One Day All This Will End is the debut studio album by British post-hardcore band Svalbard, released on 25 September 2015 through Holy Roar Records. The band's first release after signing with the label in January 2015, it was recorded between March and April 2015 at the Ranch Production House in Southampton with producer Lewis Johns.
One Day All This Will End | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 25 September 2015 | |||
Recorded | March–April 2015 | |||
Studio | The Ranch Production House (Southampton) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 33:51 | |||
Label | Holy Roar | |||
Producer | Lewis Johns | |||
Svalbard chronology | ||||
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Singles from One Day All This Will End | ||||
One Day All This Will End draws from post-rock, crust punk and black metal, and its lyrics discuss depression, regret, sexism, online identity and social media. It was well-received by critics, and sold out of its first pressing within days of its release.
Background and recording
editSvalbard was formed in 2011 in Bristol, England. In the three years following their formation, the band would record three EPs, with their line-up being held constant through several line-up changes by lead vocalist and guitarist Serena Cherry, co-lead vocalist Liam Phelan and drummer Mark Lilley.[3] In early 2014, Svalbard began writing material for their debut album at their practice space.[4] Cherry wrote all of the lyrics for One Day All This Will End herself, whilst its music was collaboratively worked on between her, Phelan and Lilley as the band did not have a bassist at the time.[4][5]
Cherry said that the songs on One Day All This Will End went "through a really arduous, meticulous process of structuring", where Svalbard would "[try] to find the best way to get from A to B to C and to give a riff the most impact".[4] Songs were discarded if the band were unable to unanimously agree on them or if they were too clunky, a process that often led to conflict between members.[4][5] Ultimately, the band would discard 75% of the material they wrote for the album.[4] "The Damage Done", originally featured on Svalbard's self-titled debut EP in 2012, was re-recorded for the album as it had been a fixture of the band's live setlists and because they felt its themes were still relevant.[6]
In the midst of writing the album, Svalbard were signed to the independent label Holy Roar Records in January 2015 by Pariso guitarist and label head Alex Fitzpatrick.[7][8] Svalbard and Pariso had previously worked together on a split EP, Pariso / Svalbard, released in June 2014.[9][10] Afterwards, One Day All This Will End was recorded "in bite-size chunks" between March and April 2015 at The Ranch Production House with producer Lewis Johns, who also produced the Pariso / Svalbard EP.[6][11] Cherry felt that recording the album was "a really comfortable experience", and that Johns had a better idea of how to capture Svalbard's reverb-heavy sound in the studio due to his previous experience working with the band.[6] The album was mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege Mastering in May 2015.[11] That same month, Svalbard embarked on a tour of Europe with We Never Learned to Live.[12][13]
Composition and lyrics
editCritics have called One Day All This Will End a post-hardcore album that draws influence from post-rock, crust punk and black metal.[12][14][15] The album features atmospheric, melodic and intense compositions,[16] heavy use of reverb effects,[14] vocal interplay between Cherry and Phelan,[15] and clean-sounding production.[17] The album's final track, "Lily", is a post-rock instrumental.[17] Cherry associated its "optimistic and hopeful" melodies to her cat, the titular Lily, who she rescued from abandonment.[18]
"Perspective" criticizes "the myth that you need to appear to be upset to appear to have conviction", and the "strange association between integrity and misery" in music.[18] "Disparity" draws upon Erving Goffman's ideas about impression management to discuss the gap between "the self within and the preferred self", in reality and on social media.[18] "The Vanishing Point" is about Svalbard's ex-bandmembers, and the disappointment stemming from the band's numerous line-up changes.[4][18] "Expect Equal Respect" discusses sexism in music, and how the term "female-fronted" reduces musicians to the novelty of their gender instead of focusing on or judging them for their abilities.[16][18] The song was written as a reaction to an question from an email interview with a blog, asking Cherry if she thought that Svalbard's status as a "female fronted" band in the hardcore scene was "a hindrance or a setback".[6] "Unrequited" is about "weakness and regret", and "The kind of words where you never know if they would have been better left unsaid".[18] "The Damage Done" discusses the "genome lag" between humanity's primitive instincts and ever-progressing lifestyles.[6][18] According to Cherry, "Unnatural Light" describes social media as a "new opium of the people", in the sense that it provides the illusion of action against injustices in the world: "There’s nothing more silencing than feeling you’re being heard. Facebook creates an illusion of an audience, for people to rant and rave at each other. All their anger gets safely contained within a digital dead-end. It’s a debilitating outlet."[6][12][18]
Release and reception
editReview scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Drowned in Sound | 7/10[17] |
Metal.de | 7/10[14] |
Metal Hammer | [15] |
Ox-Fanzine | [19] |
Rock Sound | 8/10[20] |
Terrorizer | 9/10[21] |
One Day All This Will End was released through Holy Roar Records on 25 September 2015.[22][23] The album's release was handled by Halo of Flies Records in the United States, and by Through Love Records in Germany.[2] The album's first pressing through Holy Roar (limited to 1000 CDs and 495 vinyl LPs)[22] sold out within days of its release.[12][24] In April 2022, it was reissued through Church Road Records.[25] In June 2022, Nuclear Blast Records acquired the worldwide rights to the album after Svalbard signed to the label.[26]
