Velingor: At what age did you start playing guitar? Were you influenced by any well-known legendary bands? Have you tried playing other instruments? Why did you choose doom metal? Did you play music of any other genres?
Rich: I started playing guitar in 1988 when I was 20 years old. Before that, I was a singer in a hardcore punk band, and a drummer too. I've made recordings as a singer, drummer, and guitarist throughout all the years I've been playing with bands. I only ever played in metal or hardcore punk bands, which were the two music styles I grew up listening to and always liked (BLACK SABBATH, DISCHARGE, IRON MAIDEN, MOTORHEAD, THE EXPLOITED, BROKEN BONES were my favourite kinds of bands when I was a teenager..). I was mainly inspired by the guitarist of DISCHARGE, Bones Roberts, at first, and the guitar player of US doom metal band SAINT VITUS, Dave Chandler. Both in style and in their songwriting approach. But other bands who inspired me were of course BATHORY, MANOWAR, IRON MAIDEN and CANDLEMASS.
Velingor: A little bit of history: apparently, you were the one who initiated the creation of SOLSTICE? Tell us more about how the band was formed. Why was this name chosen — does it symbolize something for you?
Rich: Yes, I formed SOLSTICE back in 1990. From that original lineup, only I remain, but as I compose all the lyrics and pretty much all the music, nothing ever really changes too dramatically. The name was chosen as a symbol of our non-Christian heritage, harkening back before the plague from the Middle East began to infect us...
Velingor: Were there any problems with the name SOLSTICE? As far as I know, in the USA there are two bands with the same name — one playing death metal, another playing hardcore (or punk).
Rich: Fuck them all. That shitty death metal band also had members of those idiots from CANNIBAL CORPSE. Their manager wrote to us in 1992 telling us to change our name. I wrote back and told him I would cut his throat should he ever set foot on English soil. Eventually those American idiots split up and disappeared into the depths of obscurity they deserved.
Velingor: Who wrote the lyrics for the previous albums, and who writes them now? What was the source of inspiration?
Rich: I write all the lyrics. On the first album, the lyrics were more inspired by Candlemass but still had an anti-Christian message in songs like "ONLY THE STRONG". As time progressed, the lyrics have become much more strange, as they deal with pre-history doom cults, violence, arcane knowledge, and the ongoing battle between ourselves and the shadow-veiled forces of hypocrisy. As a writer, I was always influenced by the author Howard Phillips Lovecraft from an early age.
Velingor: Your first album "Lamentations" was released by Candlelight Records, which is now known as the label behind EMPEROR and some well-known death metal bands. Why were you released on this label?
Rich: We were offered a deal by the Candlelight label because we worked hard to get ourselves known and to make the best possible music we could at the time. We also had a very fearsome reputation as being the heaviest live band ever from the UK — which we were. When we played live, we blew up the PA systems on a regular basis due to the incredible guitar sounds we had!! And this, of course, made a lot of shitty UK bands try to copy us! It also made sense at the time, as we were the only doom metal band on the label!
Velingor: Your album "New Dark Age" was very interesting and varied musically — besides classical doom metal, there are some other elements, such as English folk influences. Did you decide to make the music more varied?
Rich: Of course. The key to making the music more enjoyable for myself mainly was to begin incorporating more inspiration from other epic metal — mainly Bathory and Manowar, plus the twin duelling guitars of IRON MAIDEN and the medieval/folk elements. Combining all these created a metal behemoth to march to war to!! I'm very proud of all SOLSTICE releases. That's why I think the next one will be the most complete yet in vision and musical approach, as I finally found what I was searching for in songwriting.
Velingor: "New Dark Age" was released by Misanthropy Records. That label also became famous for black metal bands BURZUM and MAYHEM. Is there a certain link between the music of these cult black metal bands and SOLSTICE's music?
Rich: There is no link. I think both those bands are shit (MAYHEM is nowadays a total commercial joke), and I hated ALL the bands on Misanthropy except PRIMORDIAL from Eire. Once again, we were signed on the strength of our music and ideological standpoint.
Velingor: Why was there such a long break after the release of "New Dark Age"? I came across information that SOLSTICE had disbanded. How accurate is this?
Rich: First, I left the band because I was kind of tired of the shit that was happening, with the old members being lazy and never doing anything except complain. Also, their lack of willingness to press forward in musical ability was just depressing. After a few weeks without me they split up, so a year ago I reformed the band with new members to record a new album of crushing epic doom metal in the future.
Velingor: Now there's official information about the forthcoming release of a new SOLSTICE album, "Blood and Honour Vol 1". Is it a comeback? Did any musicians who took part in the recording of previous SOLSTICE albums participate in the creation of this album?
Rich: The BLOOD & HONOUR releases are the old demos and various rare stuff from the history of SOLSTICE. These will be released as soon as I have the money to do so, or I can find a suitable label. It is also my intention to create a special exclusive release of various tracks for Eastern Europe to introduce people to the history of SOLSTICE, in case they don't know us already! The musicians on the next SOLSTICE recording are totally different except for me. It never really matters anymore, I think, as things always pretty much sound the same in the end with my songwriting for SOLSTICE.
Velingor: What will this album be like? A return to classical doom, or further development in the spirit of "New Dark Age"? Does the presence of "Vol 1" in the title mean that there will also be a "Vol 2"?
Rich: The fourth SOLSTICE record is called "TO SOL A THANE". Musically it is still epic doom metal with medieval influence, but I think it is somewhere between "HALCYON" and "NEW DARK AGE". I am very proud of the new songs I have been writing, as they will crush anyone who dares listen to them into submission by their immense power!!! As I've said before, the two-volume set is basically a collection of rare demos and unreleased songs!! Totally different from the next studio session.
