ROBERT LOWE Talks About Being The New Voice Of CANDLEMASS

Dr. Abner Mality of the webzine Wormwood Chronicles recently spoke to Robert Lowe, the new singer of CANDLEMASS and current singer of SOLITUDE AETURNUS. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Wormwood Chronicles: Was your chemistry with CANDLEMASS there from the start or did it take a while to develop? Musical or personal chemistry?

Robert Lowe: It's funny because I never even met these guys until February of this year. The chemistry would be more along the lines of the musical aspect because when SOLITUDE was forming, CANDLEMASS has just come out with "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus" back in '86. SOLITUDE started in 1989 and I joined the band in 1991. I was listening to "Epicus Doomicus" already at that time. There's definitely a musical bond which after all these years of CANDLEMASS doing what they're doing and SOLITUDE doing what they're doing...I wouldn't say it was an obvious choice but it's not like I stepped into a new genre. It's not like I stepped from doom metal into pop country. It was easy to step into CANDLEMASS and take over that way.

Wormwood Chronicles: I think to many people, including myself, it WAS the logical choice...picking you to be the new singer of CANDLEMASS.

Robert Lowe: I hear that a lot and I really appreciate that. It's nice to think that people believe that. I didn't actively seek this position. My girlfriend actually did it!

Wormwood Chronicles: Really?

Robert Lowe: Yeah, I was at work one day and she calls up and says, hey, you know CANDLEMASS is looking for a new singer? I go, what? She said, yeah, Messiah quit again. I was like, "Yeah, OK, whatever." She said, I'm gonna send them an email and I said, these guys don't want me, screw that! Well, she went ahead and did it anyway and the next thing I know, later that night, I'm taking to Leif (Edling, CANDLEMASS mastermind) and trying to figure out the logistics of it. And here we are!

Wormwood Chronicles: How did the guys in SOLITUDE AETURNUS react when you joined CANDLEMASS?

Robert Lowe: Once I finalized things with Leif, I talked to John (Perez, mastermind of S.A.) and said, "John, I've got an opportunity here." What it all boils down to is that everybody in S.A. was totally two thumbs up and "go for it, dude!" It's painfully obvious that SOLITUDE doesn't really do a whole lot and in order for me to stay busy and stay on the road like I want to do, this was the perfect opportunity. Either I sit here and do nothing or I do something with CANDLEMASS and every time something comes up with SOLITUDE, we try to work it into the schedule. It worked out well and really, nothing has changed as far as SOLITUDE goes.

Wormwood Chronicles: It seems to me that the new album's lyrics are even more depressing than the usual CANDLEMASS stuff. It's really dark and suicidal.

Robert Lowe: That's the underlying theme throughout the whole CD. It's basically the rise and fall of somebody being an egotist. And at the end, the ultimate demise of ego is suicide. Now you obviously would have to talk to Leif to get the real meaning, but from my experience singing the lyrics and working with the songs and listening to what Leif thought the "King of the Grey Islands" was, it's about the rise and fall of a single individual.

Wormwood Chronicles: Do you think it might be a subtle jab at a certain former singer of CANDLEMASS?

Robert Lowe: (chuckles) You know what? I don't even know, I haven't really looked at it that way. If you've read some of the statements that Leif has made, it was not an amicable parting. But I wasn't there and I don't know all the ins and outs of the situation. Honestly, I don't want to know. I've always been a fan of Messiah. Don't ask, don't tell, I leave it at that.

Wormwood Chronicles: You're in a way different place than you were a few months ago.

Robert Lowe: Hell yeah! Back in January, I quit my job and I've been focusing on the two bands, which is great, it's all I ever wanted to do! Oh, a side note, if I'm gonna be plugging...I just finished up in the studio last night with the CONCEPT OF GOD project, so that should be out in a couple of months,too.

Wormwood Chronicles: What's that about? That's something new to me.

Robert Lowe: Back in 2002, me, Steve and ex-SOLITUDE drummer John Covington were tired of sitting around and not playing. I came up with another project and called it CONCEPT OF GOD. You've got three S.A. members doing another kind of doom/heavy metal type thing. It's been on the back burner forever but me and Steve finally got off our asses and put it together in the last couple of weeks. We mixed it, added some new tracks and polsihed it up. In fact, I've been working on the artwork for it all day. So it should see the light of day pretty soon. I think that any S.A./CANDLEMASS fan will enjoy the CONCEPT OF GOD project.

Wormwood Chronicles: I will certainly look for that!

Robert Lowe: You know the official S.A. website? Just go there, go to the Downloads section and I've got a full length version of a tune from CONCEPT called "Past Perfect". You can listen to that and get a feel of what CONCEPT is like. Although, mind you, that's the old version! We've remastered and done a lot of stuff to it.

Read the entire interview at www.wormwoodchronicles.com.