Solstice is an English

epic doom metal 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.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

band from

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, ...

, founded by Rich Walker after the breakup of his previous

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme metal, extreme fusion genre of heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, e ...

bands

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and Warfear. Rich Walker previously ran The Miskatonic Foundation, a record label dedicated to doom metal and traditional heavy metal.

History

Contemporary with the second wave of black metal that was especially active in Norway and other Scandinavian nations, Solstice released their debut album '' Lamentations'' on England's

Candlelight Records Candlelight Records is a British record label based in London, founded by former Extreme Noise Terror bass guitarist Lee Barrett in 1993. The record label originally specialized in black metal, but quickly expanded to various other forms of hea ...

in 1994. The album was followed by a UK tour with Count Raven and a European tour with

Anathema The word anathema has two main meanings. One is to describe that something or someone is being hated or avoided. The other refers to a formal excommunication by a Christian denomination, church. These meanings come from the New Testament, where a ...

. 1996 saw the release of the ''Halcyon'' EP on Godhead Recordings; two years later, the band signed with

Misanthropy Records Misanthropy Records was a British heavy metal record label. History The label was founded in 1993 by Tiziana Stupia, originally solely to release an album by Burzum. The background to the founding of the company was that after Varg Vikernes ...

, which helped release ''New Dark Age''. During these times, Solstice were experiencing issues with their line-up, which culminated in them splitting up in 2002. Solstice was reunited in 2007 after a five-year hiatus. Walker commented that he was inspired to continue Solstice after enlisting Andrew Whittaker from The Lamp of Thoth. The recruitment of Paul Britton on vocals and Richard Horton on drums (both formerly of

NWOBHM The new wave of British heavy metal (often abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that began in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Editor Alan Lewis coined the term for an arti ...

outfit Scarab) was brief, but the band had Procession singer Felipe temporarily fill the vocalist position to honour live commitments. Buoyed by their live success, Solstice recruited Paul Thomas Kearns a full-time vocalist in summer 2011. An Irishman living in Oslo, Kearns appeared on one album with disbanded Irish doom/death metal band Arcane Sun. The new line-up of Solstice made their live debut on 24 September 2011, opening for Primordial's 20-year anniversary show at Dublin's Academy Del Nichol replaced Richard Horton on drums later in 2011, and was also replaced nine months later by Deceptor's drummer James Ashbey. Solstice ended their 12-year absence from the recording studio in early 2013 with the release of their Mini LP ''Death's Crown is Victory'', issued on their own "White Horse" imprint. They promoted this release by touring across Europe. In late 2019, Hel Thorne, alternately regarded as Hagthorn, was revealed as the new vocalist of Solstice, having replaced Paul Thomas Kearns. To commemorate her joining the band, Solstice released a two-song EP called ''White Thane'', which consisted of two songs from their 2018 album ''White Horse Hill'' reworked with Hagthorn on vocals. Hagthorn's previous musical experience includes being the vocalist for

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

-based doom metal band Chalice.

Discography

Albums

* '' Lamentations'', 1994 * ''New Dark Age'', 1998 * ''White Horse Hill'', 2018

Mini albums

*'' Death's Crown Is Victory'', 2013 *'' White Horse Hill'', 2015

EPs

* ''Halcyon'', 1996

Splits

* Solstice/Twisted Tower Dire, 2001 * Solstice/ The Lord Weird Slough Feg, 2002

Demos

* ''Lamentations'', 1991 * ''MCMXCII'', 1992 * ''As Empires Fall'', 1993 * ''Ragnarok'', 1994 * ''Drunken Dungeon Sessions'', 1997 * ''To Sol A Thane'', 2016

Compilations

* ''Only the Strong'', 2008 * ''Epicus Metalicus Maximus'', 2010Solstice
bnrmetal.com. Retrieved on 2 January 2011.

Band members

;Current members * Richard M. Walker – guitar (1990–2002, 2007–present) * Rick Budby – drums (1996–2002, 2016–present) * Andy Whittaker – guitar (2010–present) * Daryl Parson – bass (2018–present) * Hagthorn – vocals (2019–present) ;Former members * Dave "Doom" Talbot – vocals, guitar (1990–1991) * Paul Youdan – vocals (1991–1992) * Mark Stojsavljevic – vocals (1992–1993) * Simon Matravers – vocals (1994–1995) * Morris Ingram – vocals (1996–2002) * Tom Phillips – vocals (1996) * Adrian Miles – vocals (2007–2010) * Paul Britton – vocals (2010–2011) * Paul Thomas Kearns – vocals (2011–2019) * Lennaert Roomer – guitar (1991–1992), drums (1994–1995) * Lee Baines – guitar (1992–1993) * Hamish Glencross – guitar (1996–1999) * Jerry Budby – guitar (2000) * Roberto Mendes – guitar (2001–2002) * Brendan Dawson – bass (1990–1993) * Gian Pyres – bass (1993), guitar (1994–1996) * Lee Netherwood – bass (1994–2002) * Diccon Harper – bass (2007–2010) * Lenny Robinson – bass (2010–2012) * Ian "Geezer" Buxton – bass (2012–2018) * Gary Riley – drums (1990–1993) * Shaun Taylor-Steels – drums (1995–1996, 2007–2010) * Richard Horton – drums (2010–2011) * Del Nichol – drums (2011–2012) * James Ashbey – drums (2012–2016) Timeline

References

External links

*
Solstice at Encyclopedia Metallum

{{Authority control English doom metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1990