While Heaven Wept Rants About Bad Reviews For New Album "Suspended At Aphelion"

After apparently reading some negative reviews of new album "Suspended At Aphelion," While Heaven Wept decided to give Wintersun a run for its money in the category of unnecessarily long Facebook rants.

Clearly not understanding the difference between facts and opinions, While Heaven Wept has issued the following statement about claims the band's new album is uninspired and lacking in creativity:

"The longer we exist, the more albums released, the more we achieve, the more visible we are, the more we are scrutinized…this all comes with the territory, and we certainly do not expect accolades, nor are we delusional; While Heaven Wept is not and has never been for everyone…in fact, it’s never been for anyone other than myself and the people who these songs are about - our lives, our stories…but, it does have a deep meaning for the musicians involved, as well as those out there who can empathize/had similar experiences. It’s NOT for everyone, and I fully expect that there will be those who actually loathe what we do. Honestly, that is neither my concern, nor my problem…and I would rather be polarizing than condemned to some grey area. I appreciate that there are those who truly love what we do as much as those who despise it - not too fond of the few falling in the 'middle of the road,' but the world doesn’t revolve around WHW or myself.

"What I intend to address here are some allegations and criticisms that are simply 100% false; you see, it’s one thing to say 'I just don’t get it' or 'I don’t like this band or their music'…that’s fine, especially when this is bolstered with sound reason…but it’s a completely different thing to throw out statements that seem as though the reviewer has some supernatural insight…speaking of inspiration (or lack thereof), or suggesting that what we do is in fact 'middle of the road' as far as degrees of creativity. And of course, there are those who can’t give up ghosts, or simply don’t bother to listen to the albums the way they were intended to be heard…or hemmed up with 'ideas' of what something should be versus what it actually is. Or isn’t. I’ll attempt to address some of this as well. For the sake of clarity, all of this is in response to feedback we’ve received, heard, and witnessed over the course of the unveiling of Suspended At Aphelion, but I will offer some insights into 'the bigger picture' as well.

"Allow me to address the fallacies and untruths first:

"Uninspired - I can say without exaggeration that, we are feeling more fire than ever, despite being 25 years into this. This music moves us to our very core, and pushes us further with every subsequent revelation - as musicians, storytellers, problem-solvers, empaths, and human beings. We wouldn’t even strap on a guitar or hit 'RECORD' if it were otherwise. Every single note and word we have ever released has stemmed from actual real-life events, relationships, tribulations, experiences (both triumphant and tragic). The emotional content is genuine and the primary catalyst beyond celestial interventions for everything we have ever done. I would never participate otherwise; it MUST be truly sincere, and sincerely felt. None of our albums have ever been 'mailed in' and I do not believe that sincerity could be forged by even the greatest of counterfeiters. 'SAA' is no exception to any of this; not only was there genuine amazement by the the music that was being channeled as it revealed itself, but we pride ourselves on a commitment to doing justice to all of that which comes through us. The musicians that helped with the realization of 'SAA' poured their hearts and souls into every performance, and played their asses off…reaching further, pushing harder than ever before. Ask them yourselves.

