Of Empires Forlorn

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Of Empires Forlorn
Of Empires Forlorn.png
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 2003
Recordedat Assembly Line Studios, February - late 2002
Genre Doom metal, Epic doom
Label Eibon Records
Rage of Achilles Records
Rock Machine Records
Producer Kevin 131
Tom Phillips
Jim Hunter
While Heaven Wept chronology
The Drowning Years 7" Single
(2002)
Of Empires Forlorn
(2003)
Vast Oceans Lachrymose
(2009)

Of Empires Forlorn is a studio album by the American doom metal band While Heaven Wept. The album was released in three different editions by three different labels. The Eibon Records version contains the instrumental track "From Empires to Oceans," while the Rage of Achilles Records and Rock Machine Records editions contain the track "In Aeturnum." The only other differences between the three are minor aspects of the front cover and the formatting of the liner notes/lyrics.

Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres. Both the music and the lyrics intend to evoke a sense of despair, dread, and impending doom. The genre is strongly influenced by the early work of Black Sabbath, who formed a prototype for doom metal with songs such as "Black Sabbath", "Children of the Grave", "Electric Funeral" and "Into the Void". During the first half of the 1980s, a number of bands from England, the United States and Sweden defined doom metal as a distinct genre.

While Heaven Wept is an epic doom metal band based in Dale City, Virginia, United States. The primary writer and overall engine of the band is mainman Tom Phillips. Their melodic, classically influenced style could be compared to bands such as Solitude Aeturnus and Solstice ; however, 2003's acclaimed Of Empires Forlorn saw the band branching out into a variety of metal and progressive styles. This trend continues on their 2009 album, Vast Oceans Lachrymose, and on their 2011 album, Fear of Infinity.

Eibon Records is an independent record label from Milan, Italy, founded in 1996. It is owned by Mauro Berchi and primarily focuses on very fringe underground music, noise/ambient and doom metal. It is also home to Berchi's own dark ambient group, Canaan. Other acts to have released albums through Eibon Records include Thergothon, This Empty Flow, Nothing, While Heaven Wept, Colloquio, Esoteric, Act Noir, and Beyond Dawn.

Track listing

  1. "The Drowning Years" 5:41
  2. "Of Empires Forlorn" 7:49
  3. "Voice in the Wind" 6:25
  4. "In Aeturnum" 7:30 (Omitted on the Eibon Records version)
  5. "Soulsadness" 7:24
  6. "Epistle No. 81" 3:24
  7. "Sorrow of the Angels" 4:47
  8. "From Empires to Oceans" 7:18 (Only on Eibon Records version)

Credits

Additional keyboards by Michelle Loose and Jake Bordnar.

Recorded at Assembly Line Studios, February 2002 - June 2003. Produced, engineered, and mixed by Kevin 131. Mastered by Bill Wolf Productions.

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