Blowing Wind with While Heaven Wept’s Rain Irving: “The reason we love heavy metal so much is that it keeps us young.”

After getting turned on to While Heaven Wept earlier this year, Rain Irving quickly became one of of my favorite heavy metal vocalists. After a stellar performance here in Atlanta at the Pathfinder Metalfest IV, I went from liking this band to absolutely loving them. I quickly sought out Rain and told him that I would be tapping him for an interview and he graciously accepted my invitation. Before heading out for short east coast run with Primordial and Cormorant, I had the opportunity to speak with Rain from his Virginia home.  We discussed his love for former Fates Warning singer John Arch, his appreciate and fandom of late Boston singer Brad Delp, and just why he would love to sing for Iron Maiden for just one night! Rain was an amazingly kind and funny guy to talk to and I think that you all will dig this one. Sit back and get to know the amazing Rain Irving of While Heaven Wept.

Hey there Rain. It’s Don from the Great Southern Brainfart.

Don! How are you buddy?

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I’m great my friend. How are you tonight?

Man, everything is about as grand as it could be. I got all my responsibilities behind me and I’m watching a storm coming up and I kind of like that.

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Well Rain, thanks so much for taking the time out to talk to me tonight.

Don, you’re more than welcome. I just appreciate you, who you are, and what you stand for. It was great meeting you in Atlanta. Our fans need to be more like you and that’s all I’ve got to say [laughs].

Rain, I appreciate that man. I know the importance of word of mouth and spreading the word on bands so that’s why I do this.

Well I can tell you’re passionate about it man and that’s awesome.

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It was so great to finally get to see While Heaven Wept at the Pathfinder Metalfest. Did you enjoy yourself?

It’s always fun performing. I enjoy performing and that moment is always appreciated, enjoyed, and reveled because I never know if I’ll ever get the chance to do it again. We left the stage that night feeling a lot of love that night but at the same time, we didn’t play quite to the expectations of ourselves. I know that I could’ve been a little stronger vocally but then again, we are a highly critical band. It’s just a scenario where we don’t play very often. While Heaven Wept’s members are spread out across four states so practices are few and far between. We play our best when we’re on a tour that is continuous. Sometimes it’s not about playing perfect. Sometimes it’s about connecting with the crowd and making sure that the crowd is in it with us and that was a special night for us regardless of playing perfect or not.

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That was my first time seeing you guys and I was absolutely mesmerized. In all honesty, I liked While Heaven Wept when I first heard your music but after seeing that show I loved While Heaven Wept. It was a really passionate performance and I didn’t hear the flaws that you did.

That’s an important thing for me to know and I should probably take note of that [laughs]. Once again, nobody is going to be more critical of While Heaven Wept than ourselves but with that being said, it was worth the 14 hours of driving. We also had never performed with our sister band Brave. I’ve been in WHW since 2008 and we’ve tried and tried to get them on a bill with us and it just never happened so to see Scott, Michelle, and Trevor on stage with their band and me in the audience was probably the highlight of the evening for me. I felt kind of like a proud dad watching them perform. It was really a great performance. The rest of the bands were all cool. I didn’t get a chance to see all of them. That’s the problem being a singer in a headlining band. Sometimes you have to hide out so you don’t talk too much and mess your voice up before your set [laughs]. All in all, that was an amazing evening.

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While Heaven Wept is gearing up to hit the road with Primordial in September for a short US tour. It seems like an odd pairing but you guys have played together before.

Yeah, again, it seems to make sense having WHW sandwiched between a couple of black metal bands [laughs]. There’s just something about that bill that worked in Europe and I think it’ll work here too. I know that a lot of people are licking their chops about this tour and we’re really looking forward to it. They are our brothers and we’re just proud to be part of this tour leading up to their Progpower Festival performance.

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Unfortunately this show isn’t coming to Atlanta but I think this bill is great. If you take enough bands and vary the style a bit, there’s some common ground there but it’s not so much of the same thing that you get bored. I think it’s cool to see a bill like this.

I totally agree with you. It just kind of makes sense. Epic metal is quite diverse and think with all three bands on this bill you’re going to get some epic metal. I believe that if you appreciate that and you’re into it, you’re going to get what you want from these shows. I’m really excited and I hope that their transition over here works out without any travel or visa problems. With these European bands you just never know what kind of problems they’ll run into.

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Let’s talk about your history with While Heaven Wept. Tom Phillips handled the vocals in While Heaven Wept in the beginning before drafting you to do it in 2008. How did you land the role as lead singer in While Heaven Wept?

