Svalbard have announced their new album The Weight Of The Mask, due for release on 6th October 2023 via Nuclear Blast Records.
“If the previous record was about facing your demons, then The Weight of The Mask is about fighting them with everything you’ve got,” says vocalist/guitarist Serena Cherry. “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.”
The band have also released a video for their new single Faking It.
“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,” she adds. “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.”
The Weight Of The Mask is available to pre-order HERE.
See Svalbard live at one of the following dates:
October 2023
Sat 14th – NIJMEGEN, NL – Soulcrusher
Sun 15th – COLOGNE, DE – Helios 37
Mon 16th – BERLIN, DE – Urban Spree
Tue 17th – DRESDEN, DE – Chemiefabrik
Wed 18th – NEUNKIRCHEN, DE – Stummsche Reithalle
Thu 19th – PARIS, FR – Backstage By The Mill
Sat 21st – LEEDS, UK – The Key Club
You can also see the band at Gränichen Open Air, Alcatraz Festival and ArcTanGent Festival this summer.
