This is me to a tee!
I consider myself pretty learned when it comes to bands in our cherished genre of metal...but at the same time I admit to being a little closed minded when it comes to bands from the US. I am a Euro snob and wear it around like a badge of honor and because of this, I never gave WHW a chance. So when WHW was announced at ProgPower, that's when my jouney of discovery began.
I gotta tell you something...I can't stop playing "Vast Oceans Lachrymose"! It is one of the most beautiful albums I have ever heard...it is epic, melodic, anthemic, classical in structure and there are times that it nearly brings me to tears..."While I Wept".
I so look forward to seeing them next Fall and look forward getting my hands on the back catalogue, and the new exciting discs to be released in the coming months!
First of all, I want to thank you on behalf of all of WHW for having a listen, and beyond that for the very kind words regarding "VOL"...we all appreciate it very much...everyone's warm welcome into the world of PP really...the truth is we're all prog aficionados, but more in the "classic" sense (i.e. Crimson, Floyd, Pulsar, Grobschnitt, Magma, etc.)...apart from the obvious early Arch-era Fates Warning influences...we've existed in this parallel world for 20 years, and honestly, we always hoped to "cross over" but never had a desire to force ourselves upon anyone either; we're very content being one of the defining examples of "Epic Doom Metal", yet also ecstatic to push the boundaries and break beyond that too.
Since the PP XII announcement, we've had the pleasure of talking to some of the folks here, many of whom had no idea who we were previously, and it's truly been an honor and pleasure...your support is truly humbling and we hope that despite on the surface WHW @ PP may seem odd...I mean the first "Doom Metal" band to ever share that stage...that in the end, it will be clear that we're NOT just a Doom Metal band at all, but in fact, one of the most progressive examples of music coming from our "world" (I mean genre-specific realms); the truth is we've never felt entirely comfortable headlining Doom Metal festivals and so forth because we've always been something of a black sheep - I fought for many years to clarify the definition of TRUE, pure doom metal against the industry...this of course being, if it doesn't sound like Sabbath, Vitus, or perhaps also Cmass, it's simply NOT pure doom, rather a hybrid or a misnomer (depending on the band in question); WHW is NOT pure Doom or anything else, rather we simply create "WHW Music" which is really more of an universal metal...drawing equally from Doom, Prog, Thrash, Prog Metal, Post Rock, Ambient, Black Metal, Dark EU jazz, Krautrock, modern and Romantic classical, etc.
So we're all hoping our inclusion makes a bit more sense now...despite it being a big surprise for us to be invited, we feel like it does make sense ultimately (Thank you again Glenn).
And for everyone that is only just now discovering who we are and what we do, first of all, thank you for taking the time to listen...we couldn't ask for more. Secondly, don't feel as if you "missed the boat" years ago just because we've been at it for two decades already; we consciously took a different path, away from North America simply because the EU embraced us from the beginning & we knew there wasn't really a place for us here. And perhaps that is still the case, but we've made an effort recently to peform in every city that even one friend or fan has requested...Atlanta is one of those...and PP XII fulfills that, so that's what it's all about in the end.
Believe me, we're as excited as you are to share this moment on September 17th...it may be the only show we do in the US in 2011...but again...to share the stage with Arcturus is a dream come true really...and also to express ourselves in a forum that is "outside of the norm" for us...the open-mindedness that has been demonstrated here really does define truly progressive mentalities...and I am thankful for that.
If everyone was hemmed up on Dream Theater clones, there would never be a true progression. Thus, again, thank you Glenn & everyone who has warmed to the idea of us being a part of this.
I am real curious as to whom that was, though.
(All WHW releases to date have been self-financed 100%)
