James-Paul Luna has made his live debut as the vocalist of SOLITUDE AETURNUS, fronting the Texas doom metal veterans at Candelabrum Metal Fest in León, Mexico on Saturday, September 12. Fan-shot footage from the set has surfaced online.
Luna joined in August as the replacement for Robert Lowe, whose departure the band announced in April after a tenure stretching back to the late 1980s. He arrives with a pedigree in traditional metal — best known for his work with HOLY GRAIL, and more recently INTRANCED.
"Luna is well known for his work with HOLY GRAIL and, most recently, INTRANCED," the band said when the appointment was confirmed on August 1. "With a commanding stage presence and years of experience, he will bring power and intensity to our live performances. His powerful yet melodic voice is a natural fit for the sound of SOLITUDE AETURNUS, and we look forward to unleashing a new chapter of doom together."
The León show was not the band's first outing without Lowe — Jason McMaster guested on vocals at Maryland Deathfest in Baltimore on May 21 — but it is the first with a permanent singer in place. The lineup is completed by founding guitarist John Perez, guitarist Edgar Rivera, bassist Lyle Steadham and drummer Logan Cade.
When Lowe's exit was announced, the band framed it as a condition of staying active at all: "a necessary change if we are to move forward as an active band... This was not an easy decision, of course, but we feel positive about it as we move forward with more shows and other plans."
SOLITUDE AETURNUS began life simply as SOLITUDE in spring 1987, formed by Perez after he left the thrash band ROTTING CORPSE. A legal threat from another act forced the name change in 1989. The band recorded their debut "Into The Depths Of Sorrow" at Dallas Sound Lab in January 1990, but Roadrunner Records did not release it until July 1991 — a full eighteen months later, with no tour to support it.
"Beyond The Crimson Horizon" followed in July 1992, finally bringing a US tour with Paul Di'Anno's KILLERS. Dropped by Roadrunner, the band signed to Pavement Records and travelled to England to record "Through The Darkest Hour" at Rhythm Studios in March 1994 — a heavier, more riff-driven record that earned the best reviews of their career and took them on the road with MERCYFUL FATE, then across Europe with REVELATION.
Their most recent album, "Alone," came out in 2006. Twenty years on, the new chapter the band promised finally has a voice attached to it.
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