Robert Lowe

Robert Lowe
Background information
Birth Name	Robert Lowe
Born	25 October 1964, Boyd, Texas
Occupation	Musician, Vocalist
Genres	Epic Doom Metal, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal
Instrument(s)	Vocals, Bass, Guitar
Years active	1988 - Present
Labels	Massacre, Roadrunner, Roadracer, Nuclear Blast, Pavement Music
Associated acts	Solitude Aeturnus, Candlemass, Concept of God, Tyrant
Website	Facebook

Robert Lowe is a vocalist from Boyd, Texas, known for his wide range and his mannerism of rolling his eyes into the back of his head. A key musician in the early makings of Epic Doom Metal, he is best known as the singer of Solitude Aeturnus along with a tenure as vocalist for the Swedish Epic Doom band Candlemass, contributing to three of their albums. Along with his tenures in those two notable doom bands Lowe has lent his voice to several bands, currently working with Tyrant since 2017.

Biography

Solitude Aeturnus

• For more details feel free to view the Riffipedia page on Solitude Aeturnus.

Lowe would join Solitude Aeturnus (Then known as Solitude) in 1988, replacing Kris Gabehardt. The band would record a demo not long after, gaining the attention of a small label known as King Klassic Records. The band entered the prestigious Dallas Sound Lab in January of 1990 to record their debut album entitled Into the Depths of Sorrow. After a disastrous first mix the band went back to Sound Logic Studios for a remix. It was a nightmare to try to fix but the band managed to capture a great, albeit raw sound nonetheless. The whole album was recorded for a paltry sum of $3000 and done in 7 days including the remix. Shortly after the album was delivered the album suffered an insane delay due to conflicts of King Klassic, later signing to major label Roadrunner. After numerous other delays the album finally saw the light of day in July of 1991 a full year and half after the album was recorded. No tours followed although by this time SA had already written enough songs for a second album. In March of 1992 the band entered Sound Logic recording studios to begin the sessions for their follow-up Beyond the Crimson Horizon.

The budget for Beyond was much greater and as a result the sound was improved. The album was released in July of 1992 and eventually a US tour was set up in late Nov. with Paul Diannos Killers. The tour lasted six weeks and was a great success for the band. Shortly after in Feb. of 93 the band were dropped from Roadrunner. The band would find a new label in Pavement Music by the end of the year.

The band decided to get away from their familiar surroundings and took off for England to record their third album, Through the Darkest Hour. Recorded in late March of 94 at Rhythm Studios it proved to be the bands best work to date, showing a more simple and heavier direction. Darkest Hour received critical acclaim all across the globe upon its release in August of 1994. After a few months of negotiating, the band went on the road with metal legends Mercyful Fate for an extensive US tour. The tour spanned six weeks and shortly after the band embarked on their first tour of Europe with fellow doom band Revelation. The next album Downfall was recorded in Dallas, TX and despite receiving praise once again for their efforts, the band were extremely dissatisfied with the end product.

Following a break and some lineup changes Solitude Aeturnus would sign to German label Massacre Records in December 97 and recorded Adagio. This time going back to Rhythm Studios in England the album was recorded in March 98 and released in June of the same year. The band toured Europe in September of 98 with Savior Machine in support of the record. Adagio finally saw a U.S. release in January of 1999 through Olympic Records. Being distributed through Polygram, the Olympic deal gave the band even greater exposure in the native country.

With a few temporary line-ups the band finally settled on metal veteran Steve Nichols on drums and James Martin on bass. A short tour of Greece and Germany followed in early 2007. In the fall of 2007 the bands sixth album Alone was released on Massacre Records (With a stateside release is due in March 2007 through Locomotive Music). The band followed with a string of sporadic shows throughout the US and Europe. In February of 2007 a DVD performance was filmed for release through Metal Mind Productions in spring 2007 known as Hour of Despair. Metal Mind also remastered and reissued the bands first two albums previously on Roadrunner Records. With the band's activity slowing down, Solitude Aeturnus would perform for the last time on 15 June 2011 at The Rail Club in Fort Worth, Texas. The band quietly disbanded sometime after.

Solitude Aeturnus would be set to reunite at the 2024 edition of Hell's Heroes.

Candlemass

• For more details feel free to view the Riffipedia page on Candlemass.

In 2006 Robert Lowe of Solitude Aeturnus would replace Messiah Marcolin as the lead singer of Candlemass. His earliest live show with the band would be their 20th anniversary set on 31 March 2007, aside several other guests and former Candlemass singers. This would be later released on DVD as 20 Year Anniversary Party. In 2007, King of the Grey Islands would be released to critical acclaim. Along with touring Europe to support the album the band toured North America for the first time since 1990.

