This interview was conducted over the phone by Philip A. Wickstrand with guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Tom Phillips on April 10, 2011.

Twenty years in the underground is a long time. With three prior albums and a slew of demos and vinyl only recordings, American epic Doomsters WHILE HEAVEN WEPT have amassed a very dedicated following with only limited exposure Stateside. With the release of their fourth album, Fear of Infinity, this May on Nuclear Blast, WHILE HEAVEN WEPT will finally be getting the exposure they've been so deserving of all these years, not only expanding their fan base, but making their music more readily available to those already in the know.

Phil: First of all, tell us a bit about the new album Fear of Infinity.

Tom: Well, it is ultimately an extension of a process that began with Vast Oceans Lachrymose and it is the completion of this process. It's a very, very personal album for me and you know, I didn't even realize what it was until we had completed it. It actually took Rain pointing it out that really what you're hearing is the final three stages of bereavement in music and that is beginning with anger, evolving into despair and finally, ultimately reaching acceptance and this is really the way that the album should be approached because it's a very heavy thing and it's a lot to take in; it takes many listens, but I think ultimately… it's surely the most emotionally sincere and intense of all WHILE HEAVEN WEPT albums without a doubt.

Phil: What was the song writing process this time around?

Tom: Actually, the vast majority of the material would've originally been included on Vast Oceans Lachrymose, but the thing is on that album, The Furthest Shore had become such a massive epic that it really was the demanding center stage as far as that album was concerned. So we set a good amount of material aside and maybe also this is a subconscious thing because it wasn't until recently that I realized that that album was also part of the same process that I was speaking of, so really this material, for the most part, is older with the exception of Finality - that's easily the most recent song that had been realized coming from 2008. But some of these other songs, like Unplentitude and To Grieve Forever, actually dates back to the early nineties and in fact were originally recorded for the Sorrow of the Angels album but not released at that time. So there's some fairly old material involved and we're still kind of catching up to where we are today.

Phil: So would there be enough material written right now to just go ahead and record another album if you wanted to?

Tom: Yep, absolutely. I mean, given the fact that the events in my personal life that set all of this in motion transpired in 2009… you know, since then and with this very emotional catalyst, there's been a deluge of material channeling through me and so we do have at the very least enough material for another album right now. And there are a few other ancient songs back in the archives that will likely finally show after all these years as well, so we're definitely ready to roll but I don't think I'm really ready to go back into the studio for awhile because this was a very grueling process and I've basically been living in the studio since we returned to Vast Oceans Lachrymose in 2009 and we really haven't stopped since, you know - I moved right into the mixing of the live album and within a few weeks of mastering that, we were literally right back in the studio recording Fear of Infinity.

Phil: Wow. What exactly was the time in the studio like for recording Fear of Infinity versus the previous albums? Like, did you try anything different in the studio this time around or just do what you always do?

Tom: Well, we really had no choice but to roll with what we already knew and having really worked very hard on… I guess what we've been trying to do is reach this particular frequency spectrum, you know, that insures that the music will translate on every stereo system, so we kind of had to paint by numbers in some capacity. But there was some experimentation and there was definitely an effort made to make this even more organic, you know - we've really been trying to move away from what the standard is in the industry these days with all this Pro Tools and so forth and get back to a more pure and warmer form without totally abandoning the advantages of modern technology. So yeah, I mean, we just had to do go on instinct with what we've learned in doing Vast Oceans Lachrymose and Triumph Tragedy Transcendence. So I can tell you that it was a very challenging album to make because the band didn't actually perform or rehearse any of this material prior to going into the studio. Like, we didn't play any of these songs even once as a band, so this was requiring a lot of homework on everyone's part, everyone was learning it off of sheet music and little midi files and things like this and no one really had any idea of what the final results were going to be, you know, even myself because I was so wrapped up in the minutia that it really could have gone any way, you know, and I think it was a very frustrating time for everybody because of this. It's much more comfortable when everybody knows exactly what is chorus, what is verse, where are the solos, what are the vocal melodies going to be like? So it was kind of like a very… I think everybody felt pretty blind and there was certainly a lot of frustrations and it was a lot of pressure because we had a very concrete deadline to deliver this album… which of course we did not meet. [laughs] But we managed to get it in time for satisfying the release dates. It was a harrowing experience I have to say, so I'm not really looking forward to going back to the studio for awhile, but chances are we'll be back at it again fairly soon.

Phil: Now that you've heard the finished product, what do you think the strongest points of the album are?

Tom: Well, musically speaking, I would have to say that in a harmonic sense, it's the most forward thinking and advanced example of harmony in our music so far. It's moving beyond the traditional Baroque and Classical harmonic approach and definitely heading in a much more contemporary direction. Things that you would hear in the music of Arvo Pärt or Hovhaness, so that's some chance right there. And also we're continuing to move forward musically while at the same time retaining everything from our past, so it's progressive and yet regressive at the same time. I think in many ways the atmosphere of the album recalls something more like Sorrow of the Angels than Vast Oceans Lachrymose. There was not even a single shred of yearning to repeat anything we've done in the past and I don't think that we have, I think that we've once again pushed the envelope and altered the boundaries of what is possible within the framework of the band. Vocally, I'd have to say that Rain really came into his own on this album. He's really delivering things in a more dynamic way and absolutely… I mean, he's the star on this album, in my opinion. He really managed to convey the emotions that I was trying to express through this music or that were just inherent to this music. The irony, of course, being once again, I pushed Rain to do things that were far outside of his comfort zone, which is also the case on Vast Oceans Lachrymose and this may be difficult to understand, but where Rain really shines and is most comfortable is in these flowing, Geoff Tate, Devon Graves kind of deliveries in an upper, mid-range type of scenario, whereas on VOL I was really pushing him to a higher register, making him sing encyclopedic songs, like the lyrics were just over the top and sometimes required delivering a lot of syllables in a very short amount of time, whereas on this album it's typically more laid back in that regard and we really were pushing him to explore a lower vocal register, as well as, like I said, sing more dynamically, so there are parts where he's very balls out, in your face and there are other times where it's a much softer approach, depending on the character of the song. So when all is said and done, he really stepped up to the plate and delivered the goods as far as the vocals are concerned and beyond all of this, the most important thing in my opinion, as far as this album is the fact that the emotions are so raw and clear and it's a very, very intense experience, that's for sure.

