Fear of Infinity

Doom metal is a tough proposition; unlike thrash, death and progressive metal which have a wide palette of riffs and rhythms to play around with, doom has to remain slow and officiant in order to satisfy its fanbase. Which brings this question immediately: how slow a band can be in order to be considered doom? And, does the band cheat when it incorporates riff-patterns above the mid-tempo? Fortunately, God (or someone else, I don’t know…) took care of this inconvenience by creating the funeral doom branch where such polemics simply don’t exist as there the more pressing question would be: how slow can a band play before every listener in the vicinity falls asleep…

even the kings of the genre Candlemass started shifting gears early in the late-80’s by speeding up more than just occasionally (just remember “Ancient Dreams”) thus freeing the other practitioners from following unwritten laws that were dubiously stipulated in the first place. And when they inaugurated a whole wave with “Chapter VI” in 1992 the doom metal outfits could freely borrow from power and progressive metal resulting in several notable blenders (Memento Mori, Veni Domine, Memory Garden, Fifth Reason, etc.) some of them still alive and kicking in the new millennium.

And now after this gigantic digression we come to the band under scrutiny here. Peaking quite early on the colossal “Of Empires Forlorn” the guys, who are now a wholesome 7-man orchestra with a girl also featured, literally removed Solitude Aeturnus from the top spot of the US doom metal arena, and established themselves as premier providers of earthshaking, ship-sinking riffs from the other side of The Atlantic. “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” consolidated their premier position although it did give the epic doom metal formula a more versatile (read progressive, above all) palette to borrow from, after which producing another slow motion “apocalypse” for the future generations seemed like a somewhat redundant option. The album reviewed here was an important moment from the guys’ (and a girl) career since this was the time to prove how flexible they could be if they didn’t want to carry on with the safe tried-and-tested formula. In a manner similar to Candlemass again with “Chapter VI” they shift from the established pattern thus opening infinite possibilities before them. For a proven doom metal outfit in 90% of the cases this means speeding up, and here they are breaking the boundaries with “Hour of Reprisal”, a soaring power/speedster with some blast-beats incorporated even, a highly unexpected beginning with only Rai Irving’s superb emotional vocals reminding of the previous “Oceans”, the latter pulling out an absolutely ravishing performance soaring above the furious galloping riffs. One hasn’t shaken off the astonishment from this first storm yet when “Destroyer of Solace” hits, an epic power metal anthem ala Heavy Load and Omen with a great chorus and uplifting pathos-like rhythms which move towards more engaging progressive in the second half where one can swear he/she has detected moments from Fates Warning’s “Awaken the Guardian”.

This is by no means Doommetalland anymore, and it goes beyond said Swedish wave since those guys at least had the decency to slow down with respect to the good old… yes, if there ever was a radar installed for doom metal-iness, it would have started beeping with all the squeaking passion it could muster. Not on “Obsessions Now Effigies”, though, a gorgeous elegiac doomster matching every single note from the preceding magnum opus, a spell-binding number recalling the immortal “The Drowning Years” except in the faster-paced, keyboard-infused twist. “Unplenitude” is a short lyrical ballad, and “To Grieve Forever” will make the fans grieve forever, but not for the loss of doom which this piece perfectly exemplifies even on the more romantic balladic sprawls and the gorgeous melodic developments towards the end. “Saturn & Sacrifice” is classic doom of the highest calibre, an enchanting opus with Irving’s mesmerizing tenor melting hearts and souls all over; expect a speedy escapade to consolidate the new path taken although in this case this is a momentary temptation. “Finality” is logically the final composition, over 11-min of the finest doom around the guys crossing the heavy riffage with more balladic respites and the obligatory at this stage more dynamic embellishments which give this saga a captivating progressive flair.

The template began to have cracks on “Vast Oceans…”, but those were sealed with doomy reverberations that saved the ship from sinking rather than the other way around. The wayward beginning of the album here drew new unexplored horizons, but the band wisely used them as delightful deviations rather than making them the ultimate guiding light. Again, this wasn’t full-blooded doom anymore, and like with the mentioned Swedish acts the genre had to bow to other styles if it wanted to co-exist with them. The faster tempos didn’t destroy its monolithic physiognomy; on the contrary, they enhanced its arcane stance and even made it more attractive for the masses. Honestly, I don’t know how the public would have taken another high-octane doom opera; yes, it was “fourth time’s the charm” for Candlemass, but it was the friggin’ 80’s, after all; everyone was breathing metal back then, no one was looking for potholes like repetition and staleness.

The band pulled it off with flying colours, to put it shortly. Having reached the culmination on their chosen path, it only felt natural to try and explore new territories by not forgetting where they came from, a mistake many 80’s and 90’s veterans made. “Suspended at Aphelion” continued up the road delineating the approach further from doom into a vast expansive progressive metal sound that was hard to classify with any smaller compartmental terms. A great work all the same, it also saw the angels crying oceans of tears in Heaven for not seeing their beloved doom in sight anymore… no reason for grieving whatsoever; they should rest assured that their salvation lies a mere heavy, antediluvian riff away.