"Perhaps this isn’t anything 'new' for those who know the story of WHW, but let me candidly elaborate about where all of this stems from: all of my life, I have suffered from a chronic and profound depression…and as time went on, I developed addictions on top of this. The entire existence of WHW until very recently, was marked by tragedy, isolation, alienation, drugs and alcohol. Relationships of profound and shallow depths have come and gone, friendships tested - even destroyed, I’ve poured every cent I’ve had into this band - to the point of being so far in debt that I doubt I will ever be 'back in the green.' I don’t have a house, fancy car, hell, I don’t even have furniture outside of an old throwaway desk and CD racks. My life revolves around music and has for my entire adult life; I don’t seek pity or expect anyone else to ever understand…music is my religion, my faith, my hope, and the only thing that has never ultimately abandoned me - even when I deserved it. I do WHW because it is the only thing I know how to do…it is how I cope with loss, tragedy, strife, struggle, frustration, agony…it is how I heal, how I transcend. Without it, I would not be alive today…hell…originally it was nothing more than a suicide note and epitaph. Even as recently as 2009, I found myself in the darkest places I’ve ever been, unsure of whether or not I would ever find the light again…I turned back to WHW after a time away…thinking I didn’t need it, or that it was the source of my problems…but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It is my salvation. It is why I am still here and able to traverse life without succumbing to even the harshest realities. So, uninspired? Totally false. It is a necessity and it is pursued with vigor…as if fighting for my last breath…because I am. And beyond myself, there are those who have reached out over the years…sharing intimate details of their lives…about coping with death, loss, failure, divorce, disease, addiction, even bullying…all things I know intimately myself…they are an additional inspiration…as if even one person feels more understood, less alone, or by chance somehow 'saved' on account of my tribulations or music…that is the greatest success possible. I take this responsibility as seriously as I take each and every one of these stories to heart…it would be a disservice…a downright blasphemy even to do anything that wasn’t from the heart and soul. It will never happen. I’ll end this band before I allow us to do anything that isn’t sincere or truly inspired.

"Overthinking - We don’t write, blueprint, plan, or conceive of ANYTHING. Musically or lyrically. Not the foundations at any rate; it comes when it does, however it does, from wherever it does…usually spurred on by an aforementioned emotional catalyst, but sometimes it just 'happens'…out of thin air…or some power greater than ourselves. If we ever tried to write something forcibly, I have no doubt it would be TRULY awful, cold, sterile, and yes, uninspired. Nothing we have released to date falls under that category. The ONLY time we put pen to paper is when we get into arrangements and minutia…there are theoretical rules to either adhere to or break if we so choose - but we are cognizant of them, and nothing WHW has ever done has been haphazardly thrown together. Improvisations aside, that is…and sometimes those are magical, other times chaotic shite. But inspired shite nonetheless! So, the notion that we thought too much about the scope and concept of 'SAA' for our own good…that’s wrong…if anything, we perhaps could’ve followed the map the music gave us more closely! Again, the only time we think about what we’re doing is AFTER the music already exists and parts need to be dispersed between 7+ musicians. 'SAA' just 'came out' the way that it did, before anyone other than myself even touched an instrument, and I assure you…it was a streaming flow that just happened. Truth be told, even I didn’t understand it all until after it was fleshed out…I just let it be.

"Creativity - A couple writers have had the gall to suggest that we not only lack inspiration, but also creativity! You’re saying this of a band that has not once repeated itself, yet has never abandoned its influences (even if YOU don’t recognize the 'DOOM”' A band that has never taken the 'easy' road? That has never compromised integrity because someone else thought we should do something? That has never catered to criticism - positive or negative, tried to relive past glories or cover up past mistakes? That released a 39 minute song…in 2014…that incorporates expanded harmony from 20th Century classical music and jazz, expanded instrumentation, goes against the grain of every norm and status quo? After delivering the least accessible album of our existence on the heels of one of our most successful, as our first release for a major entity like Nuclear Blast Records? Yet, you champion bands and albums that sound identical to each other or those who plunder the graves of Quorthon, Jerry Fogle, Scott Columbus, and Dave Halliday or bands who regurgitate Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Slayer riffs note-for-note, backwards AND forwards? Fair enough…whatever floats your boat. Truth be told, I enjoy a lot of those bands too, and appreciate them for what they are…but groundbreaking, they are not. And not everything has to be. But you show me one other album that is anything like 'Suspended At Aphelion' in 2014. Or the past 10 years for that matter.

