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Of Empires Forlorn

by While Heaven Wept

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  • 2010 Reissue CD, Limited to 1000 Handnumbered Copies
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Comes in a standard jewelcase with 12 page booklet, currently out-of-print - these are the last remaining copies. ITALIAN IMPORT

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  • Limited Edition 2LP Blue Vinyl, 180g, Gatefold Cover with Booklet, 2nd Pressing LAST COPIES
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    HRR097/IK015, limited to 500 copies, gatefold cover, 180g black vinyl, 12 page booklet, 2nd pressing: special coloured vinyl (PMS) lim. 500. GERMAN IMPORT

    Includes unlimited streaming of Of Empires Forlorn via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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  • Limited Edition 2LP Black Vinyl, 180g, Gatefold Cover with Booklet, 1st Pressing LAST COPIES
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    HRR097/IK015, limited to 500 copies, gatefold cover, 180g black vinyl, 12 page booklet, 2nd pressing: special coloured vinyl (PMS) lim. 500. GERMAN IMPORT

    Includes unlimited streaming of Of Empires Forlorn via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.
These empty years, in sadness repose What once were joys now have become sorrows I drank them all away Once, I held hopes, loves, and dreams…now they’ve sunken into the sea And I’ve no one left to save me from drowning eternally I drank them all away I drank myself away
2.
Damned, I crawled valleys silenced with death Through the seas of carnage, over mountains of regret Reaching summits only to behold barren wastes endless Just when I needed you the most You had forsaken me To this kingdom of ghosts Bleak are the skies above this ruin I’ve found no solace in cathedrals fallen I am so far from the light and warmth of Heaven To the hell of myself Alone I am damned To weep for you Now, above this vast ruin alone I stand All light and hope has fled my kingdom and land Betrayed by bride and brethren, my heart burst in your hands Forlorn empires My kingdoms damned Forlorn empires I am damned
3.
I hear your voice in the wind Haunting me once again Maybe our dream IS over But, the sorrow never ends I hear your voice in the wind Haunting me once again I knew someday, you would leave And abandon me to forever grieve Maybe our dream IS over But, the sorrow never ends I hear your voice in the wind Haunting me once again Maybe our dream IS over But, the sorrow never ends It NEVER ends...
4.
In Aeternum 07:31
Tearstained are the halls of my empty soul Melancholia’s haunting call is the only one I have known Innocence has lead me into this void While years eroded a youth I never enjoyed Through childhood I slept unsheltered from the scorn Now I’ve awakened with age to love ever lorn Forever and ever I’ll search for the solace Which can only be found in an embrace In throes of desolation I prayed unto divinity I endured the emptiness and frigid pain but even god had forsaken me I prayed to find a solace for my heart bereaved Only to be forgotten by the god I once believed Now I serve this punishment under the ice condemned For my loss of faith to hell I was damned Downfallen in iniquity, desolate I’ll be My somber stare traverses sepulchers lonely Eternally, my limbs sealed in place Livid, and dead I bow my face The only shelter from the cold Of the ninth circle of hell To see what awaits in forever A lifeless gaze, my final endeavor I looked through the blackened skies And beheld the radiance of paradise My eyes have frozen in false sanctity Eternally bound, my tears have turned to ice
5.
Soulsadness 07:23
Sunk into the corner Where the forlorn drift to die A broken man stares into his glass With weeping eyes Drinking away this empty life I’m bleeding to death inside Torn apart by bladed words In sorrow capsized I gave myself completely and deeply But that was never enough for you More alone than ever, Your knives have finally pierced on through (my heart) Drinking away this lonely life I’m bleeding to death inside Torn apart by bladed words In sorrow capsized Now, I know I will die alone Cold and broken… Now, I know Hell is my destiny You took everything from me…everything… I am the desolate one Bleeding You took everything from me…everything… Drinking away this waste of life I’m bleeding to death inside Torn apart by bladed words In sorrow capsized I gave my heart up to your knives I’m bleeding to death inside
6.
Mark how our shadow, Mark Movits mom frere One small darkness encloses How gold and purple that shovel there To rags and rubbish disposes Charon beckons from tumultuous waves Then trice this ancient digger of graves For thee ne’er grapeskin shall glister Wherefore my Movits come help me to raise A gravestone over our sister Even desirous and modest abode Under the sighing branches Where time and death, a marriage forebode Twixt beauty and ugliness ashes To thee ne’er jealousy findeth her way Nor happiness footstep, swift to stray Flitteth amid these barrows E’en enmity armed, as thous seest this day Piously breaketh her arrow The little bell echoes the great bells groan Robed in the door the precentor Noisome with quirsters prayerful moan Blesses those, who enter The way to this templed city of tombs Climbs amid roses yellowing blooms Fragments of mouldering biers Till black-clad each mourner his station assumes Bows there deeply in tears
7.
Heaven weeps with my sorrow Through the clouds’ veil of black lace An infinity of angels Share the tearstreams I pour away Within the storms of sadness I’ll eternally remain Love is lost forever You are mourned by this rain Forever weeping

