         
|
|||
|
|||
TRIUMPHANT GLEAMIt is very busy in While Heaven Wept’s camp these days: not only they have just released their first live album „Triumph:Tragedy:Transcendence“ but it turned out to be their swansong on Cruz Del Sur label as the band has just inked the deal with gigantic Nuclear Blast label, on whom we can expect their new studio offering. Perseverance does pay off, so main man Tom Phillips gave us all posssible info about these purveyors of godly metal we needed, so read on and enjoy!
Cheers, man! How are you doing these days, is everything ok? It’s a really busy time for us right now, but we’re doing great, thanks for asking! The main reason for this interview is, of cource, your new live album "Triumph:Tragedy:Transcendence"! As this is your first live album, tell us how are you satisfied with its final outcome? We really had no idea how the album would turn out, because there were so many uncontrollable factors: a live performance with several improvised passages, live sound engineers making adjustments throughout the show, playing on gear that wasn’t our own, etc...but I feel as though we managed to create a live album that is quite possibly even better than our studio recordings! Of course, the studio albums are more polished and we can control every parameter, but the energy captured on this live release is very powerful. I never thought I’d be saying „Here’s our new double live album“ but here I am doing just that! I’m very, very proud of this release, and feel as though it’s really tying together the past 20 years in one inspired package. Do you feel that one proper metal should have live album? We are all attached to those cult such as „Live after death“ or „Decade of aggression“. Your favourite live albums ever? Personally, I’m a fan of live recordings...particularly in the past few years, and I mean both legitimate releases as well as bootlegs...it’s really all about the energy, the vitality of live music, and when bands improvise, that makes it all the more special. I know live albums aren’t for everyone, but I’d like to think that our approach could be more „listener friendly“ than some others. The irony is, the „live“ albums that I love the most are really not genuine live releases...I’m talking about „Unleashed In The East“, „Live And Dangerous“, „Live Undead“...again if for nothing else, the sheer energy of the material. In terms of genuine live recordings, I love the King Crimson Collector’s Club series and proper releases like „The Great Deceiver“ or „Epitaph“. There’s a lot of great Floyd from the BBC and unquestionably, „Live At Pompeii“ ranks very, very high on my list. I’ve always loved the Rush live releases too, since I was a little kid. Can you give to our readers your impressions about the night of recording the live album / DVD? I can hear that it was good gig, how do you feel about it? It was a very special night for us as it was the first time the actual full band performed in the EU (for the 2004 tour we had a couple surrogate members), and we also hadn’t been over since April 2004. It’s also only the 4th performance with this line-up for anyone taking notes out there! What I can tell you is that it was truly an honor to share the stage with our friends from all over the world, and what really made it special was the audience who had come from all over the EU. The deep empathy we felt onstage between ourselves and the audience elevated the performance unquestionably; the emotions were very real and the improvisations, inspired. It was one of our better performances overall, and I’m thankful that it was captured professionally; we don’t perform very often, and as aforementioned, you can never be sure how a live recording will turn out...we simply figured „better to be safe than sorry“ in the event that it was a good one. I believe it was, and I have to say the emotions were so powerful that night, I was nearly moved to tears while we were playing, hearing all those voices singing our songs and feeling the deep connection to the audience. Really, it’s their album more than ours.  Can you break down to me the album title? I feel that all three words describe While heaven wept’s sound pretty good... You’re absolutely right...“Triumph:Tragedy:Transcendence“ not only describes the general nature of our music – which can be simultaneously uplifting and gutting at times, it accurately describes the feelings from that evening in Würzburg. As I intimated earlier, the 2004 tour was somewhat varied in terms of the performance quality, so in that regard the show at the Posthalle was truly a triumphant return to the EU for us. The audience inspired us to play with more heart than usual, resulting in improvisations that were very much inspired, thus transcendental. And the real tragedy of that night was the fact that back home in the States our brother Tony Taylor (ex-singer of our sister band Twisted Tower Dire) was killed in a terrible motorcycle accident…I’d like to think his spirit was with us at the show, and that’s why the album is dedicated to his memory. The album will come with bonus DVD – quite a treat for fans! Why does DVD have one bonus track? Tell us something about DVD, as I have heard only the audio portion of release... The DVD is actually the primary focus of this release in our opinion, as it’s a chance for everyone who has been waiting patiently to see us to experience a WHW show...at least something to hold them over until we can reach their hometowns. The main program of the DVD is a professional, multi-camera shoot of the entire concert, including