"That said, while we are not nearly as complex nor creative as Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Univers Zero, Obrecht, or Ockegham…and a host of others that blow even my often-jaded mind, one thing that WHW has never been able to do is fit conveniently into ANY single genre or category. While we may not be as defining or defying as Cirith Ungol, Voivod, Devin Townsend, Arcturus, or Queensrÿche, we certainly have more in common with them philosophically than AC/DC, The Ramones, Motorhead - and, I assure you, very few could be as gifted as the latter examples either. Not us. And let me wax on about Queensrÿche for a moment: here is a band that also never released the same album twice, and very successfully I might add…for many years…but eventually moved so far beyond what I loved them for, I could no longer identify with them at all…until recently. My point here is that, no matter how much we have grown and evolved, all of the things that were inherent and vital to WHW since the beginning are still there; it’s our DNA; YOU may not be able to hear or feel the parallels between 'Lovesongs Of The Forsaken' and 'Suspended At Aphelion' (as well as everything in between), but I DO. Yet, we have never given in to the notion of replication; there was never a 'Sorrow Of The Angels 2' nor a 'Vast Oceans Lachrymose Revisited'…nor will there ever be. Surely, this requires at least SOME creativity. And before anyone whinges about 'Doom,' I’ll get to that later. But, I do invite anyone suggesting that 'SAA' or WHW lacks creativity to come talk to me at a show or reach out…I’d be happy to show you the 'inner workings,' the hows, the whys, the actual sheet music, even how to play the material…I am after all a music teacher living check to check in 'real life'…non-musician journalists may not have the foundations to grasp everything we do, but any educated musician does. I’ll gladly bridge the gaps for the sake of better understanding.

"One thing WHW has never been lacking in is creativity; we don’t do things via blueprints or based upon 'the norm;' from the instrumental choruses of 'In Aeturnum' and 'Drowning Years,' to the bass solos instead of guitar solos of 'Thus With A Kiss I Die' - or the fact that most of our music is bereft of actual solos (rather mostly harmonies and counterpoint), from the absence of double bass drumming 1989-2002 (when EVERYONE else was pushing that further and further) to the way the vocal melodies are arranged - which, I will address in a moment - to the fact that we very rarely have a 'single' included on an album…they’re always meant to be taken as a whole, a journey…never a collection of songs (other than compilations or live releases…but even our concerts are arranged to be EMOTIONAL journeys). We are not and have never been 'status quo' nor do we do what people expect…because we cannot foresee where life and experience will take us until we are in those moments!

"About the vocals; I treat the voice as another instrument…I think of everything in chorale and symphonic forms…while we have the occasional operatic aria, for the most part, on any given downbeat, it’s all about the sum of the parts (this is all in terms of arrangements by the way…the harmonies, delivery, etc…not the melodies, which, as aforementioned, also just 'happen'). When thinking about harmonic structure…chords…the notes are dispersed between all of the instruments, including the vocals…purposely. When thinking in contrapuntal terms, each individual instrumental line is a melody or countermelody unto itself…it is NOT haphazard or random. And about the words being stretched out, some of that dates back to when I was still the lead vocalist - trying to manage 2 or 3 instruments at the same time…I’m not a drummer, I can only multitask to a certain extent, and I still channel 95% of the melodies you hear. But more importantly, it’s about the clarity; in WHW, the lyrics are as equally important as the music - in some instances, perhaps more so. Just like in the high renaissance when the church was moving to ban counterpoint because the complexity was obscuring the message, I likewise feel it paramount to insure EVERY word is audible, clear…even if it seems unnatural to you, it isn’t to me; my background in choral music is we annunciate and divide syllables the way we do. And if you think it’s any different now than when we began, I suggest you go back to listen more closely. YES, sometimes the guitars and keyboards are directly supporting the voices…but there’s very little of that on 'SAA,' and the bass, drums, additional keyboards are always doing things to counter this…plus, there is constant intervallic inversion as well. All WHW music should be taken as a whole on any given beat…it isn’t traditional Rock music in form most of the time. How many of you realize that the 'Black Metal' passage of 'Icarus And I' is NOT the chorus, rather, it’s that epic part 5 minutes in…THAT is the chorus. We don’t do the standard ABACAB form very often…it’s not always verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-verse-chorus. Some parts don’t even have a chorus! Some WHW pieces have more to do with structures you’d find in Schönberg or George Crumb than Candlemass. So, again, not creative? Sorry, that is a fallacy. I could go on endlessly about this, citing example after example, but I believe that I have made my point.

