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While Heaven Wept - New Album Cover Art And More Unveiled


Virginia's long running metallers While Heaven Wept are commemorating their 25th year with the release of their sixth full length album, Suspended At Aphelion, via Nuclear Blast on October 24th (EU) and October 27 (USA). Suspended At Aphelion is featuring a single track divided into 11 parts, performed by the entire Fear Of Infinity line-up as well as several esteemed guests, including Fates Warning former drummer Mark Zonder and co-founding guitarist Victor Arduini.

The cover art for Suspended At Aphelion was once again created by Gustavo Sazes (Morbid Angel, Arch Enemy etc.), and three separate audio masters were optimized for LP, CD, and digital download formats.

The band also reunited with producer/engineer Kevin "131" Gutierrez (Raven, Deceased, Dysrhythmia) at Assembly Line Studios for the recording of Suspended At Aphelion, 12 years after creating their classic Of Empires Forlorn album together.

While Heaven Wept mainman Tom Phillips offered more insight into the album: "While most of our albums have been thematic, this is the first time we've released something entirely of a conceptual nature in the grand tradition of Pink Floyd, Genesis, Rush, Marillion, Iron Maiden, King Diamond, Queensrÿche, and of course Fates Warning...and musically, this album falls somewhere in the middle of all of that with a touch of Viking-era Bathory as well"




The signature sound of While Heaven Wept remains fully intact, yet has evolved, Phillips explains: "We've always been characterized by emotional sincerity, bombast, sweeping melodies, and dense orchestration, and Suspended At Aphelion is no exception - however, this really is another level for us in that it's the first album featuring all-new material composed in this decade (as opposed to previous releases which often culled from years of archival material), it's full of twists, turns, modulations, time changes, harmonic content rarely heard in metal, and tons of counterpoint. This is all augmented by actual cellos, violins, classical guitars, an array of percussion, and genuine analog synths."

"Over the last few years, we've had some audiophiles reaching out to us regarding the "loudness wars", so we were very much committed to delivering an album with a wide dynamic range, with very little peak reduction or compression...insuring it was as dynamic and organic as possible versus being Pro-Tooled to death or overtly compressed/limited for loudness...not unlike our labelmates Satyricon, who definitely impacted our approach to Suspended At Aphelion. So you may have to turn it up compared to "X album" from 2014, but we feel like this epic journey is even more gratifying because of this."


Suspended At Aphelion tracklist:

01. Introspectus
02. Icarus And I
03. Ardor
04. Heartburst
05. Indifference Turned Paralysis
06. The Memory Of Bleeding
07. Souls In Permafrost
08. Searching The Stars
09. Reminiscence Of Strangers
10. Lifelines Lost
11. Retrospectus

Source: nuclearblast.de
Band profile: While Heaven Wept
Posted: 07.08.2014 by Abattoir


Comments

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Comments: 8   Visited by: 85 users
07.08.2014 - 19:02
John Shock

Sweeeet jesus!!!
I'm ready to receive such gift!!!
Hope for something even better than Fear Of Infinity, that is masterpiece!!!
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07.08.2014 - 22:56
Ocean Sage

What a gorgeous album cover. No idea who the fuck they are though...
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07.08.2014 - 23:49
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
I always wanted to like these guys but they're just too cheesy for my tastes. Their album covers are always pretty to look at though.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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07.08.2014 - 23:56
Paz
Nuclear Cowboy
Shitty artwork if you ask me.
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08.08.2014 - 00:55
Doge of Venice

Yeah, if I was to form of an impression based on the album artwork, I'd have to be skeptical and say it's going to sound like the fluffy Fear of Infinity.

I hope not, though. On it's own the artwork is pretty, but because is much more similar to FoI than say, Vast Oceans, it has already put a dread in my heart.
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08.08.2014 - 01:00
Alex F
Slick Dick Rick
Written by Troy Killjoy on 07.08.2014 at 23:49

I always wanted to like these guys but they're just too cheesy for my tastes. Their album covers are always pretty to look at though.

I like the artwork for Vast Oceans Lachrymose, but like you said, they're way too cheesy
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08.08.2014 - 05:15
LeChron James
Helvetesfossen
At least the single song is split up into different tracks and not just different movements. Makes it more digestible and not as labor intensive.
----
Kick Ass, Die Young

Less is More
Stay Pure
Stay Poor

Music was my life, music brought me to life and music is how I will be remembered long after I leave this life. When I die there will be a final waltz in my head that only I can hear.
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08.08.2014 - 19:46
CyberSymphony
Ollie
The cover looks cool, definitely keeping an eye on this release.
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