WHW was on the Brave Words and Blood Knuckles compilation CD with the song “The Drowning Years” and after hearing that I became a huge fan. A friend of mine actually bought the Of Empires Forlorn album before I did and we spent a whole weekend just listening to it. We heard this doom metal with, what sounded like, Dennis De Young (Styx singer) singing and something about it just stuck. I started following their website checking in from time to time and one day I saw that they were going to release an album called Vast Oceans of Lachrymose. I was so excited but it never seemed to come out. One day in ‘07, I found them on MySpace and sent them an email telling them that I was a huge fan. They replied back saying that they knew me from singing in a prog metal band called Altura. We had put out a record and Tom was working at Tower records at the time and purchased our album. When I reached out to him, he recognized my name and asked me if I would be interested in auditioning for the band. I was pretty apprehensive at first because I couldn’t hear anyone but Tom at the forefront but he convinced me to give it a shot.

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So you’re pretty much responsible for Vast Oceans of Lachrymose seeing the light of day.

VOL is just one of those things that almost didn’t happen. It’s no secret that Tom had problems in a live scenario singing and playing guitar and he really just wanted to focus on his playing . He brought in the Vast Oceans of Lachrymose album without vocals so we did some preproduction stuff with it. One of the first things we worked on that first weekend we were together was Vessel and after hearing it we knew that it was going to work out. We went into the studio a few months later and then released VOL. Two full lengths and a live album later in a matter of four years and here I am. I’m just thankful this scenario has worked for us and I’m looking forward to doing the next record so here we go!

The first time I heard While Heaven Wept was the song “Vessel” and I felt that your voice was definitely meant to be singing for this band. You’re voice is so connected to these songs that I was surprised to find out that Tom was the primary songwriter for these songs. Is it hard for you to connect with these songs and make them yours being that they are primarily about occurrences in Tom’s personal life?

I appreciate you saying that Don and this is a great question. Tom did experience a lot of pain, heartache, and relationship issues that lent to some really good lyrics but in the grand scheme of things, who hasn’t had their heart broken? I’m not exempt from that and I can tie my own stories strangely into Tom’s. I can’t say that I’ve experienced exactly the things he has but I think what he has experienced is universally painful and universally very emotional. We’ve all been there. For me, for whatever reason, it’s not hard to tell his story. When I do sing, it’s really not his story any more. It’s mine and that’s really cool to hear you say that you were caught off guard by the fact that I didn’t write these songs yet I’m really connected with them. I think that also came with time and with an understanding and becoming really close with Tom. He’s a really good friend of mine and we’ve had a lot of time to talk about the things that made those songs. I feel like I owe it the audience and I owe it to Tom to deliver those songs correctly.

I totally understand that. Being a songwriter myself, my own personal life isn’t that exciting but I try and take the experiences and stories of those that I meet in my life, connect with them, and interject a little bit of myself into it to make it my own story.

Yeah. Hopefully you don’t ever have to experience all the things that lead to good songwriting. You can take someone else’s story and feelings and you can craft something out of that.

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Being that these are Tom’s songs, do you have a lot of freedom to do what you want with them or does he have more of a hand in how you deliver these songs?

Don, once again, that is a great question. On VOL, Tom was definitely pulling the strings on that one and I was his puppet for that album. I give him a lot of credit because that is probably my favorite album that we’ve done yet. Initially, control was very much to the point that he had the melody written for this and at that time, I was the new guy and I wanted to appease everyone and make them happy. As we moved forward and including Fear of Infinity, while the lionshare of the material belonged to Tom, I had a lot more vocal freedom. We’re in pre-production for the new one and I can sense that he wants to give me that freedom. I have an ear for melody but I have to give Tom credit for knowing how to phrase and put together songs. He’s definitely loosening the ropes a little bit. If the next album sucks because I had a lot more to do with writing the melodies I’ll gladly turn it back over to Tom and alright with it [laughs].

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I think it’s safe to say that because you’re delivering these songs so passionately and true to his form that it’s probably easier for him to relinquish that control a little bit to you.

Don, I think that’s exactly what it is in a nutshell. It is all about trust. It’s a great working relationship. Initially in the beginning it was a little frustrating but once we heard where everything was going I wouldn’t change a thing.

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Speaking of the new album, I hear you’re working on not one, but two new albums simultaneously where one of the albums is supposed to be just one long song. What can you tell me about this?

Oh man, you’ve got your sources don’t you [laughs].

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Rain, I do my homework.

[laughs] Yeah, you’re on the ball. We do have two vastly different records written musically. The first one is clearly a traditional record with 8-10 songs on it and the second one being developed is a thematic, one song album. I think the next album to be released was not going to be the one song album but then we kind of looked at it and it just made sense for the that album to come next. We’re approaching it like this is the last album you may ever hear from this band. We have no desire to stop but if this was the last album, this album is everything that this band has ever been about. I’ve never been more excited about a WHW record and it’s going to blow some people away. If you love us for what we do, this will hopefully cement us in the fan’s hearts forever. At the same time, if you just so happen to stumble upon us for the first time, this is exactly what we would want you to know about While Heaven Wept. As for the more traditional record that we’re planning, that one is going to flip some people out.