"Actually, while I’m on about the vocals, let me address one other point that has been brought up specifically about 'SAA'…that ties into the topics of inspiration and creativity: don’t mistake the subtlety of Rain’s delivery in places for lack of inspiration or 'mailing it in.' I know…we ALL know that he is a world class singer - that’s the reason he’s in the band, that’s the reason I fired myself from the position after 18 years. Every album we’ve done with him, I’ve strived to push him to push himself (as I do with everyone involved, including myself); on 'VOL' he was singing higher and harder than ever before, on 'FOI' in a lower range, and on 'SAA' more dynamically and detailed…he’s not yet been given the chance to work strictly 'within his wheelhouse,' because I know he can do that, and again, we heed what the music tells us to do. It’s not about clipping wings, rather encouraging him to soar on whatever winds fate has blown our way - from soft breezes, to relentless gales. He’s shined in every instance, and improved as a singer every step along our journey…and he has earned his place as THE voice of WHW. And for some reason I am recalling a 1982 interview with Neal Schon in Guitar Player (talking about 'Who’s Crying Now'): 'I don’t care if people call it a pussy song, Perry is singing his ASS off!' - whenever I think of people belittling Rain in reviews of 'SAA.'

"Kitsch - Considering everything that I have conveyed here…the fact that we channel music, play and sing from the heart exclusively, it is bound to touch upon places that apparently some people are uncomfortable with - even going so far as to mock it ('Celine Dion Metal' - which is preposterous…I assure you, that she has exerted exactly zero influence upon the music of WHW, but I will say that her delivery of 'The Power Of Love' has more passion and heart than 90% of the NWOBHM gravediggers that have surfaced in the past decade). Are you the kind of people that laugh at the site of a fatal accident on the Autobahn? Would your wives/husbands/parents appreciate your aversion to real feelings? Do you want your children to grow up afraid to live, love, express themselves? Come talk to me about kitsch the next time you bury a loved one or are abandoned by a lover for someone with more passion.

"The way a friend put it is absolutely true: WHW has always straddled the thin line between kitsch and pathos. But I suggest that it is leaning more towards the latter…after all, this is MY life that is in question here. I wear my heart on my sleeve when it comes to WHW, and it is the only way that I know how, much to the chagrin of some of the subjects of these songs - but, I have to save myself first and say what I have to say - for my own conscience. Like Paul Stanley said recently, 'You can keep a secret from everyone but yourself'…I have to look in the mirror at night, I have to live with myself. My conscience is clean, and I make no apologies for being who I am. If it’s too 'sensitive' for you, if you don’t feel things the same way…then don’t listen to WHW. But the notion that we’ve somehow changed…is absurd…even those who have been following us for decades sometimes don’t get it; they are ALL love songs of the forsaken, and always have been.

"Yet, not always what they appear to be on the surface level. Do you realize that songs like 'Soulsadness' are about alcoholism and addiction, NOT a woman? Or what ANY of these songs are actually about? I’ve never explained in detail every single one, and I never will…because they do have a myriad of meanings, interpretations, and I prefer to leave it to the listener. But some things should be obvious…saying goodbye to someone who has died is a lot different than breaking up with a girlfriend…yet, there are parallels. However, what some call kitsch, others call pathos indeed. And I refer you to Boston’s 'To Be A Man' for further insight. My goal is always to be a better human having survived, traversed, learned from the past, and subsequently through the catharsis and healing through WHW. Hopefully, someday I will be.

"Now, getting back to the original point here: look, if you do not like what we do, don’t listen to it. It’s absolutely fine to express that you don’t like it, hate it, think it’s stupid, or admit you just don’t 'get it'…everyone is entitled to their own opinions…but to talk shit or intimate you KNOW how inspired, creative, or cerebral we are…that’s talking outside of your neck, poor journalism, and assumption…there is only one result when one ASSumes.

