First off, give a little historical background of Fall of Empyrean.
Fall of Empyrean started as a solo project I had in 1999, I think, with me doing all the stuff ... guitar, keys, and some horrible drum programming (no bass or vocals, not that talented). In 2000, I decided to make it a full line-up, so I went searching. To make a boring story slightly less boring, I found all the guys via advertisements in newspapers and through friends near the end of 2000. We began writing songs together and eventually, we recorded our first self-titled demo, released in the summer of 2001. We got some decent and (mostly) positive reviews, playing some shows in the release's wake. Later on, we had to let our first guitarist Adam go, because he was slated to go off to college out-of-state, and we were to begin working on material for what would become Anhedonia. We went with only myself on guitar until Anhedonia was recorded in the summer of 2002, but was not released until December of that year, due to a severe lack of finances, and some problems with the duplication company. After its release, we found Cris almost immediately and started playing more shows in support of the demo. We took a short break from the live scene in the summer of 2003 to work on new material, and recruited a keyboardist, Kevin, and started playing out again. Right now, we're still looking for a label willing to take a chance on us, so we can record a full-length album.

How has the addition of Kevin changed you guys as a band, live and in practice?
Well ... we haven't really played a live show yet (with Kevin). In fact, as of this interview, we have one a week from now. So, we'll find out then. I imagine it can only improve things live, making all the songs seem fuller and more complete, as it has done in practice. Only bad thing is that our rehearsal pad was already smaller than the love in our doom-ridden hearts, and now with an additional member, we're practically rehearsing while we rub up against one another. But, that's one of the many sacrifices we make for our art. As a band, he's been a great addition... he learns quickly, he has the ability to play all of our stuff. Though that's no difficult task for the keyboardist, since I wrote all the previous keyboards, and I'm almost completely inept on the instrument.

How was the 2002 release "Anhedonia" received among fans and critics?
Surprisingly well, actually. I guess I can't say "surprisingly," since at the time, we all though it was an excellent release, especially for an unsigned band. But since then, we've been able to be more objective and critical in regard to it. But, everyone so far seems to share our initial enthusiasm and fondness. We've gotten only positive reviews, ranging from "This doesn't make my ears tingle in feverish pain" to "HOLY GOD IN HEAVEN, THIS IS BLISS"... though far fewer of the latter. Overall, the reviews have been really strong and we're pleased. The really surprising thing is that labels haven't shared the same opinion. We submitted Anhedonia to about 25 labels and none of them has taken a real interest in us. I should say, none of them has taken a real FINANCIAL interest in us. Right now, we're really looking for someone who wants to take a chance and back us financially, so we can record an album, as I mentioned before. I think, given the time and money, we could release an album that not only we'd be proud of, but fans would really enjoy.

Is there new material written? Is it just a matter of waiting for finances?
At the moment, we have about five songs in the works, and we're constantly writing more. We are debuting two of them at our next show, and those are really the only ones that are near completion. The rest are in various states of incomplete-ness. And actually, one of them is just a reworking of a song we ditched earlier, "Fallen Ways of God", which was one of the very first songs I wrote for FoE. But, the remake is much more satisfying than the original incarnation. We are working on weaving Cris' songs into our set, since he actually has an interest in writing for the band, whereas Adam never really put his interest to fruition. We definitely have enough material for a full length, though we'd have to snag a couple of songs from the previous demos. Basically, we'd be ready to record an album if we had a couple months to finish up material, and we had money.

What is the writing process for you guys like? Listening to the CD, it definitely has a very intricate sound, and it really doesn't sound like any aspects were compromised while writing.
That's a pretty good observation. For the first two demos, the process was this: (1) I start off by fucking around on guitar and writing the skeleton of a song on one guitar. I record these parts on my computer. (2) I then fuck around over those parts, until I come up with workable harmonies (this is actually my favorite part of the process, I HATE starting songs, because I feel so uninspired and derivative). (3) I record this song to cd-r and give copies to the band. (4) They give me feedback on structure and riffs, and I mess with those, and teach the other guitarist his parts (in the case of the demos, Adam), and then we play them over and over again together, as the band gets used to how the songs go. (5) Steve usually lays down his drum tracks first, as he improves to the song, and we give him feedback on what sounds good or not. (6) I clue Dan in on the roots for the riffs and the basic patterns on guitar and that helps him to form his basslines, which are almost always their own entity (which I love). (7) In his own time, Rich comes up with vocals and lyrics, usually in this order, because he'll just improvise words over the top to get the vocal pattern down. (8) Keyboards are not written until mere weeks before we enter the studio, since I'm such a horrible keyboardist, and lyrics are usually not solidified until then, either. Now that Cris is in the band, the process will change a little, but stay essentially the same, with Cris' name replacing mine in the first two steps. Also, I don't know what Kevin has in store for the keyboards.

Will it be any better with Cris, in terms of more input?
It gives me a bit of a break, since I was writing 100% of the guitar parts before, and now he's writing about 40-50% of our current stuff. It's weird having the writing situation change, since I am used to being able to be a bit of a tyrant when it comes to the guitar parts, but I'm trying to work him into the picture as best I can. I like not having so much pressure on me to come up with new material, but at the same time, it's hard to compromise at times. In the end, it'll help out, because it'll make our songs more diverse, whereas I was starting to feel like things were getting kind of stagnant.

Yeah, that must be nice. Does he add any other influences to the songs? Or is it primarily the same atmosphere?
For the most part, it's the same sort of thing. The songs that he's contributed thus far are more straightforward, and usually shorter. He has a nice mix of heavier, slower parts, but throwing in the occasionally fast part (don't freak out, though, we're actually attempting to make our material slower than it has been before). I think I tend to get stuck in a particular mold when I'm writing songs for FOE, and he keeps things a lot fresher. But, as I mentioned, we're trying to incorporate more elements from Funeral Doom and ambient music, though it's very difficult to do so with how the writing process is at the moment.

What's in store for Fall of Empyrean's live schedule? I know you mentioned a show a week from now. How many coming up? Any tour plans?
So far, that's the only show we have planned. We're taking it easy at the moment. Unfortunately, a lot of the local metal bands are either breaking up or busy with other things, so there's not really anyone to play with at the moment. We tend to keep our live gigs down to one every month or two, so we don't overexpose ourselves, and so we can work on new material, instead of always concentrating on rehearsing for our next show. Next year, after I graduate from college in December, we plan to do at least a short West Coast tour, probably between 5 and 7 dates ... nothing too elaborate or expensive, just to say we toured and to gain some more exposure, before I start Grad School.

Any last comments or plugs?
Thanks to everyone who thinks we actually have something original and good to contribute to the music world and we'll continue to try not to put out shit you could find in any 15 year old's home recording studio. Oh, and thanks to Neil for the interview and for allowing us to split with his band, Il Sangue, who—despite popular and ungodly overwhelming opinion—does not suck.