One Day All This Will End was well-received by critics. Drowned in Sound's Benjamin Bland commented that although Svalbard's post-hardcore sound was "archetypal", the album's production and musical "nods to the purely visceral nature of hardcore at its best" separated the band from many of their stylistic contemporaries.[17] Nik Young of Metal Hammer similarly praised its cohesive sound and Svalbard's ability to "morph opposing styles together to craft something fresh" without "being gratingly artistic".[15] Martin Schmidt of Ox-Fanzine praised the "consistent and always entertaining" blend of genres throughout the album, and for "always being able to touch and equally destroy and build with its emotional power."[19] Writing for Metal.de, Herr Møller positively noted the album's "emotional" and "very haunting" delivery, particularly in regards to its vocals, but found its later tracks weak.[14]
One Day All This Will End placed at number 45 on Metal Hammer's year-end "Albums of 2015" list.[27]
Track listing
editAll lyrics are written by Serena Cherry; all music is composed by Svalbard.[11]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Perspective" | 5:06 |
2. | "Disparity" | 4:30 |
3. | "The Vanishing Point" | 4:01 |
4. | "Expect Equal Respect" | 4:03 |
5. | "Unrequited" | 4:28 |
6. | "The Damage Done" | 4:02 |
7. | "Unnatural Light" | 4:17 |
8. | "Lily" | 3:21 |
Total length: | 33:51 |
Personnel
editPersonnel per liner notes.[11][28]
Svalbard
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Production
Artwork
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References
edit- ^ "Svalbard shares music video for "Disparity" - Rockfreaks.net". rockfreaks.net. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ a b Kelly, Kim (5 February 2016). "UK Post-Hardcore Faction Svalbard Expect Equal Respect, Regardless of Gender". Vice. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ Imingen, Eivind (16 October 2020). "Svalbard (UK) interview". Tigernet. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Shutler, Ali (2 November 2015). "Svalbard: "If I want to feel something, I'll listen to music"". Upset Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 November 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
- ^ a b Bowes, David (25 September 2015). "We Caught Up with Serena Cherry of Svalbard, Here's the Result..." Music&Riots Magazine. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Jack (25 February 2016). "Svalbard's Serena Cherry: "We're the Square Peg That Doesn't Fit in Any of the Genre Holes."". Metal Recusants. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
- ^ Anon (30 January 2015). "Holy Roar Records sign 3 new bands!". Idioteq. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ Bjoern (29 April 2016). "Interview – "I scream and play the guitar. Why can't I be judged by that instead of my looks or my gender?" with Svalbard". Handwritten-Mag.de (in German). Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
- ^ Rock Sound (30 June 2014). "Stream The New Pariso / Svalbard Split EP With Rock Sound". Rock Sound. Archived from the original on 5 December 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
- ^ Manchester, Guy (30 June 2014). "Louder Than War Interview: Serena from Svalbard and Alex from Pariso who've just recorded a brilliant split album together". Louder Than War. Archived from the original on 21 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d One Day All This Will End (booklet). Holy Roar Records. 2015. HRR145CD.
{{cite AV media notes}}
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ignored (help) - ^ a b c d Burrows, Adam (28 October 2015). "Interview: Svalbard". Bristol24/7. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ Anon. (25 March 2015). "We Never Learned to Live / Svalbard European dates". Idioteq. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d Møller, Herr (27 September 2015). "Svalbard - One Day All This Will End Review". metal.de. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d Young, Nik (15 September 2015). "Svalbard: One Day All This Will End". Metal Hammer (loudersound). Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ a b Diaz, Kristy (25 September 2015). "Svalbard - One Day All This Will End". Upset Magazine. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d Bland, Benjamin (24 September 2015). "Album Review: Svalbard - One Day All This Will End". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Metal Hammer; Cherry, Serena (18 September 2015). "Svalbard stream their debut album in full". Metal Hammer (loudersound). Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ a b Schmidt, Martin (October 2015). "Svalbard: One Day All This Will End". Ox-Fanzine (in German). Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ Pearlman, Mischa (October 2015). "Reviews". Rock Sound. No. 205. Rock Sound Ltd. p. 90.
- ^ Whelan, Kez (October 2015). "Selected and Dissected". Terrorizer. No. 264. Dark Arts Ltd. p. 68 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b "Svalbard - One Day All This Will End". holyroarrecords.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ Godla, Frank (31 July 2015). "Svalbard "Disparity" Will Make You Want To Repeat It All Damn Day!". Metal Injection. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ Connors, Ollie (26 April 2016). "Interview: Alex Fitzpatrick of Holy Roar Records". Punktastic. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
[Holy Roar] had to repress [One Day All This Will End] the day it came out.
- ^ "Svalbard - One Day All This Will End [2022 Reissue]". Relevant Record Cafe. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ BraveWords (28 June 2022). "Svalbard Sign To Nuclear Blast Records". bravewords.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
- ^ Metal Hammer (8 December 2015). "2015: A Year In Metal - The Critics' Poll Albums 50-16". Metal Hammer (loudersound). Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ One Day All This Will End (reissue) (booklet). Church Road Records. 2022. CRR060CD.
{{cite AV media notes}}
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ignored (help) - ^ Godla, Frank (27 April 2019). "Svalbard Roadburn Interview- Being Direct With Your Message, The Stage Being A Cathartic Place, The UK Metal Scene And More". Metal Injection. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
We do have a bass player, we didn't have on the first records, so...
External links
edit- One Day All This Will End on YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
- One Day All This Will End on Bandcamp