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If someone asked you to list the best contemporary Metal bands in Britain you'd probably reel off such luminaries as My Dying Bride, Thine, Anathema... and chances are that the name Solstice would surely crop up. With one foot planted firmly in the Doom genre and the other in the legacy of the very best of NWOBHM, this English band could perhaps be described as 'conneiseur's' Metal. Fitted Kitchens cornered main man Rich on their recent Irish tour... but both parties being too imbibed with ale to work the dictaphone, let alone formulate coherent questions and answers, it was decided to be for the best to revisit the interview by post. And here, dear readers, be the results. Read on, my children of the grave...
'bout ye, Rich, well met. Did your recent sojourn around this fair isle fair you well?
"Indeed, my good man, we had a jolly marvellous time and shall return in the imminent future once more to bring the power of true Metal."
About the new platter, New Dark Age... It took a couple of spins to get my head around it... when I first heard a couple of the songs on it, I thought 'Fuck me, do these guys have no shame?'. I mean, take Blackthorne... half a minute into it I could have sworn that you were about to break into Simon and Garfunkels' rendition of 'Scarborough Fair' and launch into a fat-bastard folkie's wet-dream. Indeed, I had a growing dread that NDA was going to be a hideously embarrassing affair. However, it hasn't left the death-deck for several days now, and indeed, it's very strength lies in its highly charismatic content... A rare commodity in much Metal these days. You've referred to fans of 'new' metal as idiots, and have expressed your dearest wish that your music be as unpalatable as 'cabbage boiled in piss' for them. It's true that people are conned by the mainstream Metal press, and accept any well-hyped crap as something worthy of attention. Are you content to cater for the more discerning end of the market?
"No, I wish to expand and unite the metal scene and then march upon Parliament demanding a one-hour working week for all Metalheads, plus free beer tokens!! But in all seriousness, we have found that as you say, the more discerning end of the Metal market appreciate us more. And that end of the spectrum tends to be those who've been around for 10-15 years. Who knows why? Perhaps they can appreciate were we are 'coming from' and heading... the whole concept of 'Nineties Metal' (soon to be replaced by Kerrang with 'Millenial Metal') is crass, and stinks of shallow hypocrisy. I'm tired to being referred to as 'out of fashion' or 'cliched' for the way I dress or the bands I listen to. In fact, so tired, that this will be one of the last ever interviews I ever do. It seems that most people are content to have their thinking done for them and their musical tastes dictated to them by mainstream magazines. Yawn... how boring. The so called new breed of Metal bands are closer to the 70's disco music than the NWOBHM in my eyes. They are faceless clones wearing designer sports clothes."
Yer most likely to disagree with me here... I'm surprised that most reviews continue to label Solstice purely as a Doom band. From 'NDA' I wouldn't class you at all as primarily doom (though 'Legion XIII', for example, is clearly in that vein), and would argue that you're more of straight Metal act in the British sense of the word. For me, NDA has the epic feel of Maiden (without the over the top bombast) and the self-assuredness and don't-give-a-fuck-what-you-think attitude of Motorhead. What say you to this, and indeed, what is your preferred description for Solstice's vibe?
 "Solstice is a Metal band. Heavy Metal. Heavy Fucking Metal. The heaviest. Combining elements of our grand musical heritage, the bands before us (Iron Maiden, Bathory, Candlemass, Brocas Helm, Saint Vitus) we aim only to become even more epic and even heavier. Whatever we say we are, it makes no difference as I'm sure that other people will disagree".
In the quest to better yourself, there's often a danger of trying too hard and ending up with a laughable farce, a parody of one's former self. Classic examples of this are countless, and include Metallica with their god-awful 'Black album', or Nuclear Assault with 'Out of Order', and Maiden with 'No Prayer for the Dying'. Any fears of Solstice becoming a lazy, generic mess?
"I doubt it. In some respects, we don't try hard enough and as for generic? Well, that's all down to repeating one's self album after album. I think our next one will be as far removed from 'New Dark Age' as 'NDA' was from 'Lamentations'. Personally, I believe that a lot of bands end up as a parody when they being to believe that they are better than they actually are and act like rock stars. How childish".
I've heard it from several sources that you hold various ex-members in much higher regard than others (that's quite diplomatic phrasing, is it not?). For example, whilst Tom Philips and John Piras remain brothers in Metal, your opinion of one ex-member remains uncharitable. At the end of the thanks list on New Dark Age, there's the line "No thanks to the traitor-you slimy sodomite bastard- a plague upon you and yours...". Would this, perchance be Shaun Steels, and what's the story?
"None other than that he's a lying sack of shit and boring bastard. We all hate the cunt".
Label changes, personnel changes, all manner of hassles. Some would stoically call it 'character building'. Others a pain the arse. Whatever, it all seems to have paid off for Solstice. How have the 'new' guys (and I use the term 'new' very loosely), Hamish, Moz and Rick, added to the overall Solstice experience in terms of their individual approaches to previously penned material?
"Well, I think that's quite obvious really, we are a much better band all round. In terms of composition and musical ability we just progress a little further each time. The line up has been together for almost two and a half years now, so its not a recent thing. We've had some high points and some low points, but we soldier on and enjoy it whilst we're able."
