Svalbard have released an important, heart-wrenching statement for their fans:

After much reflection, we have decided that 2026 will be the final year of Svalbard.
Our final UK tour will be in November 2025. Following that, we plan to do a final EU tour, a final Japanese tour and a few more select farewell shows in 2026. 
Thank you to everyone who has supported us during our 15 years as a band. Your support has meant the world to us.
We’ve shared so many unforgettable moments with you all throughout our career, and we look forward to commemorating our final year as a band with you in 2026.

SVALBARD – FINAL UK TOUR
NOVEMBER 2025
w/ Cage Fight and Knife Bride
19 Nov   UK – Glasgow, Slay
20 Nov   UK – Manchester, Rebellion
21 Nov   UK – Newcastle, Think Tank
22 Nov   UK – Bristol, Thekla
23 Nov   UK – London, Oslo Hackney

Svalbard will reveal more final show dates in due course…

Svalbard‘s latest and final record, The Weight Of The Mask, is their most devastatingly raw and beautiful work to-date, overflowing with mesmerising performances from Serena Cherry, Liam Phelan, Mark Lilley and Matt Francis, transcending boundaries across shoegaze, post-hardcore, black metal and more. Uncompromising and highly charged, the record spans themes intrinsic to humanity, such as emotional strength and depression, to unrequited love and vulnerability.

Order The Weight Of The Mask HERE

Across a fifteen-year career, Svalbard have released four studio albums, three EPs and several split releases. Whilst continually refining their distinctive blend of euphoric black metal, post-rock and d-beat, they incorporated a few more surprising influences along the way. From soft, mournful singing to progressive guitar leads, which showcased a sensitive dynamic, lending impact to their most crushing moments – of which there are undoubtedly many. There’s been no poetry, no ambiguity – just direct, raw honesty as the quartet have tackled some very uncomfortable subjects head on. Svalbard are heavy in the most evocative sense of the word, with blunt lyrics equally as important as the music.

In light of today’s news, Serena Cherry has also shared a message:

“From the moment we formed Svalbard in 2011, all we wanted was to play loud and play shows. Every single moment was exciting to us, from playing DIY squat shows to major metal festivals all over Europe. I think we will always feel a slight state of disbelief over what our noisy little band from Bristol managed to achieve. 
We never wanted to create music that was easy to pigeonhole, and I feel proud that we always stayed true to ourselves musically and never restricted our creativity within the genre rule book. 
The support we received over the years as a band is something that I will carry in my heart forever. It’s a testament to the openmindedness of the metal community that our sound and our outspokenness was embraced with open arms. 
I would like to say a very heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported Svalbard, it’s been an incredible journey and we could not have done it without you.”

DON’T BREAK THE SPELL
I’LL NEVER TELL
WHY WE WON’T DROWN
IF WE SWIM DOWN…

Svalbard have released the third single from their forthcoming new studio album, The Weight Of The Mask, due out on October 6th. The track titled ‘How To Swim Down‘ is Svalbard‘s most unique and moving work to-date, featuring heart-rending, ethereal violin parts from Liam Phelan, and a profound vocal performance from Serena Cherry.

The track is accompanied by a beautiful animated video, created by Boy Tillkens. The heart-breaking animation is a delicate portrayal of humanity, detailing the tenderness and strength found in existence.  

Svalbard‘s Serena Cherry commented,

“This song is about the exquisite pain and sorrowful beauty of unrequited love. I think it’s the saddest, most heart-breaking song we’ve ever written. Lyrically, the starting point of the verse is about concealment of adoration, before the chorus gives way to realising and accepting a fate of loving someone quietly from afar. 
 
I cannot watch the music video for How To Swim Down without crying. Boy has captured the bittersweet emotion of the song so delicately, it’s an incredibly moving piece of animation to watch. 
 
