Interview with Metalkrant - November 2009

The album Vast Oceans Lachrymose came five years after Or Empires Forlorn. Why Took you so long time for the new record?

Despite the fact that all of the material found on the “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” album was compositionally complete even prior to the recording of the “Of Empires Forlorn” album, after the 2004 EU tour, we endured more line-up changes (which are always a setback as you could imagine), and spent the remainder of the year rehearsing this material. We tracked the album throughout 2005 and 2006, but before completing the album, I decided that it would be wise to procure all of the instruments (and other musical gear) we’d ever dreamed of first, so that we’d be able to utilize them for the finalization of the album (so as to avoid my usual urges later on to re-record things). This process was extremely exhausting physically, mentally, and financially…leaving me rather catatonic after a year’s time. Meanwhile, the other members’ other bands (Twisted Tower Dire, Brave, etc.) had their own commitments to fulfill as far as gigging and recording…plus, Trevor and Michelle had their first child, people were getting married, settling into new homes, changing careers, etc. (all of these thing are of course, far more important than any band). Early in 2008, I became romantically involved with someone very special to me that had come out of nowhere…considering the fact WHW was on hiatus, and I didn’t exactly “feel” the material at that time, I elected to devote myself entirely to this relationship – as WHW has in the past been the death of many (both platonic and romantic), so I felt this was important to give an honest, thorough effort. Unfortunately, this turned into one of the most catastrophic events of my life emotionally…as things turned from heaven to hell after many months…eventually leaving me completely devastated, alone, and in the darkest place I’d been in 19 years. I wasn’t even sure if I’d make it through this, having given myself so completely…I was drowning myself in alcohol, suicidal, lost…and it wasn’t until I asked myself “how did I transcend a hell of this magnitude before?” that it dawned on me – it was through the music of WHW that I’d healed once before…perhaps it was the only thing that could save me once again. Empathizing completely with the “VOL” material once again, it was clear that it was time to proceed with the completion of it…and once I threw myself into this process…it’s been non-stop since. And has, in fact, given me a new lease on life once again…plus, being that real emotions are so integral to WHW, I was able to purge myself of all that weighed upon me through the realization of “VOL.”

Who has the bandname actually considered and does it has one meaning?

The moniker While Heaven Wept refers to a specific day many years ago when personal tragedy and “supernatural” (or at least meteorological) events collided…where the tears and the rain could not be differentiated. That said, While Heaven Wept has many meanings, and surely this differs from person-to-person…so I’d rather leave this up to each individual’s interpretation for that reason (just like our lyrics).

The band exists for 20 years now. Are you going on a European tour to celebrate that?

At the moment, our only commitment in Europe is co-headlining Hammer Of Doom III in Wurzburg, Germany on February 6th, 2010 with Saint Vitus, however we’re definitely discussing a variety of options with promoters, agencies, our label, and our fellow brethren…you can be sure that we will be touring in support of “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” over there…though this may entail several separate trips to the EU to accommodate the many different geographic regions. We’ll certainly keep all of our websites up-to-date as things develop.

How have you find the new singer Rain Irving?

Rain actually contacted me via our MySpace page just to express his thoughts about “Of Empires Forlorn” which apparently he had really fallen in love with. We exchanged a few emails, and once I realized that he was right here in Virginia too, plus doing little more than demoing his own material, I thought I’d extend an offer to him to try out for the vocalist position in WHW. Initially, he was quite taken aback thinking that WHW was so intimately related to my voice it was impossible to envision anyone else taking over (the same reaction as many singers who I’ve discussed this possibility with have had over the years), but ultimately he decided to have a go. I sent him some rough tracks from the “VOL” album, and he sent them back to me with his own melodic ideas – most of which actually weren’t what I had in mind – but it was clear that there was a quality in his voice that was perfect for our music, so finally in the late Spring of 2009, I drove out to his house and sang the melodies that I envisioned to him. We subsequently demoed all the songs for the album over two sessions, and that’s when things truly came together. For the record, despite the skepticism from some of our friends and fans, we wholeheartedly believe that bringing in Rain was the correct decision…hopefully the completed “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” is evidence of this.

Doesn’t Rain Irving plays no longer by its old band Altura!

Altura have been inactive for many years now unfortunately. After their critically acclaimed debut “Mercy” in 1996, differing opinions on musical direction lead to something of an impasse. They did record a few other things under different monikers that were quite a bit more straightforward, but I don’t believe these even were released. At various points in time, there have been stirrings and movements to regroup for another Altura record, but as is the case with most people who’ve gone on to get stable jobs, build families, etc., it’s easier said than done…plus, Rain is very much committed to WHW right now, so who knows how that will impact things. I certainly wouldn’t be adverse to having another album from Altura in my hands!

