Steve Moseley

AM : It's been a very long time between "Adagio" and "Alone", why this break ?

Steve :There were quite a few reasons for the long time between albums. Edgar Rivera left the band because of personal, family, and work related issues that required his complete attention. John Covington left the band for similar reasons.  I moved from bass to guitar after Edgar left, and we went through two different bass players before we got James Martin to fill the bass spot. We also worked with a different drummer for a while before we got Steve Nichols.  There were a few serious medical conditions (that turned out o.k. fortunately) that cost us some time. My wife and I had our first child. We changed rehearsal locations twice, some of us changed jobs, got divorces, worked on side projects like the Concept of God, and many other things.

AM : Did you ever think to stop the band and what decided you to come back ?

Steve : We never really thought to stop the band. There was some concern that we would not retain the signature Solitude sound that the fans have come to know over the years with the line-up changes. But once we got settled in with the new members we felt confident that the fans would appreciate the new line-up.  We don't consider "Alone" a "come-back".  We may have taken too much time between albums, but we were never "gone". We have been working on material for "Alone" as far back as 1999. Unfortunately, it just took some time to complete.

AM : I think it's nearly a new start for the band, you have to work to be known again, as the new generation of metalheads might not know the band, do you feel it like this ?

Steve : Not really, most people that check out new music do so regardless of the band name. Our fans realize at this point that we were working during the last 8 years, and were up against many obstacles that were out of our control.  I think there are a few "next generation metal-heads" that will enjoy "Alone" even though it took a while to get recorded.

AM : Enough babble about the past, let's talk about the present : who did the music and the lyrics of the new album ?

Steve : John Perez and I wrote the music for "Alone" over the last 8 years or so, and the majority of  the lyrics were written by Robert Lowe.

AM : You have a very clear and powerful sound on the new album, Who did craft you that sound, how about the recording session, it must have been quite special after such a long absence ?

Steve : The new sound is a result of the new line-up. When I moved from bass to guitar, I brought a new guitar sound into the band. At first we all were concerned that it was too far removed from the signature sound the band has had over the years.  After rehearsing, and recording, and bringing James Martin's bass, and Steve Nichol's drums into the mix, we felt that the new sound is something the fans would appreciate. The recording did make a difference, I use a somewhat "old-school" technique to record my guitar sound. Basically, plug it in, put a mic up to the speaker, and go. This produces a somewhat cleaner, more raw sounding guitar. Hopefully the fans will enjoy the new sound, as we had great time recording at Nomad Studio. The studio was really nice, we had J.T. Longoria, and Sterling Winfield engineering for us, and we produced the album ourselves. Gary Long, the owner of Nomad Studio, is a really great guy, and we look forward to working with him again.  It was a unique experience working on the album here close to our "home-town".

AM : Doom metal legends are raising again, your comeback is as convincing as Candlemass'one... I mean you remain true to the genre but you don't sound old at all and this is not so easy... How do you see your the evolution of your sound ?

Steve : The evolution of our sound is actually quite basic.  I believe there are plenty of great Doom Metal ideas out there, and we always try and capture a few of those on our recordings.  These ideas are in part a direct result of the new sound the band has. When we rehearse new material, alot of the ideas come about because of the sound of the instruments. We don't compose very many songs anymore without "crankin' it up" and seeing how it feels at full volume. I think that is one of the contributing factors as to why our material doesn't sound "old". The "new sound" we have is a result of many years of striving to capture what we sound like in the rehearsal room, or at a live show.  That's what Solitude is about, not a bunch of "studio magic".

AM : In your opinion, how has the world metal scene evolve since your disappearing in 1998 ?

Steve : There is alot of really great new metal out there.  So many bands producing quality work now days. The standards are much higher in many ways because of this. Unfortunately America still doesn't recognize "true metal" as radio worthy, and most of the local stations just play shit in my opinion. But, we have internet radio stations from Europe now, which helps us realize at least the rest of the world doesn't have their eyes (or ears) closed.

AM : What are your plans now, will you tour in Europe, or already write new stuff for a next album ?

Steve : We have shows scheduled for Poland early next year. I am sure there will be more European dates added as the new year approaches.  We all very much enjoy playing in Europe. One of the only advantages of having so much time between albums is the abundance of new material. We almost have enough material written for another album.  Hopefully this time next year we will have some of it recorded, in addition to releasing the Concept of God project we did a few years back, and perhaps a couple of DVD's as well.

AM : Thanks for your time and all the best for your comeback !!!