For many bands, releasing a discography is a sign of things coming to an end or winding down. Thankfully, that’s not the case with Svalbard. October saw the release of the band’s back catalogue, which includes twelve tracks from three, long sold out EP’s, as well as tracks that feature on their split album with label mates, Pariso. Basically a bundle of everything the band had released prior to their debut album, ‘One Day This Will End’. “We sold out of all the pressings of our previous releases a while ago, so we decided to consolidate them into one handy lump sum of vinyl and get them remastered to boot! It’s for people who got into us through the album and want to hear what we were doing before that.”

Despite the tracks having been previously released, the most notable difference in sound and dynamic is their production. The songs have been remixed and mastered by Brad Boatright who’s not only worked with Svalbard before, but also the likes of OFF!, Oathbreaker, Nails and Sleep to name but a few. “He did fantastic work on our album! Just listen to some of the releases he’s mastered, they sound great!” Some of Svalbard’s earlier material had been recorded by the band themselves with mixing and mastering handled by Patrick W. Engel / Temple of Disharmony, based in Germany. “I think he did a great job but there was a noticeable volume difference between the early releases and the split release with Pariso.”

It seems that regardless of how much time has passed since those early releases, the songs still retain their meanings and values. Tracks such as ‘Melting Hands’ are considered important as it shows their “post rock side” and acts like “a time capsule for special moments of creativity when every member of the band just explodes with ideas.”

In comparison, some of the earlier pieces do sound slightly more primitive in their approach which Serena Cherry describes as, “the magical finger paintings a child does before they hone a more mature painting technique. They’re messy and adorable.” Adorable may not be everyone’s chosen adjective for Svalbard’s music but there is undeniably an air of innocence about them, as the band were “less self-aware of what we wanted to be” when they were starting out. Fast forward several years and the tone has changed quite drastically in both their sound and attitude. “As a band, we’ve progressed onto felt tip pens when it comes to creating now. We are a well-oiled unit.”

Over the years there have been some significant changes within the band but nothing has slowed down their momentum. “We’ve had exactly one million bass players!” Cherry jests, “and a different vocalist who is on a few tracks on the discography. We have got better at tolerating each other and each other’s snoring / farts.” The latter is probably for the best as the band have become well known for their extensive touring and gig schedules, which undoubtedly have their downsides as well as the extreme highs. “It takes its toll on our day jobs! I’ve already taken three times over the amount of allocated annual leave at my workplace. Good old unpaid leave. You’re not in a band if you’re not broke though, right?”

Money issues aside, this also means that they’ve had to make some major sacrifices within their personal lives in order to get Svalbard where they are now. “No I can’t come to your wedding because I’m playing to three men and two Great Danes in the Czech Republic.” Cherry recalls, “True story. We did ask them to remove the dogs though.”

Their hard work and sacrifice hasn’t been in vain though, as Svalbard have gained themselves a fair amount of attention as well as something of a cult following. Apparently unaware of this Serena exclaims “There’s a hype around us?! We handle things by burying our heads in the sand.” Surely this is only part truth, though, as the band played this year’s Damnation festival alongside some major acts such as Electric Wizard, Enslaved and Cult of Luna as well as label mates Employed To Serve and Hang The Bastard. This confirms that Svalbard are indeed on the rise but it hasn’t been an instant success. “It hasn’t been like boom, overnight explosion of popularity. In fact, the rise of Svalbard has been so subtle one would barely notice its existence.”

In a previous interview, Serena described the band as a “square peg in a round hole” and that people found it hard to pigeon hole them into any one particular genre. “We seem to be able to include elements from a number of different genres, hence why we don’t necessarily fit into a particular one.” When it comes to creating the unique sound that Svalbard’s songs have, “there’s a lot of push and pull with our individual input into the writing and although it can be frustrating, I’m constantly surprised by what feels natural to include.”

It’s not too difficult to see why there’s often an element of surprise when it comes to writing new material as there’s definitely a vast array of influences. “I’ve gotten really into theme park sound track music. Mostly composed by a group called IMAscore. Their melodies are so heartfelt and majestic; I find myself searching for those same feelings when I write leads now.” That’s not to say that the band are looking to drastically change their direction though, “I’ve always written delay drenched tremolo leads that are so simple they could be a ring tone on an old Nokia, but now I’m going for as shimmery and magical as possible. It doesn’t have to all be minor notes!”

Lyrically the band cover a wide expanse of topics ranging from an unhealthy attachment to social media platforms, one’s own self-image and their projection to the outside world and the brutally honest ‘Expect Equal Respect’ that focuses on gender equality. “I have deliberately stopped being introspective.” Cherry says, “whenever I interview a band they always, without fail, say ‘the lyrics are really personal’ and I just wanted to go against that trend because sometimes it appears rather indulgent.”

There’s been some changes made in what to expect from Svalbard’s lyrics as they’re now described as being “as direct, as layman and as openly broad as can be” so that they’re not “hiding behind inward-gazing poetry. There’s actually a real beauty in being concise and clear so that anyone can understand what topic you’re singing about instead.”

Svalbard’s discography comes out almost exactly a year after their debut album, ‘One Day This Will All End’, which it turns out is merely a coincidence as opposed to some sort of anniversary since its highly anticipated release back in 2015. Serena explained her secret for getting Svalbard’s records pressed so efficiently, “This time of year is a good time to release records because it’s far from ‘Record Store Day’ so there’s less backlog down at the pressing plants.”

Looking forward, Svalbard recently announced that they’re gearing up and getting ready to head back into the studio for album number two, but they have warned that it’s not a quick or easy process. “We’ve sure had some great arguments in the practice room which have led to some great angry riff sessions! We’ve got three songs pretty much ready but we do work very slowly because we like to concentrate on smiting each other’s offerings before building an actual song” Cherry laughs.

Even though it sounds as though the atmosphere in the studio can be a little turbulent at times, Serena gives us some insight into some of the ideas Svalbard have been toying with for the new record. “I want more Christmas “ooohs” you know, like the new Fleet Foxes album or on some tracks by The Waterboys. That hauntingly pretty choral sound.” Serena also goes on to explain how she’s been experimenting with “ghostly clean singing” which she says, “makes it sound like we’re going soft.” She then quickly reassures any doubting Thomas’ by adding “we have some real slamming, chuggy, monster riffs in there too!” just to clarify that the band haven’t strayed into completely uncharted territory.

So what more can we expect from Svalbard in the future? The band have announced a split with The Tidal Sleep that will be available through This Charming Man Records and Holy Roar Records with pre-orders up now. The band have also said that they will be doing a mainland tour of Europe in the new year with one or two UK shows before they “hide away until May when we’ll be recording the second album.” Proudly claiming that “we will always be hard to place into a sub-genre and I think that’s a good thing!” the once subtle rise of Svalbard has begun to snowball into something much larger and it’s becoming ever more clear that there’s nothing wrong with being a “square peg in a round hole.”

Their split with The Tidal Sleep is available for pre-order now via This Charming Man Records and Holy Roar Records.