Interview with Schweres-Metall.de, November 2009

Hello Tom, how are you?

I’m doing great, thank you for asking…I hope things are well over there too!

The new album ´Vast Oceans Lachrymose´ is our album of the month, congratulations! What matters this fact to you and the band?

Wow! That’s truly fantastic news! I’m not sure if the album necessarily warrants the extremely generous praise…but it is truly very much appreciated, and we certainly worked very hard on it. It’s truly an honour for us to have such accolades bestowed upon our expressions. Thank you very much!

Please tell me about the other press-feedback so far.

Oh, the feedback from the press in general has been absolutely flattering and humbling; some of the comments are so shockingly positive that it’s sometimes hard to believe what we’re hearing/reading. We really didn’t expect THIS strong of a reaction…in fact, we were actually quite worried that we’d disappoint our long-time friends and fans because of the more progressive/aggressive nature of the material – even if the songs are quite old and everything is a totally natural evolution. Thankfully, it seems that people are pleased for the most part…ecstatic in some cases, so we’re truly grateful to our fans for being so open-minded. It’s also mind-blowing to consider that a totally self-financed, DIY recording is garnering perfect scores and landing the top slots of Soundchecks too. Really amazing, and we’re very, very grateful.

How must we imagine the songwriting-process and how long did the band work to finish the album?

The concept of “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” dates back to 1995, and in fact some of the songs included on the final release were always part of it (thought the rest of the album evolved over the years as new material was realized). All of the material was composed prior to our last album “Of Empires Forlorn” however, so it’s had some time to “mature.” I think perhaps the actual recording process took longer than the songwriting, but the lyrics were probably the biggest hold-up; only when I’m truly feeling something, such as after a life-altering event or the demise of a relationship do the words flow freely – that is what makes them so sincere; I cannot ever force the music nor the words into being – they must come from true emotions and inspirations.

I think it was a right decision to present a new vocalist on the new album. In my opinion a quantum jump. Do you agree?

I certainly agree with you personally, as the original vision and line-up of WHW included a dedicated vocalist – I only ever took over because I could never find someone afterwards that was suitable, who wasn’t an egomaniac or psychotic! I’ve never been a fan of my own vocals, but the one good thing about them was that since the lyrics are all based upon my own life experiences, I could express the emotions more clearly than anyone, obviously. That said, Rain did an absolutely amazing job on “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” and he elevated the whole album in my opinion. I know there are many people who still wish I was singing, at least in some capacity…and all I can say is, I do stand by my decision to bring Rain into the fold. Eventually though, I think I’ll contribute more vocally in the future – if naught else in a harmonic capacity.

Please introduce the bands new vocalist Rain Irving or rather how did you get in contact with him?

Some people might remember Rain from his previous band Altura, who released one album on Magna Carta/Roadrunner back in 1996 called “Mercy.” This was firmly in the Dream Theater style, albeit with a bit more metal woven into the fabric. Due to musical differences and conflicting opinions on their next move, the band never followed up that album with anything other than a couple demos/rehearsals, which is certainly a shame. In the succeeding years, Rain has worked on a couple solo projects….Nailed and Every Waking Hour, where he wrote and performed all the instruments (and sang of course) – these projects were darker and heavier than Altura, but still quite progressive. As far as how we got in touch with each other, he basically wrote to me via MySpace in early 2008 just to say how much he loved the “Of Empires Forlorn” album…we exchanged a few emails and once I realized who he was, and also noticed he lived here in Virginia, the cogs started turning in my head! Basically, I threw the idea of collaborating on the table, and while he was initially taken aback at this notion (as he, like many of the singers I’d offered the microphone to over the years couldn’t envision anyone other than myself singing), ultimately he agreed to give it a shot. I sent him some of the rough mixes from the album (at least whatever we’d tracked up until the end of 2006), and a few lyrics/ideas but basically just let him go wherever he went – to allow him complete freedom to create melodies and so forth. While his initial ideas were quite a bit different from what Jim and I envisioned, there was a quality to his voice that clearly rang out, indicating this was “our man.” A little over a year later, in the Spring of 2009, I took a trip out to his house to finally meet in person and work on actual demos for the album, utilizing the melodies and lyrics that I’d developed….it was at that point that it was clear something magical was happening, and we both realized it. We spent a long time discussing my approach to vocals and techniques that I’ve used over the years, so that he could incorporate the redeeming qualities of my style into his own delivery. In the end, the result is an amalgamation of both of our styles; my melodies and lyrics, his personality and delivery. I also have to say that Rain is a genuinely cool guy, and he fits into this band (in terms of chemistry) absolutely perfectly…we were truly lucky to find each other!

Especially the divine “To Wander The Void” reminds me on old & ingenious Fates Warning stuff like “Guardian” from the ‘Awaken The Guardian’ album. Was this intended and what are your favourite progressive metal albums?

