Solstice (British metal band)

The band released their debut album Lamentations on England's Candlelight Records in 1994 and caught the attention of an underground scene that was at that point swept up with the still new second wave of black metal. Successive UK and European tours, with Count Raven and Anathema respectively, firmly cemented the band as something of a cult act across the continent.

1996 saw the release of the Halcyon EP on Black Tears, comfortably conveying the strength and progression of that line-up, while further embracing their English Heavy Metal roots but with an aesthetic that shows the band were not afraid to court a more sinister undercurrent. Shortly after, however, Solstice once again suffered line-up problems that essentially resulted in the band becoming largely dormant. In 1998, the band signed with Misanthropy Records, which helped with the release of New Dark Age, but the band was painfully laid to rest in 2002.

In 2007, Solstice was re-ignited. after a five-year hiatus, Walker commented that he was inspired to continue Solstice after enlisting the services of Andrew Whittaker from The Lamp Of Thoth.The recruitment of Paul Bwitton on vocals and Richard Horton on drums (both formerly of NWOBHM outfit Scarab) proved fruitless, but undeterred the band had Procession singer Felipe temporarily fill the vocalist position in order to honour live commitments.

Buoyed by this success, Solstice set about recruiting a full-time vocalist with whom they could move forward and so in the Summer of 2011 they welcomed Paul Thomas Kearns into the lineup. An Irishman living in Oslo, Kearns had appeared on one album with disbanded Irish Doom/Death Metal outfit Arcane Sun. The new line-up of Solstice made their live debut supporting Primordial in the latter's 20 years anniversary show at Dublin's Academy on 24 September 2011. 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.[2] 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.[3] Hagthorn's previous musical experience includes being the vocalist for Vermont-based doom metal band Chalice.[4]

• Solstice myspace
• Official Solstice page at The Miskatonic Foundation
• Solstice at Encyclopedia Metallum