Svalbard - The Weight of the Mask

Angry Metal Guy

Hardcore is all about the message, and Bristol’s Svalbard lays its message with all the fury its members can muster. Largely considered controversial, awkward to some and powerful to others, the four-piece forgoes poetry for passion in some of the rawest and most in-your-face lyrical attacks. Contrary to the scattershot lyrical themes of its wild discography, including 2020’s excellent When I Die, Will I Get Better?, The Weight of the Mask deals with its themes with a solidarity unseen in previous releases: depression and imposter syndrome. Each passage feels like a swan song, an homage to a soul in torment, cloaked in the cold blue of a winter day.

Once more, Svalbard’s sound defies easy labels. While resting comfortably on a foundation of hardcore punk, particularly the more melodic forms of Modern Life is War or Being as an Ocean, influences of post-rock, post-metal, and black metal are felt throughout. The Weight of the Mask is the act’s most melodic, as its dueling guitar licks (courtesy of co-vocalists Serena Cherry and Liam Phelan) are complemented by a symphonic and crystalline synth presence that saturates the sound in a melodic and desperate fog. Furthermore, Cherry offers more clean vocals than in previous offerings. Ultimately, time will tell if the imperfect The Weight of the Mask holds up to the act’s formidable discography, but its willingness to experiment leads to some of Svalbard’s most beautiful offerings.

The Weight Of The Mask by Svalbard

While tracks like single “Faking It,” “Eternal Spirits,” and “Be My Tomb” are classic Svalbard, punky d-beats, dueling barks and shrieks, and ubiquitous melodic leads flooding the ears with intensity and desperation, more post-rock subtlety pervades. Tracks like “November,” “How to Swim Down,” and “Pillar in the Sand” take on the character of oases, gentle atmospheric crescendos guiding the desperate movements with a sound not unlike the emo-inclined The World is a Beautiful Place… or A Bunny’s Caravan, emphasized further by Cherry’s somber and gentle cleans. Melodies on more upbeat tracks like “Defiance,” “Lights Out,” and “Be My Tomb” get seared into the brain with their near-perfect alignment with yearning chord progressions and blackened blastbeats, with further appearances by Cherry’s captivating croons. The lyrics are far more unified, with each track aside from “Eternal Spirits”¹ taking on the theme of depression and imposter syndrome, the weight and pressure of acting or looking a certain way in spite of the void within. For how dense and busy the sound is, a symbol for the swirling and crushing weight, drummer Mark Lilly’s beats sound as clear as needed – guiding the vast compositions with clarity.

Aside from the upfront lyrical attack, The Weight of the Mask has a few issues that keep it from reaching the heights of its predecessor. Svalbard’s movements between tracks is often fluid and beautiful, from the crunchy “Eternal Spirits” to the ambient “November” and the balanced “Lights Out” to the vulnerable lament “How to Swim Down,” concluding on the triumphant “Be My Tomb.” However, closers “Pillar in the Sand” and “To Wilt Beneath the Weight” feel frail and jarring by comparison. The former, while a solid crescendo, features a melodic template that feels apathetic and the latter’s more intense melodic attack pales compared to “Be My Tomb.” This causes The Weight of the Mask to conclude on a whimper rather than a shout. A common hardcore complaint, bassist Matt Francis is virtually unheard of, alongside a dense and uncompromising mix with little breathing room.

Although The Weight of the Mask does not reach the same heights as its predecessor, I don’t feel disappointed. It’s simply a different beast, with Svalbard offering a different but fitting melodic palette in orchestral tones and more clean vocals. Tracks like “Defiance,” “How to Swim Down,” and “Be My Tomb” are some of the best tracks of the fourpiece’s career, with a steady balance of melodic hardcore, post-rock, and blackened bombast guiding explorations of emotional desperation, despondence, and acceptance alike. While not for everyone in its blatant heart-on-the-sleeve approach, rawness and vulnerability remain one of Svalbard’s best selling points.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Websites: svalbard.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/svalbarduk
Releases Worldwide: October 6th, 2023

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