Velingor: Do you plan to tour in support of the new album? Would you like to come to CIS countries?
Rich: We will do just a few shows, basically because we are all playing in other bands and have other commitments to keep. I have a job, family, a label to run, etc. — plus I need to spend more time drinking beer...!! Ha ha! Of course, I would love to play in russia especially. Many years ago we were supposed to play in moscow in 1994 with the band ANATHEMA, but because ANATHEMA did not want to drive 20 hours to moscow, we never made it to the show, which we were pretty fucking angry about. But we were just the support band on that tour, so there was nothing we could do as the bus was Anathema's. They are fucking lame posers.
Velingor: There are a lot of very high-quality doom metal bands in England. Do you think that your legendary misty land gives you the same inspiration that was once given to Black Sabbath?
Rich: BLACK SABBATH is of course great, and other UK doom metal like PAGAN ALTAR, REQUIEM, DESOLATION ANGELS, TELLURIAN, and more modern bands like WARNING, THE RIVER, IRON HEARSE, etc. There have been many great doom bands from England. I find a lot of inspiration from England, and being English, more so than any other band from England, I think.
Velingor: Do you communicate with any English musicians? Perhaps you sit together in a pub drinking beer with Danny Filth from Cradle of Filth and Aaron from My Dying Bride? :)
Rich: I would rather kill these filthy fucking subhumans than drink beer with them. I piss on their bands. I hate both of these idiots; their music is pure shit for gays. The only bands I communicate with are the doom bands WARNING, PAGAN ALTAR, and a black metal band called THUS DEFILED.
Velingor: As far as I know, England is a relatively expensive country, so not every metal musician can live solely off music. What about you?
Rich: I have to work a normal job to survive, as I make no money from my music. But I don't want to be a famous rock star — I am happy making music that I love for myself and my friends, and not for profit. If I do make money, I spend it on records and beer... And it is very expensive in England, I think. For example, a beer would cost you US $5 or a CD album from a store US $25. This is crazy, but I buy only albums directly from labels or trade them to get cheaper prices!! Still, I am thankful that England is not as expensive to live in as, say, Norway or Denmark!!
Velingor: I know that you also play in the ISEN TORR band besides SOLSTICE. What kind of music does this group play? Do you perform live with this band?
Rich: ISEN TORR plays Anglo-Saxon battle metal, and we play it LOUDLY!!! The music of ISEN TORR is similar to "NEW DARK AGE"-era SOLSTICE in a way, but quite different in others — basically because I am the one writing it, I guess. It is more uptempo than SOLSTICE, being much closer to the classic NWOBHM sound of bands like TYRANT, ELIXIR, and IRON MAIDEN. It still has the EPIC feel, which to me is the most important thing of all..!! We recorded and released the first EP already — it is called "MIGHTY & SUPERIOR" and we only pressed 666 copies as a 10" vinyl release. Later this year we will record our second release, which will also come out on vinyl only!! ISEN TORR will never release a CD!! Only vinyl!!
Velingor: I know that you collect vinyl records. Is that sound more of a priority for you than digital on CD?
Rich: Of course, I love vinyl. I collect metal vinyl because I think it sounds better than CDs, and looks better too. Given the choice, I will always buy the vinyl version of a release rather than a CD, but you know, I have CDs in my collection too... But I think a vinyl release is more honest in a way than digital.
Velingor: What bands do you like — your favorites? It's also interesting to know the musical preferences of the other SOLSTICE members.
Rich: Well, I like many different metal bands, but I honestly prefer EPIC-sounding metal above all else. IRON MAIDEN, CANDLEMASS, BROCAS HELM, CIRITH UNGOL, MANILLA ROAD, ELIXIR, DESOLATION ANGELS, MANOWAR, BATHORY, CELTIC FROST, ARC, TYRANT (UK), and RUNNING WILD are just some of my favourites. I basically like all metal music (except gothic, rap, or industrial, which I think is for homosexuals), some early 80's British punk & Oi like DISCHARGE, SKREWDRIVER, THE EXPLOITED, etc., and medieval/folk music. I won't call myself open-minded, because I am not — you will always mainly find me listening to metal 99% of the time!!
Velingor: On your mini album "Halcyon" there is a cover version of MANOWAR's "Gloves of Metal". Did you play any other covers? What covers would you like to play?
Rich: We also played covers by IRON MAIDEN, CANDLEMASS, SAINT VITUS, and TRESPASS with SOLSTICE. I enjoyed playing covers sometimes, as it was a lot of fun to try and make someone else's music. There are many other bands whose songs I would like to play, but you know, it would take me forever to cover them all... ha ha! I like too much!! I would like to cover songs by EXCITER, RUNNING WILD, CIRITH UNGOL, BROCAS HELM, TYRANT, ARC... just too many to mention, as I said.
Velingor: Do you know anything about metal music in CIS states?
Rich: Sure, I know ARIA, SCALD, CANONIS, KRUIZ, and other East European bands like GODS TOWER (Belarus), ROOT (Czech), MASTERS HAMMER (Czech), and Polish metal like KAT. I think my favourites are ARIA and SCALD from russia, but there must be many old russian metal bands that are unknown to Western European metal fans. Most people over here are idiots — they think that to play metal, the words must be in English. They are full of shit. I never care, as long as the music is great!!
Velingor: Please write a few words to SOLSTICE fans in CIS states (and there are quite a few of them!!!).
Rich: Never surrender!