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What a great way to get everyone pumped up about these releases. What stage are you all at with these albums?

We’re still in pre-production and it’ll probably be Spring of next year before we start laying this thing down.

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The upcoming Primoridal tour should be good for you then to get those creative juices flowing again.

I think so Don. The tour’s only nine dates so it’s short enough to where we can finish the tour and get right back to work on finishing the writing process. That will mess up our European tour schedule though for next year. The metalfest series usually starts around May and if we don’t have an album to support, we may just look into another touring opportunity vs. the metalfest series.

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You were talking about the writing process earlier. Just how do you guys get together to work on things being spread out across four states?

We take advantage of a couple of scenarios. Some of the key rhythmic players are about an hour from each other (Tom (guitarist/songwriter), Trevor (drums), and Scott (guitarist)) so a lot of stuff can be written in the rehearsal room. That’s not to say that Jim (bassist) won’t make the four hour drive up from Raleigh to work with them. I’m about 3 ½ hours away but Jason Lingle lives in Myrtle Beach which is like a nine hour trip. With that being said, we do take advantage of file swapping on the internet and we all have similar recording interfaces so all the files are compatible. I can take something that Tom or Jason may write and go into my project studio at home and throw a vocal melody on to it. When we can we’ll actually spend a weekend or two together working all day long. That’s a lot of fun because we don’t’ get to do the traditional band practice that most bands do.

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Thanks for sharing all of this information about WHW with me but now it’s time to learn about the man himself, Rain Irving.

Oh God help us all [laughs].

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Rain, you’re a mysterious guy. I tried to do some homework on you and there’s really not a whole lot out there. I know you had a project called Tattered Salvation where you played everything yourself (keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums) and you sang for Altura but not much more. Can you give us a little back history?

Sure man. Here we go [laughs]. My first band was a death metal band called Seventh Gate and I played guitar and sang. My brother and some friends of mine in high school played in that band with me and I was about 16 or 17. Then I went through a period where I just didn’t play music after I turned 21 or so. I tried to go to school and just kind of lock down on some kind of avenue to take of myself in case music never worked. It wasn’t until about 1994 that I started singing in Altura and that kept me busy for about three years. Once Altura faded and we were released from our record contract with Magna Carta, I went through another down period of music. I met my wife and started teaching school and I didn’t play for another 3-4 years. I built a project studio in my first house and the bug just kind of bit me again. My wife and I got laid off and I had the whole summer not having to work and had just picked up some recording gear. I was basically just playing around with some new toys and that’s where the Tattered Salvation project came from. Actually, the project was called Nailed. I did a full length album as Nailed where I played every note and every instrument but when I brought a friend of mine in to assist me, I changed it to Tattered Salvation. That was when the wick on the candle got relit for me. For what it’s worth, Nailed’s recordings were the ones that I sent Tom when he inquired about me being interested in singing for WHW. It was just a one man studio project but it was so much fun. Writing that album comforted me in a lot of ways. It really just lit a fire back under me that has yet to be put out. It was just something to keep the fire burning when there wasn’t much going on.

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I didn’t get to hear the Tattered Salvation stuff but I did find the Altura stuff and what brilliant material. Was that a band that meant a lot to you?

Yeah man. The death of that band absolutely hurt me. I felt like we could’ve had a good future of putting out great albums. It was a special time in my life. I think the thing that hurt us the most was all the Dream Theater comparisons. We loved Dream Theater but towards the end we didn’t like them anymore [laughs]. That’s all that people would say in interviews or reviews was calling us Dream Theater clones. Now I look back on it and I think of how great it was that at 19 or 20 we were being labeled as Dream Theater clones [laughs]. I think that’s nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, it’s something to embrace and we just didn’t embrace it.

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So let’s go back in time Rain. What was it that made you want to become a singer?

Well, I actually started playing drums when I was about six or so and by the age of nine I was sitting in with my dad’s band at the VFW posts with guys who were in their 30’s and 40’s [laughs]. I just remember watching my dad play guitar and singing and thinking, “He’s up front and he’s getting a lot of attention.” [laughs] Watching my dad do that gave me the desire to try and make my way to the front of the stage. I started playing guitar at 13 because of that. I eventually realized that to fully dedicate to singing, you can’t do anything else. There are guys that can pull it off and I’m amazed at those people but when I’m singing, I can’t give my focus to anything but singing. That ultimately led to me putting the guitar down and just being a singer. I’m from a family of singers so I thought that there was more potential for me as a singer versus being a guitarist or drummer. I always say that I faked those instruments very well [laughs]. I feel like I have way more of a grasp on my singing than I do on any other instruments. I’m really limited to what I can do on those other instruments. I also enjoy making a connection with the audience as a singer that I couldn’t as a player. When they’re locked into what I’m doing I can see that and give it back to them and that’s a cool thing.