about

Upon the completion of "Sorrow Of The Angels" in June 1998, Jon Paquin and I set out to assemble yet another new line-up with the intention of supporting the release of that album; Danny Ingerson by this time was living in Philadelphia attending music school and it simply wasn't conducive to for any of us to commute between 4 states! Enter Jim Hunter (bassist extraordinaire), Michelle Loose on keyboards, and her brother Scott Loose on guitar (who had jammed with WHW in a previous incarnation) Apart from Jon Paquin, who departed after nine years behind the drumkit in the Spring of 2001, this new configuration of While Heaven Wept has remained intact since (although we've had a few other individuals pass through the ranks additionally) aside from the drum position that is; we spent a good amount of time jamming with both Trevor Schrotz and Phil Bloxam on the "Of Empires Forlorn" material before my then-roommate Jason Gray stepped in at the last minute to help us complete the recording. We spent most of 2002 and the first half of 2003 working on "Empires" with Kevin 131 at Assembly Line Studios - a time that all of us still recall with great fondness. Kevin really helped us to take things to another level sonically, brought the best out of us as musicians, and managed to effortlessly diffuse any conflicts during the process. "Empires" was the first time (out of some 10+ recordings) that I left the studio feeling content with the results of our work, primarily due to the fact that the material was very accurately realized and captured in comparison to what we envisioned to begin with (of course, the music itself really gave us the direction more than anything, and it did very much take on a life of its own). Whereas "Sorrow Of The Angels" established While Heaven Wept as a strong entity within the underground five years prior, "Of Empires Forlorn" kicked open many doors in the "overground" of the industry for us. We literally watched a tidal wave of accolades build from the UK and plunge onward through the whole of the EU metal scene, which was both shocking and inspiring simultaneously. However, only recently have we become aware of just how much of an impact "Of Empires Forlorn" really made, and I cannot even begin to articulate how much it means to us to know so many people cherish this album so dearly to this day. Being that the album has been out of circulation for several years now, and in response to outrageous eBay prices we've seen it command, we present this new edition to you now - both in commemoration of our 20th Anniversary and in gratitude for your support through all these years. Thank you so much for believing in us...we hope to see all of you on the road very soon in support of "Vast Oceans Lachrymose."

Tom Phillips,
November 2009

credits

released February 14, 2003

Of Empires Forlorn was:

Composed By: Tom Phillips, except “Voice In The Wind” - original composition by Klaus Hess with new material by Tom Phillips, and “Epistle No.81” – traditional Swedish hymn by Carl Michael Bellman. “Soulsadness” includes a piano elaboration based upon Jake Bodnar’s “Forever”

Arranged By: Tom Phillips

Co-arranged By: Jim Hunter

Performed By: Jason Gray – Drums
Jim Hunter – Bass
Scott Loose – Guitars
Tom Phillips – Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards

with contributions from:

Kevin “131” Gutierrez – Samples, Editing, and Effects
Michelle Loose – Additional Keyboards
Jake Bodnar – Additional Keyboards

Recorded By: Kevin 131 at Assembly Line Studios in Vienna, Virginia between February 2002 and June 2003

Produced By: Kevin 131, Tom Phillips, and Jim Hunter

Mastered By: Bill Wolf at Wolf Productions Inc., Falls Church, Virginia in December 2002 and July 2003

Band Photography: Ben Kelly, Jason Gray, Jessica Hunter

Original Cover Art: The Enigma, Gustave Doré (1832-1883), Musee D’Orsay, Paris, France. Out of copyright.

Art Concept By: Jim Hunter and Tom Phillips

Band Logo by: Tamara Abarzua

Graphics, Digital Treatments, and Layout By: Jim Hunter

Website Design and Maintenance: Stergiani Motsiou

Published By: Vast Music Lachrymose, LLC

All Songs Copyright 2002, 2010, 2015 Vast Music Lachrymose, except “Voice In The Wind” copyright 1977 Jane, arrangement 2002, 2010, 2015 Vast Music Lachrymose, “Epistle No.81,” traditional, arrangement copyright 2002, 2010, 2015 Vast Music Lachrymose, and “Sorrow Of The Angels” copyright 1994, 2002, 2010, 2015 Vast Music Lachrymose

Band Websites: www.whileheavenwept.com, www.facebook.com/whileheavenwept

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While Heaven Wept Woodbridge, Virginia

While Heaven Wept has existed in various forms since 1989 and co-founding guitarist/composer Tom Phillips has been the one constant for the past 30 years. Since the beginning, there has been a wide range of influences, transcending forms, styles, and genres from epic metal to kosmiche musik, prog to neo-romanticism. ... more

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