the encore (which is the bonus track you inquired about). The reason we didn’t include the encore on the CD is because it wouldn’t fit onto 2 LPs either, and I suppose it makes the DVD a bit more desirable as well. We’ve also included another hour of bonus features including a 20 minute interview conducted at the show, some short dressing room rehearsals, and 3 songs from an authorized bootleg of a show in the US prior to the main program. Also please give some info an all the formats the album will be released, so the fans know what they can obtain... ;) A 2LP version of the album was released on the 23rd of October featuring the main concert program courtesy of High Roller Records/Iron Kodex Records/Cruz Del Sur Music. This version was pressed in a limited quantity of 1000, with 700 on black vinyl and 300 orange. In both instances, we’re talking about 180g virgin vinyl @ 45 rpm, heavy gatefold sleeve with a collage of pics from our time in Würzburg, a full colour insert, and poster. Cruz Del Sur Music is releasing the aforementioned CD/DVD set on November 19th in the EU, and this is also limited to 3000 copies. "Triumph:Tragedy:Transcendence" contains songs from all of your 3 full lengths, is it hard to pick up the setlist for gigs? Do you have some mandatory songs that just have to be played? We approach our setlists in the same way that we arrange our albums: to have this „natural flow“ creating the sensation of a journey or a rollercoaster of emotions and colors. As for „mandatory“ songs, that’s debatable because there are fans of each song we’ve done, so it’s virtually impossible to attempt to please anyone other than ourselves really, but we feel there are certain key songs that we need to play...that people are most familiar with or represent an important era of the band such as „The Drowning Years“ or „Vessel“. The one song that we have performed at every single While Heaven Wept concert ever is „Thus With A Kiss I Die“ and imagine that one will always be a part of sets (barring „special events“). I was quite bothered that some songs had to be shortened on the live album, why is that? I’m sorry you feel that way. The fact is we were the first of 3 co-headliners in the middle of a festival, and we were attempting to represent every era of the band within the hour we were alotted. You know, we could easily do a concert of that length and perform only 3 songs, but I’m not sure how the audience would react to that; the idea was to fit in as much as we could. The encore wasn’t planned at all either, rather it was demanded...we didn’t want to be „THAT“ band that threw off the timing for the rest of the bands, but the promoters insisted it was ok. I can assure you that when we are headlining our own tour and have a lot more time to perform, nothing will be abridged. And hey, „Thus With A Kiss I Die“ is far longer than the album version just for the record! Can you give to us your comment about the work with Rain Irving... He seemed to fit in the band quite nicely. What can I say really? It’s been my ambition to work with a world-class vocalist since the very beginng, and that is exactly what he is. It’s truly an honor, and I’m very thankful that he reached out to us as a fan, otherwise we never would’ve crossed paths. I brought him in „off the bench“ after years of relatively little activity apart from some home demo recordings, and now he has the chance to fulfill all the potential that was cut short when Altura disbanded. It’s pretty uncanny how he can sound like me at times, but what is really cool is how he can adapt his voice to the musical situation at hand, recalling many great vocalists throughout the history of Metal and rock, yet still express his own personality. Also I would like to hear your comment about „Vast oceans lachrymose“. I don’t know if you are aware, but some die-hard doomsters didn’t like the album that much due to its proggier sound. And by the way, your opinion about Fates warning? A lot of die-hard doom fans weren’t really fond of the „Of Empires Forlorn“ album either, but the fact of the matter is we never swore allegiance to any one specific genre of music ever. The truth is, all of our albums are simply different ratios of the same influences, so „Vast Oceans Lachrymose“ isn’t that far removed from „Sorrow Of The Angels“ even; consider something like „The Furthest Shore“ in some ways is the inverse of „Thus With A Kiss I Die“...as if that song were turned inside out. The bottom line is we always have to remain true to ourselves and where we are as people at the time of recording; we cannot be influenced by critics (good and bad) or our past releases as then it WOULD be false. While Heaven Wept is driven entirely by real emotions and life experiences, which means a wide range of things...plus the scope of our listening tastes is extremely diverse as well, so there will never be two albums that are exactly the same. There will always be those who are loyal to a specific era or album, and that is fine...that’s why we’ll always do our best to represent every one of them in concert, and it’s not like any of our children (the songs) are less meaningful today either. Only Motorhead, The Ramones, and AC/DC can successfully release albums in the same vein over and over; we’re coming from more of the Queensryche, Voivod, Arcturus side of things, where every release is an entity unto it’s own...but I’d like to think that given we still have the same influences since the beginning, there are more parallels between our albums than not. As for Fates Warning...I absolutely adore the