Musically, How To Swim Down saw us dive into unchartered waters with Liam adding many layers of mournful violin parts onto the track. Finally, violins – for the first time in Svalbard history! It feels so exciting to have new instruments on a song. Another first is that How To Swim Down features only clean vocals, no screams. I wanted the vocal delivery of these lyrics to feel as though I’m whispering a secret to someone whilst they’re sleeping. My vocals here represent that lonely type of communication, singing to yourself in an empty house. It’s a private, selfless love song, where only the listener knows of my heartache.”

Pre-order The Weight Of The Mask + stream ‘How To Swim Down‘ HERE

Stream previous singles ‘Faking It‘ HERE and ‘Eternal Spirits‘ HERE
Watch the ‘Faking It‘ video HERE
Watch the ‘Eternal Spirits‘ video HERE

The Weight Of The Mask was recorded at The Ranch Production House, UK. The record was produced and mixed by Lewis Johns, with mastering by Grant Berry. Engineering was handled by Lewis Johns, assisted by Matt Janke, with additional editing by Kel Pinchin and Sebastien Sendon.

Svalbard‘s intention with their music is to make people feel less alone, and to be there for people in their darkest times. The Weight Of The Mask bravely lays out experiences of mental illness and depression, hoping to help destigmatise these topics. 

The Weight Of The Mask – tracklist:
01. Faking It
02. Eternal Spirits
03. Defiance
04. November
05. Lights Out
06. How To Swim Down
07. Be My Tomb
08. Pillar In The Sand
09. To Wilt Beneath The Weight

Svalbard finished an extensive tour across the continent supporting post-metal monoliths Cult Of Luna and Russian Circles earlier this year, and the band are currently in the midst of a string of European summer festival performances. They’ve recently played the likes of Inferno (Norway), Hellfest (France) and With Full Force (Germany), plus 2000Trees and Portals in the UK. Their remaining festival dates are listed below.

SVALBARD will be returning to the EU mainland for six headline show dates in October, which will be followed by a performance at the Cult Of Luna curated Beyond The Redshift event in London and a headline date at The Key Club in Leeds.

Summer Festival
16-19 Aug – UK, Compton Martin, ArcTanGent
October Dates
14 Oct – NL Nijmegen, Soulcrusher
15 Oct – DE Cologne, Helios 37
16 Oct – DE Berlin, Urban Spree
17 Oct – DE Dresden, Chemiefabrik
18 Oct – DE Neunkirchen, Stummsche Reithalle
19 Oct – FR Paris, Backstage By The Mill
20 Oct – UK London, Beyond The Redshift – curated by Cult Of Luna
21 Oct – UK Leeds, The Key Club

Formed in Bristol UK, Svalbard have released three studio albums, three EPs and several split releases. Their exceptional last studio album, 2020’s When I Die, Will I Get Better? was dubbed by Metal Hammer UK as “the most important British metal record of 2020”, with both Metal Hammer and Kerrang! lauding the record as a top 10 album of the year. A career milestone, it cemented Svalbard as a powerful and vital component of our global music scene.

Whilst refining their distinctive blend of euphoric black metal, post-rock and d-beat, Svalbard have incorporated a few more surprising influences along the way. From soft, mournful singing to progressive guitar leads, it showcases a sensitive dynamic that lends impact to their most crushing moments – of which there are undoubtedly many. There’s no poetry, no ambiguity – just direct, raw honesty as the quartet tackle some very uncomfortable subjects head on. This is heavy in the most evocative sense of the word. The blunt lyrics are equally as important as the music.

Svalbard are:
Vocals/Guitar – Serena Cherry
Vocals/Guitar – Liam Phelan
Drums – Mark Lilley
Bass – Matt Francis

📸 by Georgia Penny Photo

SVALBARD are proud to announce their ardently anticipated new studio album, The Weight Of The Mask, due out on October 6th via Nuclear Blast Records. 

White-hot new single ‘Faking It’ has also been revealed, accompanied by a video. The track lays bare a poignant, candid account of dealing with depression and coming to the realisation that you are “faking it” to just get by. 

Svalbard’s intention with their music is to make people feel less alone, and to be there for people in their darkest times. The Weight Of The Mask bravely lays out experiences of mental illness and depression, hoping to help destigmatise these topics. 