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As a singer, you really embody the elements of classic metal vocalists. Who would you consider some of your biggest influences as a vocalist?

Brad Delp from Boston, for me, was the epitome of a beautiful voice. He was my first real vocal hero. I also have to give it up to my brother John Arch of Fates Warning. If I had thought when I’d heard Awaken The Guardian when I was young that one day this guy would ask me how I prepare my voice to sing, I would’ve never thought that would happen. I have to give him the silver medal in terms of impacting me. His knack for melody and delivery is so special to me. I would drive around just singing along with that album wondering how this guy even made it through a song singing like that. I quickly learned what my limitations were listening to him. I also love Dio. I love Ronnie James. I didn’t appreciate him early on but I appreciated him later in life. The reason he didn’t really resonate with me was because initially when I got into metal I just wanted the heaviest of heavy. I used to think Dio wasn’t that heavy but now I listen to it and man, that is freakin’ heavy metal [laughs]. Dio had this powerful mid range voice and that’s where I want to be. Dio became really important to me as a singer trying to reach what he was doing as a singer and to find that delivery. I love King Diamond too. While I can ride around in my car singing his falsetto, I don’t think I could ever deliver it like he does [laughs]. I love his approach, his demeanor, and his style. Everything about him is so unique and I really gravitated to him. There’s no other singer out there that sounds like him. Those are the kind of singers I gravitate to.

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Rain, you obviously have a lot of appreciate for the bands and singers that have inspired you. With that being said, if you could sing for any band, from any era for just one show who would it be?

Don, that’s a great question man. It would have to be Iron Maiden [laughs]. Iron Maiden on the Piece of Mind tour. Bruce Dickinson, for me, he’s another one of my favorites. I also got really into him later in life rather than earlier but to this day I warm up to “The Trooper” and “Where Eagles Dare.” That is the range that I like to sing in. There is nothing I would love more than to lock into that first verse of “The Trooper” and sing it with the power that he does. You put me on that stage with those guys on the Piece of Mind tour and I would be a really happy guy.

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One of the things I’ve noticed while speaking with you is that not only are you passionate about While Heaven Wept but you’re passionate about heavy metal music in general.

Don, this is very true. We’re all in our late 30’s/early 40’s and the reason we love heavy metal so much is that it keeps us young. Nobody wants to hear Britney Spears when she’s 50 but they’ll listen to Ronnie James Dio when he’s 60 and that’s what I love about this music.
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If you could spend 30 minutes with any singer alive or dead, who would it be?

Oh man. Wow. Man, I’d have to say Brad Delp. I would probably just hug him to death for coming up with some of the best melodies in the world and just bask in his awesomeness. I had a chance to see them live on the last tour they did with Brad Delp and I’ll tell you, I’ve never been more thankful that I went to a show in my life. It wasn’t long after that he passed away. I’d also like to hang out with Chuck from Death. I think the things he played on his guitar are some of the best metal riffs ever written. I heard some stories that he wasn’t the easiest person to get along with but I’d take my chances on that one [laughs].

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If Hollywood called and said that they wanted to make a movie about Rain Irving, who would play you?

Holy shit Don. You really went outside the box for these questions [laughs]. Wow. I would have to say that it would have to be someone striking and handsome [laughs]. Nah, probably Woody Harrelson since everyone says I look like him [laughs]. I mean, I think in his heyday he could’ve pulled off playing a 39 year old rocker. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it [laughs].

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In your opinion, what is one metal album that no metal fan should be without?

Awaken the Guardian by Fates Warning. It’s my favorite album of all time and if you don’t know that one, shame on you. I don’t know who in their right mind wouldn’t love that album. It’s the only album to this day that I can listen to 20 something years later and still enjoy it like I did back then. Yeah, it’s got to be Awaken the Guardian hands down. That album just speaks to me and it was John Arch at his finest moment. That album will always hold a massive portion of real estate in my heart.

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Rain, finish this statement: If I wasn’t a musician, I would be…

I’d do something in the acting field or theater world. I’ve always enjoyed the stage and not just for singing but for acting too. Just put me on a movie set and I’ll probably be a happy guy.

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Rain, thank you so much for taking the time to do this. It was really awesome getting to know you.

Don, I’m just honored that you wanted to take some time to get to know me. I really appreciate your support brother. I won’t say “good-bye” to you. I’ll just say “until we hook up again” brother [laughs].

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