In 2009, the band's tenth album Death Magic Doom would be released, eventually earning the band another Grammis award. The album was intended to be named "Hammer of Doom" but was changed due to a festival of the same name.

The next Candlemass album was intended to be released in 2011 but was ultimately delayed to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, featuring a live performance of the album with Johan Längqvist at Roadburn Festival. This performance would see an exclusive vinyl release in 2013.

In 2012, Candlemass would release what was billed as their final studio album in Psalms For The Dead with Robert Lowe on vocals. On 2 June 2012 Robert Lowe would be fired from the band due to what the band cited as "poor quality from live performances" as Psalms For The Dead was released on 6 June 2012.

Robert Lowe responded to his dismissal from the band with the following:

“	"Actually, there was not a situation [that caused the breakup]. I mean, the guys decided to drop the best vocalist they ever had. It's not my problem. But you, there wasn't a situation. Everything is good, everything is kosher."	”
	— Robert Lowe, Blabbermouth

Other Bands

From 1995 - 1998, Lowe was the singer for Last Chapter, with his vocals on their first studio album The Living Waters, released in 1997. In 1996 he would contribute as a guest to Liquid Sound Company (A psychedelic jam band featuring Solitude Aeturnus guitarist John Perez.) for their 1996 album Exploring The Psychedelic. Lowe would found a new band in 1999 known as Concept of God, featuring the current Solitude Aeturnus lineup at the time minus John Perez. The band released a single album in Visions via Massacre Records in 2007. A second album was intended to be in the works and possibly recorded though ultimately never surfaced.

After being involved in a doom project known as Gathered in Darkness, Lowe would join the heavy metal band Tyrant in 2017, replacing Glen May. The band had been working on a new album since reforming in 2009. With Lowe taking over the vocal role and performing shows with the band, recording would take place in 2019 as the band would sign to Shadow Kingdom Records. The long-awaited Hereafter would see release on 15 May 2020, the band's first release in nearly twenty-five years. Hereafter would attain positive reception from several publications such as Ghost Cult Magazine, Metal Gods TV, Forgotten Scroll, Metal Observer and Decibel.

Bands

• Solitude Aeturnus - Vocals (1988 - 2011)
• Last Chapter - Vocals (1995 - 1998)
• Concept of God - Vocals (1999 - ?)
• Candlemass - Vocals (2006 - 2012)
• Gathered in Darkness - Vocals (2015 - Present)
• Tyrant - Vocals (2017 - Present)

Discography

With Solitude Aeturnus

• Into The Depths of Sorrow (1991, Roadracer)
• Beyond the Crimson Horizon (1992, Roadrunner Records)
• Through The Darkest Hour (1994, Pavement Music)
• Downfall (1996, Pavement Music)
• Adagio (1998, Massacre Records)
• Justice For All (Demo) (2000, Doomed Planet)
• Alone (2006, Massacre Records)
• Hour of Despair (Live Album / DVD) (2007, Metal Mind Productions)
• In Times of Solitude (Compilation) (2011, Massacre Records)

With Candlemass

• Black Dwarf / Demonia 6 (Single) (2007, Nuclear Blast)
• King of The Grey Islands (2007, Nuclear Blast)
• 20 Year Anniversary Party (2007, Peaceville)
• Lucifer Rising (2008, Nuclear Blast)
• Death Magic Doom (2009, Nuclear Blast)
• No Sleep Til' Athens (2010, Nuclear Blast)
• Ashes To Ashes (2010, Nuclear Blast)
• Don't Fear The Reaper (2010, High Roller)
• Psalms For The Dead (2012, Napalm Records)

Other Releases

• Last Chapter - The Living Waters (1997, Brainticket)
• Concept of God - Visions (2007, Massacre)
• Tyrant - Hereafter (2020, Shadow Kingdom Records)

Guest Appearances

• Liquid Sound Company - Exploring The Psychedelic (Vocals on "Mesmerizing Eye") (1996, Rockadelic)
• mē◦āt◦َus - Inner Demons (A 3 Act Noise Opera) (Vocals on "Meticulous - Preamble to Conflict") (1999, Noise Opera)
• Funeral - As The Light Does The Shadow (Vocals on "In the Fathoms of Wit and Reason") (2008, Indie Recordings)

External Links

• Myspace