When bands make changes to their sound, there always are the hand wringers out there panicking that the thing they liked is turning into something else. It’s kind of silly to do that because it’s natural for artists to grow and evolve, and as long as they don’t veer too far from their center point, an open-minded listener might find wrinkles they didn’t know would make them happy.
I’m not suggesting UK post-hardcore/black metal-influenced force Svalbard have made wholesale changes on their new record “The Weight of the Mask,” because they’re still completely recognizable, still incredibly infectious and heavy. But on this, their third record, they add more delicate tones, added cleaner singing, and different colors that make their style even more exciting and flexible. The band—vocalist/guitarist Serena Cherry, guitarist/vocalist Liam Phelan, bassist Matt Francis, drummer Mark Lilley—always wore their passion on their sleeves, but adding the depth to their sound makes them even more dynamic. Cherry steps back from her more political lyrics to make personal matters the focal point, leaning into depression, love, anxiety, and feeling like you’re hiding behind your true self. She handles these areas with bravery, vulnerability, and understanding, hopefully helping others who hear this music connect with the messages.
“Faking It” opens the record feeling energetic and fiery, but digging inside finds the real, painful truth. Cherry’s shrieks are lacerating and passionate, but her words signal something darker when she wails, “How am I standing? How am I alive? How am I making it seem like it’s fine? The question repeats and repeats.” It’s a sentiment many share, and as the track goes on, so does the pain, echoing out as she calls, “I just fake it, nothing is scared.” “Eternal Spirits” spills out, bringing intensity and emotion, the verses crushing and lush singing arriving over the chorus. “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” Cherry calls, a hyper-melodic surge following that, the declaration of, “We carry your torches,” hammering home the message. “Defiance” delivers heartfelt riffs and softer singing, easing you into the explosion. Once it arrives, the knives are out and the battle is on, Cherry wailing, “Try to kill my drive but I’m fighting,
try to hold me down but I’m rising,” a push that aims to bury those who wish to oppress or hold one down. “All I can do is keep fighting,” Cherry insists, bringing a clenched fist and a blaze to the effort. “November” is a change of pace, feeling more delicate musically but not lyrically. There is ache and sadness, the remembrance of a loss that lingers, Cherry determined never to go that path as she calls, “Head down, barriers up, nothing will ever come close to my heart.” As the track goes on, it wrenches harder, shrieks rain down, and the crushing turns add bruising and scarring to the heart.
“Lights Out” sinks into lingering mental wounds one tries to hide, as the playing pummels, hammering with a force that stings and layers with black metal melodies. “I am too depressed to show you how depressed I am,” Cherry calls, the music going dreamier as the emotion cuts deeper. The album’s title comes from this song as Cherry sings about being weighed down by the mask she must wear, the playing shimmering and unleashing fog as she admits, “The light in me is out.” “How to Swim Down” brings both darkness and brighter hues, the singing layering heavier emotion, moodiness lurking as the horizon gains blues and purples. “Go fight, I will heal you,” Cherry declares (taking on the role of the healer from “World of Warcraft”), the track moving toward more positive light, finally dissolving into something resembling hope. “Be My Tomb” ignites with energy flowing, great riffs, and powering shrieks that rattle bones. The catchiness is impossible to shake as a massive gush pushes in, the guitar work continues to add smoking layers, and the intensity really skyrockets at the end, landing in fresh, cool waters. “Pillar in the Sand” is cloudier with clean singing, guitars washing in the tides, tearing open as the shrieks do their damage. The tempo is pounding and passionate, taking its time to make its point, disappearing into the distance. Closer “To Wilt Beneath the Weight” lands huge punches right away, sticky riffs attacking, the rampage moving toward you like a tidal wave. The drums rumble as the deluge multiplies, bruising and mashing with electric jolts, the vocals wrenching one last time before the track ends in shimmering power.
Svalbard make musical leaps and bounds on “The Weight of the Mask,” still delving deeply into melodic hardcore and black metal waters but also showing no fear to try softer sounds and show some delicacy. It pays off huge, adding yet another element to this great band, and that’s all before digging into these brave, confessional lyrics that are unafraid to show vulnerabilities. It’s crucial for the band to release these feelings and just as vital for those in their audience who can identify with these songs, hear something they perhaps thought they were alone in facing, and potentially finding a way to rise above all of that and live to fight all over again.
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/svalbarduk
To buy the album, go here: https://downrightmerch.com/collections/svalbard-the-weight-of-the-mask
For more on the label, go here: https://shop.nuclearblast.com/
Meat Mead Metal 