Svalbard

Photo: Stéphane Gallay from Laconnex, Switzerland / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

CountryUnited Kingdom
Formed2011
StatusSplit-up
GenrePost-metal
LabelNuclear Blast, Church Road Records, Translation Loss Records, Holy Roar Records

Svalbard were the Bristol band who fused post-hardcore, post-metal and black metal with fiercely outspoken lyrics. They released four studio albums, the last of them The Weight of the Mask in 2023, before splitting up in 2026.

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Svalbard were formed in Bristol in 2011 by guitarists and vocalists Serena Cherry and Liam Phelan together with drummer Mark Lilley. Their early EPs mixed hardcore punk, crust and post-rock with a cold black metal edge.

After signing to Holy Roar Records, Svalbard released their debut album One Day All This Will End in 2015. It’s Hard to Have Hope (2018) made them one of the most outspoken bands in British heavy music, with songs about unpaid internships, revenge porn and sexual assault. Bass players came and went, but the Cherry–Phelan–Lilley core stayed together.

Shortly before the release of When I Die, Will I Get Better? (2020) the band cut ties with Holy Roar and put the album out through Church Road Records instead, and Matt Francis took over on bass.

Svalbard signed to Nuclear Blast, and The Weight of the Mask followed on 6 October 2023 – their fourth and, as it turned out, final album. In 2025 they announced an amicable split, and after a run of farewell shows the band came to an end in 2026.

Final line-up: Serena Cherry (vocals, guitar), Liam Phelan (vocals, guitar), Matt Francis (bass), Mark Lilley (drums).