“To Wander The Void” is very much a tribute to early, John Arch-era Fates Warning, kind of a musical “thank you” for all their great music and years of inspiration…but it is just as personal and heartfelt as all of the WHW material. As for my favourite progressive metal albums, I tend to opt for mostly older releases, that I’ve listened to for decades such as “Awaken The Guardian,” “The Spectre Within,” and “No Exit” from Fates Warning in particular….but there are others….Queensryche’s “Warning” and “Rage For Order,” the first couple Crimson Glory albums, Psychotic Waltz….however, in recent times, I consider some of the more experimental black metal like Arcturus, Beyond Dawn, Ved Buens Ende, later Emperor, and Ulver to be far more progressive than Dream Theater clones. Truthfully, I’m a HUGE fan of 70’s progressive and symphonic rock more than most progressive metal…everything from the obvious names like Floyd, Crimson, or VDGG to more “obscure” bands such as Grobschnitt, Novalis, Jane, Ramses, Pulsar, etc.

What are the next plans of While Heaven Wept?

Apart from performing shows in support of “Vast Oceans Lachrymose,” our primary objective is to get the studio debt paid off so that we can begin recording the next album “Fear Of Infinity” as soon as possible; it is also completely composed already and is in fact the darker, even more diverse half of “Vast Oceans Lachrymose.” The band as a whole feels that the next album features the strongest material of all (so far), and it’s certainly amongst the most inspiring to perform. The greatest aspect of these albums is that we’re finally revealing aspects of WHW that we always knew existed, but no one outside of the band had been aware of (almost all of the material we’re releasing these days dates back over a decade, although “Fear Of Infinity” also has the most recent compositions circa 2005-2008).

How did it happen to sign a contract at the Italian label ‘Cruz Del Sur Records’ and are you satisfied with their work?

Enrico had been pursuing WHW for many years, even before the release of “Empires” – in fact, when he was still domiciled in Argentina he had distributed our first album “Sorrow Of The Angels” there. Over the years and many, many conversations, we developed a lasting friendship and following the demise of both Rage Of Achilles and Black Lotus Records, I felt Cruz Del Sur Music was the natural choice for us…because we already had a working relationship in place, and Enrico gave us complete freedom to do what we needed to do. I’m absolutely satisfied with what CDSM has been able to do for us so far, and I truly hope our collaboration will be mutually beneficial. He really stands behind his bands and releases, so I hope that “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” does help to further elevate the label, but only time will tell.

What can you tell me about your hometown and the Hard Rock/Metal-scene there?

Woodbridge and Dale City, Virginia is essentially a suburb of Washington D.C., fairly common in terms of North American geography…but of course there is a rich history of music in this area, despite the fact that now there are very few places for bands to play anymore. Basically the Northern Virginia/Washington D.C./Baltimore “scene” is probably best known for its hardcore (Minor Threat/Fugazi/Bad Brains, etc.) and also the “Maryland Doom Scene” (Revelation, The Obsessed, Iron Man, Unorthodox, Internal Void, etc.). Other luminaries that have come from this area include Deceased, October 31, Twisted Tower Dire, Wrathchild America, Angel, and Pentagram amongst many others. In this respect, it’s a prolific area….but as I said, the number of venues available for gigging has rapidly declined year after year, to the point where there are less than 5 in a 100 km radius that regularly host hard rock/metal gigs…which is quite depressing.

Are any gigs in Germany planned so far?

At the moment, the only confirmed WHW gig is a co-headlining slot at the Hammer Of Doom III festival in Wurzburg on February 6th, 2010, but you can rest assured that we’ll be arranging more dates later in the year, as Germany is essentially our second home and one of the most important countries in the world for not only WHW, but metal in general….and from the bottom of my heart, I think everyone there for defending the faith like nowhere else for all these years!

From which musicians are you influenced or rather impressed?

Virtually everything I’ve ever heard has influenced me in some capacity – either because their music is so inspiring or because it’s so appalling that I’m encouraged to compose as far in the opposite direction as possible! Regarding WHW specifically, the initial influences were Fates Warning, Candlemass, Kitaro, Rush, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Klaus Schulze, Coroner, Celtic Frost, Trouble, Dio-era Rainbow, Cirith Ungol, early Yngwie, Uli Roth-era Scorpions, Voivod, Black Sabbath, Witchfinder General, Slayer, Sacrifice, Dark Angel, Bach, Chopin, Beethoven, Stravinsky…and all of these remain influences to this day. We’re still very much in touch with everything going on in the underground, so there are many doom, black, death, prog, and thrash bands that exert some degree of influence…but it’s the bands that truly sound like no one else that provide the strongest inspirations in terms of contemporary influences…Devin Townsend’s projects, Arcturus, Ulver. Personally I’ve also become a devout follower of the Japanese band Mono as well. We all listen to a lot of dark, European classical and jazz as well.

Tom, thank you very much for this interview! Some last words from you to our readers or rather the German Metal Fans?

Thank YOU so much for your support and giving us the opportunity to talk a little about “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” and WHW in general – it is truly very much appreciated. To everyone out there in Germany…thank you also for your ongoing support and for the warm reception…it really does mean everything to us, and we cannot wait to return there to meet up with everyone again…as well as playing these songs for you of course as well. I hope to see many old friends again, along with new ones in February! Cheers to you all!

At last please tell us your topical Top 5 Albums for our section "Musician-Hitlist".

Current Faves (in no particular order):
Katatonia – Night Is The New Day
Slayer – World Painted Blood
Immortal – All Shall Fall
Argus – Argus
The Lamp Of Thoth – Sing As You Slay