Upon first listen I felt I had severely underestimated the timespan it had been since my last endeavours in listening to While Heaven Wept, when the first two tracks appear to be fast and verging on power metal! For a band I previously regarded as one of the most epic of all of doom this came as a shock, but after the quick one-two of "Hour of Reprisal" and "Destroyer of Solace" normal service appears to be resumed when "Obsessions Now Effigies" crawls into more conventional WHW speed, not to reappear for the duration of this strangely configured, confused and oddly short album.

Even now that I'm aware WHW are not the epic doomsters of old and today claim as much an 'epic metal' tag as anything else, there is still an odd quality to what is only their fourth album in a 20-year existence. Verging from a Candlemass-meets-Rhapsody-Of-Fire style in the earlier tracks, to the fluff of the middling "Obsessions…" and "Unplenitude", is it "To Grieve Forever" and "Saturn And Sacrifice" which represent the obvious doom but they both finish before giving all that they can, leaving only 11-minute closer "Finality" to play it's full set before disappearing into the night.

On vocals Rain Irving does not hold back, showcasing the kind of energy in his delivery that could make even the dullest of doom come alive in an explosion of colour. His operatic tendencies link in nicely with many of the climaxes of the music (especially in "Finality") but in those moments does it appear that the very essence of WHW's epically sculptured music sounds cheesy and forced. Just listen to "Unplenitude" and argue it does not sound impatient; an odd fact for a band who've recorded so rarely in the past.

It seems like the desire to spread their wings has flown While Heaven Wept into territories they were not ready for. If they wanted grandiose epic (ala Ereb Altor) the pace would need to be slowed, or for the truly epic the song structures would require lengthening and better quality control (ala Solitude Aeturnus). As it is, we're left with an album that among it's brighter moments of passion and charisma falls flat when trying to achieve it's main ambitions, a touch disappointing for a band with better work behind them.

Originally written for www.Rockfreaks.net

There is one problem, and one problem alone with While Heaven Wept's Fear of Infinity; the album was released after the epic Vast Oceans Lachrymose. Unfortunately, Infinity does not live up to very high expectations, but at the same time is a solid offering from these epic doom metalers; and this fact pains me very much.

The album starts off with two fast tracks in Hour of Reprisal and Destroyer of Solace. These tracks build off the faster pace the band introduced on Lachrymose and adds a pleasant new dimension into a genre where slow and mid-tempo tracks are the norm. But the album loses steam with the track Unplenitude. The track is a reworking of song recorded earlier in the bands history (and trust me, it sounds MUCH better than the original) but the acoustic track, which don't get me wrong is beautiful, sucks the life right out of the album. I do not have a problem with the song, so much as its placement on the album.

The album picks up again, after the doomy, appropriately named, To Grieve Forever, with Saturn and Sacrifice. The track mixes the slower elements of WHW with the faster material offered earlier in the album. The closer, a 10 minute epic, Finality, seems to be a long song for the sake of being long and does not offer much to catch the listeners attention.

Perhaps I will come around to this album and perhaps I am being too harsh. But I cannot help but feel the band did not fully expand upon the groundwork laid out in the previous album. Those who are familiar with WHW catalog can hear the growth between the releases of Of Empires Forlorn and Lachrymose, but one will find it hard to hear any growth in Fear of Infinity.

Since their beginnings and up until now, While Heaven Wept have successfully shown themselves as the epitome of musical evolution itself: hundreds of lineups, a broad repertoire, and whatever the hell you ever want to imagine. WHW has truly achieved success. I remember a comment by Tom Philips himself saying that Fear of Infinity was going to be THE album. Well, it is THE album.

Spinning in the vein of VOL, this album places you in a huge catapult and shoots you at incredible speeds into the unknown. You never know what to expect while listening to all this. It's so immense and varies a lot. Of course, WHW's trademark is present all the time: acoustic interludes, brutal climaxes, baroque-like music lines here and there and an epic (Finality). It's practically like saying that WHW took the crème de la crème of themselves, made a puzzle with it, and assembled a 37:11 masterpiece.

The only one thing I dislike is... well, only 37 minutes? But in the end, I see music albums like books. You can have a huge book that won't fill you at all, but also you can have a rather small book that will totally lift you from your seat and fill your head, heart, and soul with knowledge and whatever. The same thing happens with this "less than 40 pages book for your ears".

I listened to it in the dark with earphones and trust me, it's a unique experience, just like any other WHW album. I praise the fingers that pulled those strings, pressed those keys, hit those drums, sung those words, and the mastermind(s) behind everything.

Highlights: Destroyer of Solace, Obsessions Now Effigies, Finality.