Who writes the numbers, and what do you do first writing the numbers or recording the songs?

While all of the musicians that have been involved with WHW over the years have contributed some details to the arrangements, ultimately I have been the sole composer since 1990 (there were a couple songs early on in 1989 that were collaborative between the founding members). This isn’t because I don’t welcome or encourage the others to write…I most certainly do…but you have to remember that WHW consists of musicians who are members of several other bands, so in many cases, those remain their primary outlets for expression. Actually, I think the next album “Fear Of Infinity” will include a couple collaborations as Scott brought a large portion of a song to the table, that I subsequently completed, and also there’s a song that I developed through a jam session with some members of the Greek epic metal band Battleroar. As for whether the lyrics or music come first, it tends to vary from song-to-song; many of the earliest songs I had the lyrics first, and this contributed to their final length…most of the more recent material, the music came first, and this would explain the “condensed” approach (as far as number of repetitions, etc.)…and some songs such as “The Drowning Years” or “Sorrow Of The Angels” evolve as support for a vocal melody.

You write long numbers instead of short. Writing short numbers likes me more easy, is there a reason you write long numbers instead of short?

There is neither rhyme nor reason nor definition with regards to the WHW songwriting process; every song unfolds naturally, without force and is never contrived – a specific event or emotion provides a catalyst, and the songs ultimately write themselves…I’m merely a channel through which the music is revealed. The length of our songs sometimes has to do with the overall tempo of the piece, and as aforementioned sometimes is the result of lyrics having been revealed before the music (and these do take equal precedence). There are also instances where it’s clear that two sections belong to the same song, but don’t fit together directly, so then it is a matter of the transitions revealing themselves to us…which in the case of something like “The Furthest Shore,” could involve 8-9 changes to bridge the sections…it all depends on where the music leads us! There are other songs in the discography (both released and forthcoming) that clock in at much shorter lengths too…it’s just always a case-by-case basis.

On the end of the album there is a long instrumental number taken up. Weren’t you inspired enough to thinks lyrics?

From the moment “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” started to develop, it was always intended to be instrumental…the way it layers, building waves upon waves…there’s not much room for a vocal part (in this form, anyway). You’ll notice there actually are lyrics for the song printed in the CD booklet, but they are not sung. I have a vocal melody for the song, but it would require re-arranging the whole thing slightly to accommodate this, perhaps someday we’ll tackle, but this would be more for ourselves than for any release; “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” manages to say quite a bit without a single word, especially when taken within the context of the whole album (the way it is intended to be).

Are you going to play that instrumental song live?

I think ultimately, the goal is to play the new album in its entirety, however I think we’ll only be able to do this during select headlining concerts because for festivals and so forth people expect our sets to represent all of the albums and eras of WHW. Approaching concerts in this way makes it much more exciting for the band and the audience for sure, given the diversity of the material in existence. Needless to say, I’m quite sure “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” will be included in the set, at least for all the shows done in support of this album.

While Heaven Wept exists for 20 years now, do you hope on an international breakthrough?

Honestly, we’ve been active in international terms for many, many years now and we’ve always focused on Europe more so than even the USA, since the very beginning; our greatest foundation of support has always come from countries such as Germany and Greece, where pure heavy metal exists in the hearts of many. If you’re referring to chart success or fortune/fame/power on an international scale…the fact is that for me (and I think all of WHW), true success is accurately expressing the emotions of our songs, capturing it on a recording in a fashion that mirrors what we hear in our heads, and perhaps then making a difference in the life of even one other human being; if even just one other person feels connected or simply not alone on account of our music, then that is true success.

Last but not Least we want to ask if we again have to wait five years for a new While Heaven Wept album?

This largely is dependent upon how quickly we’re able to pay off the massive studio debt resultant from the completion of the “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” album; being that since day one, we’ve financed everything out of our own pockets, it takes us a lot longer to do recordings, because we won’t compromise on their sonic quality – but we’re also not even close to being wealthy; we all live from paycheck-to-paycheck, just like anyone else…and bills, family, other responsibilities come before studio time. All we can hope is that we do sell enough copies of “VOL” and related merch to at least break even…if we can manage to do this, the fact is the follow-up album “Fear Of Infinity” is compositionally complete already. Only time will tell…