Svalbard

Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean that forms the fictional setting in writer Philip Pullman's hit trilogy, His Dark Materials, and also the name of a post-hardcore band from the UK. Loaded with brash, swirling guitars and sandpaper screamo, the Bristol-originating group straddle metal, punk, shoegaze and post-rock and was founded in 2011 by co-lead vocalists and guitarists Serena Cherry and Liam Phelan, with drummer Mark Lilley signing up shortly after. Matt Francis later stepped in as a bassist in 2021. Svalbard set out their stall on their debut studio album One Day All This Will End, released in 2015 on Holy Roar Records, and followed it up with the feminist-led politically minded tome It's Hard to Have Hope in 2018. They severed ties with Holy Roar Records in 2020 following allegations of rape and sexual misconduct against its founder Alex Fitzpatrick and released third album When I Die, Will I Get Better? on Church Road Records instead. The band ushered in another new label home for their fourth studio album The Weight of the Mask, which came out in October 2023 on Nuclear Blast Records.

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