Svalbard’s Serena Cherry stated,
“If the previous record was about facing your demons, then The Weight of The Mask is about fighting them with everything you’ve got. You can literally hear the depression transform into aggression in these songs. The Weight of The Mask was admittedly a challenging album to make because we cut so deep this time around, it was a painful but ultimately cathartic process. This album is the sound of two years worth of internal darkness boiling away inside and then finally being unleashed.
Faking It is a song about feeling deprived of meaningful human connection due to depression acting like a wall that shuts you off from others. It addresses the ways in which those who suffer with depression can feel guilted into putting on a happy mask. The lyrics are a reflection on happiness as a social obligation and how scarily good you can become at deceiving everyone around you into thinking that you’re fine when you’re not. With Faking It, we are both acknowledging the pressure for forced positivity, the fear that people won’t like you if you’re sad and also questioning where the root of this intolerance towards depression lies.” 

Pre-order The Weight Of The Mask + stream ‘Faking It’ HERE 

Watch the ‘Faking It’ video below.

Serena added about the ‘Faking It’ video,
“This video leans on deliberately obvious binary oppositions to hammer home the message of the song. We have the glossy smiling shots, filmed in the fakest place we could find: The Selfie Factory; mixed with dark, expressive performance footage that represents the internal struggle within.”

The Weight Of The Mask was recorded at The Ranch Production House, UK. The record was produced and mixed by Lewis Johns, with mastering by Grant Berry. Engineering was handled by Lewis Johns, assisted by Matt Janke, with additional editing by Kel Pinchin and Sebastien Sendon.

The beautiful album artwork was created by artist and illustrator Hestor Aspland, with layout by Lee O’Connor.

Serena Cherry stated about the album artwork,
“We have been huge fans of Hester Aspland’s Illustration since we saw her stunning art work carved into a wooden table at our favourite metal bar, The Gryphon. The intricate, floral aspect of her artwork for The Weight of The Mask reflects the sonic beauty within our melodies. Then the bleaker animal skull mask symbolises the lyrical content. Working with Hester was an absolute dream and we love the art she has created for us.”

The Weight Of The Mask – tracklist:
01. Faking It
02. Eternal Spirits
03. Defiance
04. November
05. Lights Out
06. How To Swim Down
07. Be My Tomb
08. Pillar In The Sand
09. To Wilt Beneath The Weight

SVALBARD will be returning to the EU mainland for six headline show dates in October, which will be concluded by a headline date at The Key Club in Leeds, UK. 

Summer Festivals
04-06 Aug – CH, Gränichen, Gränichen Open Air 
11-13 Aug – BE, Kortrijk, Alcatraz Festival
16-19 Aug – UK, Compton Martin, ArcTanGent
October Headline Dates
14 Oct – NL Nijmegen, Soulcrusher
15 Oct – DE Cologne, Helios 37
16 Oct – DE Berlin, Urban Spree
17 Oct – DE Dresden, Chemiefabrik
18 Oct – DE Neunkirchen, Stummsche Reithalle
19 Oct – FR Paris, Backstage By The Mill
21 Oct – UK Leeds, The Key Club

Having recently finished an extensive tour across the continent supporting post-metal monoliths Cult Of Luna and Russian Circles, intrepid post-hardcore/metal quartet SVALBARD are wasting no time at all as they announce a run of European headline dates for October.

The band comments “Guess who’s back, back again… We are excited to announce a fresh new batch of headline shows in Germany, The Netherlands, France and the UK. Expect new songs, old songs, blood curdling screams and pumpkin carving during this autumnal set of shows. Put on your cosiest scarf, grab a spiced latte and come headbang with us this October.”

Svalbard October Headline Dates

14 Oct – NL Nijmegen, Soulcrusher
15 Oct – DE Cologne, Helios 37
16 Oct – DE Berlin, Urban Spree
17 Oct – DE Dresden, Chemiefabrik
18 Oct – DE Neunkirchen, Stummsche Reithalle
19 Oct – FR Paris, Backstage By The Mill
21 Oct – UK Leeds, The Key Club

Tickets for all dates are on sale now.