Phil: What are your North American touring plans for this album?

Tom: At the moment, non-existent. [laughs] I mean, we're going to be spending a lot of time in Europe this year; we've already been to Greece, we're heading to Germany in a couple days and then returning to Europe for a tour with PRIMORDIAL and ALCEST in May, so there's a lot of European activity and this makes sense considering Nuclear Blast is a German label to begin with and our booking agency over there, Rock the Nation, is very active in establishing a good plan to take us everywhere that we need to go over there. But on the flipside, at the very least we have ProgPower USA in September here, which is a very, very exciting thing and we are so honored to have been asked to participate in this. I think what Glenn is doing with this year's lineup is brilliant. I think that it is an example of progression even if a lot people are raising their eyebrows at some of the bands involved. The good news is upon our return from Germany we have an appointment to discuss working with a fairly established American booking agency and in light of this, it's likely to result in some domestic activity ultimately. I don't really foresee much more happening this year, but certainly in 2012. That's something that we need to do. There's a lot of places that we haven't performed here and again, I can tell you that the only reason for this… well, there's really two reasons. One is until Fear of Infinity we haven't had a domestic release of any of our albums, ever. So only the early demos and the self-produced stuff ever surfaced here and that was like sixteen, seventeen years ago and secondly, there's a tendency for the North American scene to get very flavor of the month oriented and our flavor has never been in vogue, so it's difficult to justify doing a tour that is likely to be soul crushing, [laughs] so it has to involve the right parameters. I think we would have to have a good package deal with some bands that have a good draw and that's certainly something that we're going to work on. But at the very least, when we keep getting requests from even one person to come and play in their city, we catalogue those and we've been trying to make it a point to fulfill those wishes and so far we've managed to do this in four or five scenarios and at ProgPower, we'll satisfy another one, so that's something that we've made a point to do. Since we don't perform very often then we're going to someplace where there's at least one person that wants to see us. [laughs]

Phil: Well, you can add Portland to your list then. [laughs]

Tom: Well… is that Portland, Oregon or Portland, Maine?

Phil: Portland, Oregon.

Tom: Ah… that might prove to be a bit problematic due to some outstanding legal issues. [laughs] So you might have to catch us in Seattle or something.

Phil: I can stomach that road trip, then.

Tom: Yeah, I'm sorry about that but there's definitely some issues from a long time ago that haven't been resolved, you know what I mean? It's just not a good idea to roll the dice on that one.

Phil: Are there any plans for CD reissues of Sorrow of the Angels and Of Empires Forlorn? I know they're available on digital and vinyl, but any ideas for CD?

Tom: Well, they were release in 2010 as kind of a commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of WHILE HEAVEN WEPT in a limited edition through Cruz Del Sur Music and I know those got snapped up pretty quickly, but if anybody's looking for those editions, I have the last remaining stock of those albums, so for now if anybody's looking for these all they need to do is get in touch with me. However there are definitely plans to revisit those albums in a different way… sooner than later. I think we're probably going to be looking at doing some more new release action in the near future, but ultimately this band will not end until I've resolved a few things that I've wanted to sort out for a long time, one of which being addressing Sorrow of the Angels because I was never satisfied with the production of that album and even though, and it doesn't bother nearly as much as it once did, there's still some things that need to be done in order for it to sound the way I hear it in my head and I believe that we can do this in this day and age without making it any less organic or compromising our ideals in terms of production values. And what I can tell you is if we're going to continue on with Nuclear Blast, you know, 'cause that's always a question mark - it's really up to them as to what happens next and if Fear of Infinity is considered a success in their terms, but in the event that we are going to roll with them for the remainder of our existence then what I can say is that the entire back catalogue is in play here, it's in the contract, but what we're looking at are some heavy duty Remasters and in fact, let's use Sorrow of the Angels as an example, what my intention is, is to not only remix and remaster the original recordings and include some of the unreleased bonus material from those sessions, but also to completely re-record the album with the current lineup, the way we play the songs now because obviously they've continued to evolve over the years and we have a very different configuration of the band.

While Heaven Wept's Tom Phillips

Interviewer: Philip A. Wickstrand

April 26, 2011

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(Click on Photo to Enlarge)

Formed: 1991
Dale City, Virginia  USA
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Genre: Prog. Power/Doom Metal

CURRENT LINE-UP:

Rain Irving:  Vocals
Tom Phillips:  Guitars, Keyboards
                          & Vocals
Scott Loose:  Guitars
Jim Hunter:   Bass & Backing Vocals
Trevor Schrotz:  Drums
Jason Lingle:  Keyboards
Michelle Loose-Schrotz:
                                         Backing Vocals

DISCOGRAPHY:

Lovesongs of the Forsaken EP (1995)
Sorrow of the Angels (1998)
Of Empires Forlorn (2003)
Vast Oceans Lachrymose (2009)
Triumph:Tragedy:Transcendence Live
                                            CD/DVD (2010)
Fear of Infinity (2011)

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