While Heaven Wept - Vast Oceans Lachrymose (2009)

Rejuvenated by an influx of new membership, Virginia’s While Heaven Wept has finally created a masterpiece after nearly two decades of grandiose attempts at melancholy, epic metal of the sometimes doom/sometimes power ilk. I found their previous two full lengths quite frustrating, both flawed for extremely different reasons. The “Sorrow of the Angels” release, clearly the superior of the two, suffered from a lack of consistency between its passages. The vocal performance may have been heartfelt, but far too overbearing. “Of Empires Forlorn” boasted more compact songwriting and a more controlled, well-rounded vocal performance. However, the songs themselves tended to lack any semblance of heavy riffing, and the drummer turned in a completely lethargic performance. Their cover of “Epistle No. 81” by the mighty Candlemass illustrates the problem of performance, while dull numbers like “Voice in the Wind” and “The Drowning Years” mismatch depressive lyrics with an overpowering mass of saccharine keyboards. In a way, the ultra prevalence of keyboards on “Of Empires...” were about as ham handed as the vocal performance on “Sorrow of the Angels.”

However, main man Tom Phillips decided to get his shit together in a massive way. Greeted with riff that succeeds in marrying thrash and melodic rock with a solid double bass rumble, any listener familiar with their previous work knows immediately that things have changed. A short acoustic passage with tasteful (thank you!) backing keys transitions into a dirge of epic riffs and a new voice. Newcomer Rain Irving, easily the best thing to happen to While Heaven Wept, turns in a performance that matches inspiration with intentional melancholia. His voice sounds a lot like Phillips himself, but with more range and control, something the previous songs could thrive on. “To Wander the Void,” an abject homage to the legendary early work of Fates Warning easily stands out as the best track on the album. “Living Sepulchre” flies out the door with a thrash beat and a melodic riff, leading into a volcanic crescendo between sensibly layered vocals and impressive stop-start drumming. A testament to the originality the band always possessed, this track represents a full realization of such potential.

Really, getting such a full ensemble was the ticket for this group to become the next premier melodic Metal act. “Vessel” channels some of the more AOR moments found on “Of Empires…” but does not overstay its welcome; the variety present on the rest of the album helps the song stand out with its sweet melodic rock oriented chorus (whereas on the previous effort, numbers like this would grind back to back). The titular, instrumental outro lingers a few minutes too far, which seems not so agreeable with the short running time. However, considering the full scale upgrade in both the performance and songwriting it can be easily forgiven. This one is worth getting for either fans of modern or old metal, which makes “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” a triumph on its own.