fear Of Infinity” which is for all intents and purposes, the other half of “VOL” – and an even more diverse affair. Following this, we’ll be sorting out the often-discussed re-issues of “Sorrow of the Angels” and “Of Empires Forlorn,” both of which have been out-of-print for many years. Other than that, we really just want to get out there and play as often as possible – we’ve got a lot of ideas for the stage that we’d like to see realized. For now, we’ll just take it as it comes.

Well Tom, I guess that’s all from my side. Anything else you might want to add?

Pim, first of all I want to thank you for this opportunity to discuss “VOL” – it’s very much appreciated. Also, thanks for taking care of us there the last time we were over – those were some of the best moments of that tour. Otherwise, I’d like to thank everyone else over there that’s been waiting so patiently all this time and never gave up on us, “VOL” is as much for you as it is us, and we will see you as soon as possible! Hail!