"I have no doubt that there are those who will say I shouldn’t take things so seriously, and quite frankly, I wish I could…I don’t really take negative reviews to heart anymore than I believe our own hype; to fall prey to glories or admonishments would poison the sincerity of the music…so, we’ll just keep doing what we do whether your like it or not, whether we release it or not…but I will not sit idly by and allow anyone to be irresponsible or fictitious in their portrayal of who we are or what WHW is. This is MY life…more than half of it has been spent doing this, at incredible expense, with little return other than actual spiritual, emotional, and mental progress and healing…but in the end, that’s what it’s all about.

"Now…about those 'myths:'

"Power Metal - Look, if you’re talking about early Queensrÿche, Fates Warning, Crimson Glory, or the first Overkill, Metal Church, Attacker…yeah, WHW has all of that in our DNA…those influences remain as vital today as they did in 1989. And were always part of our sound, whether you heard it or realized it or not. Songs like 'Vessel,' 'To Wander The Void,' etc were concurrent with things like 'Thus With A Kiss I Die' and 'The Mourning.' All of which was channeled when I was 15-20 years old; we haven’t changed, that material always existed, we just didn’t release it until MUCH later. However, the notion that we have anything to do with what I call 'Happy Euro Metal' whatsoever, couldn’t be further from the truth…while there are occasion bright lights (Lost Horizon, Domine), most of it is awful and we don’t listen to it. At all. Well, maybe Rain does :) …all of the faster melodic stuff you hear in WHW comes from the 80’s influences that have always been part of us (again, RE: 'In Aeternum' etc). I was and am still a huge fan of NWOBHM as well as melodic thrash such as Holy Terror, Forbidden, Artillery, etc…but Edguy? Or half of our labelmates? Not. At. All. Though, I respect them for being out there are doing it, and occasionally there’s a 'Dragon Lies Bleeding' which stands out. Just because a song has triplet-based double bass, doesn’t mean it is Power Metal any more than because it’s slow it’s Doom Metal.

"Doom Metal - Speaking of which, that is something that we are not, nor have we ever been. We released a single Doom Metal album 16 years ago: 'Sorrow Of The Angels' and have not release a TRUE Doom Metal album otherwise…before or since. We have long been associated with the scene, proudly…and I was there in the beginning - when there was only Saint Vitus, Trouble, Candlemass…later Revelation and Dream Death…all of whom influenced us to some extent, but no more than Rush, King Crimson, Bathory, Voivod…and of course nowhere near the extent of Fates Warning.

"Yes there was a time when I identified with the label of Epic Doom Metal, alongside Solitude Aeturnus, Solstice, Forlorn, Millarca, Icefall…that’s the closest to which we sounded…but, we also never quite 'fit in.' After countless Doom-specific events/festivals, I can say that I have always felt out of place in those situations…to the deepest ends of my bones. And that is coming from someone who was one of the founders of C.O.T.D. Even when that transpired, when 'Empires' was out, it was more about differentiating between Stoner Rock, Slow Death Metal, and proper Doom more so than anything else. Sometimes we did fit in too. But, aside from 'Sorrow,' we never have released a proper, pure Doom Metal album…and even that had more Progressive flourishes. People often call 'Of Empires Forlorn' a Doom Metal album; to me, it is a modernized version of a 70s Symphonic Rock album ala Jane, Novalis, or Grobschnitt, and remains as such.

"I’m not turning my back on the Doom scene here…but we aren’t the 'real deal'…so please stop vying for us to be…we NEVER have been. Procession, Solstice, Doomocracy, etc have that covered far better than we ever could do, and though we will never deny our close relations to the genre, we will never fit entirely within it either. It’s only one part of what WHW is…perhaps a large one, but we are just as much of a hybrid as the Peaceville bands, Desert Rock bands, and Suicidal Black Metal bands! It’s not pure…it’s not straight up Vitus, Sabbath, Trouble or Candlemass…and anything that is otherwise, it’s NOT, I repeat not TRUE Doom Metal.

"There’s no question that we wouldn’t be where we are without people like Rich Walker of Solstice, John Perez of Solitude Aeturnus, Jochen and Frank from Doom Shall Rise, Oliver and the Hammer Of Doom festival - amongst several others…but I’m quite sure that any one of them would concur that WHW has never been pure of anything but heart."