Check out SVALBARD’s other confirmed shows for 2023 below.
27/28 May – UK, London, Portals Festival
17 Jun – FR, Clisson, Hellfest
23-25 Jun – DE, Löbnitz, With Full Force Festival
05-08 Jul – UK, Withington, 2000Trees Festival
04-06 Aug – CH, Gränichen, Gränichen Open Air 
11-13 Aug – BE, Kortrijk, Alcatraz Festival
16-19 Aug – UK, Compton Martin, ArcTanGent

SVALBARD recently released their first single through Nuclear Blast Records. ‘Eternal Spirits’ is a song where musical ferocity and ethereality interflow, forging an evocative, raging sea.

Svalbard ‘s back-catalogue is now available via Nuclear Blast, rediscover It’s Hard to Have Hope and the catalogue here: https://bfan.link/Svalbard-its-hard-to-have-hope

Today, SVALBARD are proud to release a brand-new single, ‘Eternal Spirits’, accompanied by an electrifying, live-performance music video. ‘Eternal Spirits’ is an uncompromising, poignant track, dedicated to the memory of the legendary musicians of our community who we have sadly lost. It showcases Svalbard’s finesse and fiery spirit, where musical ferocity and ethereality interflow, forging an evocative, raging sea. Svalbard are currently working on their fourth studio album.

Svalbard’s Serena Cherry stated,
“Eternal Spirits is one of the most tragic songs we have ever written, yet it is also a celebration of legacy and musical heritage. It is a song about late metal musicians who sadly passed away too soon and the loss we feel within the metal community without their presence. This song is a heartfelt tribute to our metal heroes who are gone but will never be forgotten, because their legacy lives on in the millions of hearts they have touched with their music. It’s crushing when your heroes die, but with this song we want to commemorate our late heroes glorious music and the legions of bands they have inspired. That inspiration will never die.
On a more personal level, Joey Jordison was the person who inspired me to pick up an instrument. I started learning drums when I was 12 years old because of the energy and passion he exuded from his playing. When I listened to his drumming, every hit gave me a surge of motivation. His creative spark lit a fire within me that will never be extinguished. I’d like to dedicate Eternal Spirits to his memory.”

Stream ‘Eternal Spirits’ here: https://Svalbard.bfan.link/eternal-spirits

Svalbard will be touring Europe in March 2023 with Cult Of Luna and Russian Circles, followed by a full spring/summer of European festival performances including; Inferno (Norway), Hellfest (France), Gränichen Open Air (Switzerland), Alkatraz (Belgium), With Full Force (Germany), plus 2000Trees, ArcTanGent and Portals in the UK.

EU Tour w/ Cult Of Luna & Russian Circles
17 Mar – DK Copenhagen, Store Vega 
18 Mar – DE Berlin, Huxleys 
19 Mar – DE Wiesbaden, Schlachthof 
20 Mar – NL Utrecht, Tivoli Ronda 
21 Mar – BE Brussels, AB 
22 Mar – FR Paris, Olympia 
23 Mar – DE Stuttgart, Wizemann
24 Mar – CH Lausanne, Les Docks 
25 Mar – SI Ljubljana, Kino Siska 
27 Mar – AT Vienna, Arena 
28 Mar – DE Munich, Muffathalle 
29 Mar – CZ Prague, Roxy
30 Mar – PL Krakow, Studio
31 Mar – PL Warsaw, Progresja

Festivals 2023
08 Apr – NO, Oslo, Inferno Festival
27/28 May – UK, London, Portals Festival
17 Jun – FR, Clisson, Hellfest
23-25 Jun – DE, Löbnitz, With Full Force Festival
05-08 Jul – UK, Withington, 2000Trees Festival
04-06 Aug – CH, Gränichen, Gränichen Open Air 
11-13 Aug – BE, Kortrijk, Alcatraz Festival
16-19 Aug – UK, Compton Martin, ArcTanGent