At the time of writing these questions, you're signed to Misanthropy. What do you make of the acts of the label? I'd argue that the label's strength lies in its more avant-guard acts than in the meat and potatoes Metal acts. For example, whilst Mayhem are undeniably of great influence in any analysis of recent extreme Metal, they are musically suffocatingly-dull.
"I like Mayhem and Primordial, also In The woods and Endura. As for the rest of the bands, I wasn't too familiar with their music or I didn't like it. It wasn't my label so its not my place to comment on the choice of artists. Misanthropy was quite honestly in retrospect the best label that Europe ever had. In terms of honesty and diversity, I cannot think of any label that could match it, and from the bottom of my heart I thank Tiziana, Antoinette and Brian for all the work they did for us- HAIL!"
Indeed, where next for Solstice now that Tiziana is calling it a day? Any label action?
 "We're signing to Necropolis Records (USA) it seems, also home to Witchery, Usurper etc. they have made an excellent offer and work hard for their bands. If fate sees fit, it will be a fine union indeed".
What is the 'New Dark Age' to you? Is it a title brought about by the end-of-millennium scares and paranoia (e.g. the millennium bug, the likelihood of the Balkans conflict becoming one fuck of a global barney- nb this interview was conducted in May, Ed), or the perception of a general decline in society's standards and behaviours. Is it even something of a perverse longing, to see society go through a period of turmoil and get a right good toe up the arse? After all, opening NDA with a passage from Lovecraft's 'The Call of Cthulhu' suggests that you hold a fairly jaded view of humanity and it's all-too evident limitations.
"The new dark age is already upon us, like starving dogs we squabble over scraps of meat in these, the very last years of mankind's reign. There is no hope for us as a species, and yes I believe that external and arcane forces are at work to usurp our foothold on civilisation. In a way, maybe this could be a blessing as we are so decadent that we have become a cancer on the face of the planet for the most part. However, I prepare to fight to retain my freedom in the turbulent times ahead."
'Fitted Kitchens' prides itself on being a sort of coffee-table, lifestyle and human interest zine (yeah, right), so let's move onto yourself, the man behind it all. Paint us a picture of your formative Metal years, from hormone-laden heavy metal adolescence through to Solstice. Um, and yeah, this is where the predictable Sore Throat issue may arise.
"There's nothing really to tell, like most people I got into the scene through tape trading and listening to records at older kids' houses, bands such as Motorhead, Sabbath, Venom, Metallica, Exodus, Slayer etc in the mid eighties, along with loads of obscure extreme hardcore, blah blah. Put it this way, I went to my first gig in 1981 (Discharge, The Exploited, Chron-gen, and Anti-Pasti) I was 12 years old, nearly 13, and was scared stiff by all the older kids. Over the years, I look back and I'm glad, as if I hadn't gone I would never have stuck it out and had the dream of playing in a band myself. For the record, I'm nearly 31 years old now, and some of the best bands I have ever seen live are Discharge, The Exploited, Broken Bones, The Damned, Motorhead, Candlemass, Trouble, Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, Nuclear Assault, Nasty Savage, Slayer, Obituary, Mau-Maus, Sacrilege, Napalm Death, Subhumans, Judas Priest, Chaos UK etc etc. A right old mixture of hardcore punk and Heavy Metal! Although the two most important gigs of my life would be the Discharge one in 1981 and Saint Vitus in 1990. All these bands gave me hope that there was and is a solution/ alternative to musical mediocrity."
Define the appeal of DOOM to the non-believers reading this article. Is it the truly the path to sonic fulfilment?
"Doom Metal is what it is, for years the last bastion of the true Heavy Metal spirit and a tiny but close knit scene of dedicated fans and bands. To a certain extent it remains the same, but I have hope that it will outlive every trend going and survive the turmoil. I cannot explain the appeal of Doom in words, it is a feeling (and to a certain extent an attitude), it is also very varied musically with each band interpreting the original Sabbath mould in their own way: Iron Man, Revelation, Solstice, Warning, Candlemass, Warcry etc, all sound different to me... Anyone interested in the scene should check out the 'At the Mountains of Madness' sampler and the two 'Dark Passages' samplers. A good starting place to be sure".
The 'Miskatonic Foundation'... Explain the what's, whys and hows!
"The Miskatonic Foundation is my own label which is dedicated to preserving the tradition of classic doom and true Metal. Apart form the 'At the Mountains of madness' sampler, and the Twisted Tower Dire 'The Curse of Twisted Tower' CD, I shall release full lengths by Warning and While Heaven Wept, a new MCD by Twisted Tower Dire (who are the US Metal gods in the vein of old Maiden and Blitzkreig) and maybe a Blessed Realm CD. I would also like to release CDs by Brocas Helm (USA) and God's Tower (Russia), both of whom epitomise individuality and the Metal spirit!! The Twisted Tower Dire CD is ten pounds sterling post paid anywhere- get it! Its awesome!"
Rich, cheers for your time and patience, I raise my foaming ale horn to you. Any messages for the readership of this rag, and to your Irish fans in particular?
"Thanks for the interview, hail to all who came to the shows and hail to Primordial and Waylander for playing too!"
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