Hello Justin! You are 4th band from USA I make an interview with for this issue (after WHILE HEAVEN WEPT, MORGION and EVOKEN) but you are the first so young band. Hope you feel well among such great doom acts from your lands :)
I definitely feel honored to be among such great bands. We realize we are pretty new, so we don't mind playing the part and it's great that you feel we are worth enough of your time for the interview, as well as a review and place on your compilation.

Don't blame me but I have to ask you to present the history of FALL OF EMPYREAN as you are still quite unknown band ...
Well, we started in late 2000. Previous to that, I (Justin) was the sole member and had written a six-song demo CD that just sat around unreleased until I finally found some band members. Steve, the drummer, came along first, introduced to me by a friend, and we meshed well musically. He was/is really into this style of music, so he enlisted immediately. After that came Adam on guitar, through the same friend as Steve. Rich was introduced to the band via an ad in the newspaper, as was Dan, and they joined on vocals and bass respectively, completing the lineup. We recorded our first self-titled demo a while afterward, then played a couple of shows. It wasn't long after that that Adam was leaving for college out-of-state, so we parted with him and decided to take a break from finding a second guitarist, as we had immediate plans to record what was to be "Anhedonia." Following the studio sessions for that CD, we went on a six-month or so hiatus brought on by financial problems before we could release the CD. Finally, in December of 2002, we got the bastard out and found a second guitarist—with surprising ease—so we could play some shows. Cris became our second guitarist early in this year and he fits in great, with both the attitudes of the band members and the musical direction, so that was a relief. That brings us up to date.

Let's move to the most important evening in FALL OF EMPYREAN camp—the release of a new demo "Anhedonia." Please, describe how whole process of composing, recording and producing of this CD was. I was suppose it was really hard as everything was financed by the band itself.
Well the process of composition right now usually consists of me writing an entire song for one guitar, recording it at home, then playing stuff over it until I come up with harmony parts that sound good. Then, I burn these "demos" to cd-r, let my bandmates hear them and we start to rehearse them together, with each band member bringing their respective parts to the mix, re-structuring the songs and riffs as necessary. But, with Cris and Dan stepping up in terms of the songwriting, this process will be tweaked a bit more. As far as recording, we had heard good things about Studio-Z (where we eventually went) and booked some time, about 50 hours. The process went pretty smoothly actually, except the drums, which took a little bit of time to get set up at first. Also, it took a bit of time to feel out the recording methods that were comfortable for us. The studio experience overall was easy and we didn't have a lot of trouble with any particular step of that process. However, when it came time to get the CD mastered and duplicated, we had problems up the ass, both in the financial area (we were broke, basically), as well as the people we were working with. We had to get the CD re-duplicated, because the first run was faulty, with some skipping in the music and such. Indeed the fact that we had to self-finance was the major factor delaying its release.

What I really love on "Anhedonia" is wider use of acoustic guitars which create even more doomy atmosphere than it was on s/t debut ...
Thank you, we consciously tried to incorporate more variation into the music than on the first demo. I especially love the sound of acoustic guitars; much of our new stuff had a good portion of acoustic breaks thrown in. A few of the songs—"The Catatonic" and "Destructive Light of Dawn"—are slightly older, so they aren't quite as flooded with acoustics, but we still thought the songs were great and belonged on the demo.

The other significant difference between your two releases despite obviously better sound is also maturing songwriting. The songs are better composed and performed. How much time do you spend on rehearsing? What are your main inspirations?
We actually only rehearse two times a week, maximum. During the rehearsal sessions for the CD, we were actually sometimes only rehearsing once a week, because we were without a second guitarist. Therefore, it didn't take quite as much time to learn the songs, as I already knew all the guitar parts. My main inspirations as a songwriter are probably bands such as My Dying Bride, Anathema, Katatonia, October Tide, Saturnus, etc., as well as bands whose influence shows less in our style: Ulver, Disembowelment, Burzum, Devin Townsend, Dissection, and so forth. I like a lot of different music and most of my favorite bands make an impression somehow.

Some weeks ago you announced finding the second guitarist. Who is he? Has he played in any doom bands before?
Our new guitarist is named Cris Félix. He hasn't played in any doom bands before, but he loves the style and is actively involved with metal, in general. His previous bands played mainly melodic black metal. He's pretty young, but he's a very capable guitarist and very enthusiastic, so we're glad to have him in the fold.

Are you going to promote "Anhedonia" on live gigs? Maybe you will play more concerts during Doomination of America?
We actually have already played two gigs in support of "Anhedonia," with a variety of bands, though none was doom. We seem to be the only band in the state of Arizona (USA) that has any sort of connection to the doom sound or the scene. Unfortunately, unless Doomination comes to AZ, I doubt we will play any shows related to it, because we have no money to play out of state at the moment, though we'd really enjoy it.

Are there any bands in American underground which you would recommend to doom fans? (Of course despite the great like these I mentioned at the beginning)
Hmm, tough one. I guess mostly just ones people already know ... Agalloch, Sculptured, Avernus, Lilitu, Thorns of the Carrion (RIP), and then, yes, the ones you already mentioned. I actually have heard very few good unsigned doom acts in the states. The doom scene here is not large, but we're glad to be representing it nonetheless.

Thanx Justin for this interview. If there is anything you want to add, feel free to do it now!
Thank you for the support, Aruzz, you've been a great help in getting our name around the international scene and we appreciate it. If any of your readers have any interest in checking us out, or ordering a copy of "Anhedonia," they can feel free to visit our homepage at http://www.fallofempyrean.com. Thanks again!