John Arch era and have for decades...those were magical albums. I also hold the early Ray Alder albums close to my heart, but you know...there was only one „Guardian“. It’s interesting that you bring them up, because if you go back to our earliest releases, that influence is evident – at least to me; there’s always been an aspect of Prog in WHW...sometimes it’s very obvious and others more subtle, but it’s always been there and always will be. If i am well informed, „Vast oceans lachrymose“ was written even before „Of empires forlorn“, what held it back so much? Is it good representative of your future direction? Yes, pretty much all of the „VOL“ album was composed long before the „Of Empires Forlorn“ album was recorded, and even the later material like the title track or „The Furthest Shore“ came along around the same time as „Soulsadness“ for example. You’ve got to remember, this band has been in existence for 20 years, so there’s quite a bit of material „in the archives“ and always more being realized as well...it’s the music itself that dictates when and how it will surface...I mean it really „speaks“ to me and I can feel when the time is right for a song to be released. A good example is „Vessel“ which is obviously a powerful track...we even recorded it once during the first sessions for „Lovesongs Of The Forsaken“, but it just didn’t „feel“ right at the time within the context of the other material. As for the future direction, you really cannot expect anything you know? Again, no two albums will ever be the same in any capacity...what you CAN count on is that the music will always be sincere, heavy, melodic, and epic. Beyond that, surely it will always be an amalgamation of our influences in different ratios, translated through our life experiences. I have heard some rumors about the upcoming material called „Fear of infinity“, so can you please give me all info about that? Essentially, „Fear Of Infinity“ consists primarily of material that we originally intended to be part of the „Vast Oceans Lachrymose“ album, but once „The Furthest Shore“ developed into a massive epic, it was clear it demanded to be the centerpiece, so we adhered to that. Overall, „Fear Of Infinity“ is less progressive, but more aggressive in the violent passages...it’s darker, very epic...in some ways pushing the boundaries further, and in others recalling the gloom of „Sorrow Of The Angels“. There’s also another epic on „Fear Of Infinity“ that I personally feel is the greatest expression ever channeled through me...a song that condenses all 20 years of WHW into one composition. You can expect it to be released in April 2011. Tell us something about your cooperation with Cruz Del Sur, how are you satisfied with their work? Cruz Del Sur Music...Enrico is one of my closest friends...we slowly developed a relationship over the years, long before we decided to collaborate on releases, and that is exactly what made me comfortable with the concept. Enrico has been incredibly supportive of the band, fulfilled every promise and obligation, done everything he could to help us to reach another level...and hopefully we’ve helped to elevate Cruz Del Sur Music as well. We’re all extremely proud of the work we’ve done together over the last couple years, and will be eternally grateful for everything achieved. However, the time has come for us to take our (hopefully) final step forward, and that means „Triumph:Tragedy:Transcendence“ will be the last collaboration between WHW and CDSM for now. By the time this is printed, the news will be out, so I’ll just tell you that we have signed a new deal with Nuclear Blast for all future endeavors, but I’ll continue to work closely with Enrico on other signings and unfinished WHW business. While Heaven Wept is, along with Solitude Aeternus, maybe the biggest doom band from America... so tell us is it hard to play that kind of music there nowadays? Apart from some semi-annual festivals, there’s really nothing happening in America for Doom or otherwise; the US is very „flavor-of-the-month“ and there is very little support for real Metal, apart from some webzines & a handful of old-school soldiers. We share the stage occasionally with our brothers & sisters at the aforementioned fests, but otherwise we don’t even bother to perform here. That isn’t to say that there aren’t fans of this music, and ultimately, we’ll play in every city even one person requests we do, but unless a really killer package tour is created, there’s no reason for us to „hit the bricks“ like we’ve all done in our other bands to play in empty halls. We’ve always felt more at home in the EU, and that will always be paramount for us. When will we see While Heaven Wept on European shores again, any tours in plans? We’re currently developing tour plans for after the release of „Fear Of Infinity“, and have already confirmed co-headlining appearances at Up The Hammers 6 in Athens, Greece (March 12th, 2011), and the Hammer Of Doom 5 festival again at the Posthalle in Würzburg, Germany (April 16th, 2011). Hopefully, we’ll schedule a few more runs before the end of 2011 there, and now with Rock The Nation handling the booking, I think it will be a lot easier. OK, that would be all for now. I wish you all the best, your message to the fans here... Thank YOU very much for this opportunity to talk about the band and our new live album, it’s very appreciated! Thanks also to all of those who have supported us throughout the years...we hope to see you in person very soon! Answers by Tom Phillips |
PUBLISHED ISSUESMETAL SOUND #mpu vorbereitung |
||
