LIVE FROM THE PIT: Svalbard, Cage Fight and Knife Bride

“Welcome to our funeral”, says vocalist Serena Cherry with a knowing grin. On this final tour with the iconic SVALBARD, the emotions were running high. Multiple sold out dates throughout some iconic UK venues were the host to a tour full of big feelings and even bigger riffs. SVALBARD brought the best the new generation of UK bands has to offer with them for one last ride.

Brighton’s finest KNIFE BRIDE opened the night with heavy riffs and high energy. Starting off with the huge riff of ‘sacrifice/surrender’, it got the crowd’s attention immediately. Leading into the softer sections of the song, showed the range the band has with the exquisite vocals of Mollie Clack accompanied by smooth guitar work of Sean Windle. The band showcased how heavy they can be with the breakdown, getting heads banging all over the room. Following up with 2024’s track ‘MELANCHOLIA’ gave the band a chance for the backing vocals of Sean Windle and bassist Craig Glynn to shine alongside their instruments. Between songs Mollie Clack was expressing the gratitude that the band has for being invited on such a prestigious tour around a number of iconic venues across the UK.

This tour was an opportunity for the band to play the yet to be released song ‘Crucify’ which was a hit with the crowd, many of whom will likely be eagerly awaiting its release onto streaming services. It was also the live debut for ‘Alone at the Altar’ on this tour, which was released earlier in November and had members of the crowd singing along. Closing on their highly popular ‘FANG DUMMY’ left the crowd ready for the rest of the night. KNIFE BRIDE are going from strength to strength and are on an upwards trajectory. They are a name to keep a close eye on because they have big things in their future.

CAGE FIGHT followed and brought the intensity with them. The London band are known for their extremely heavy sound and unrelenting energy. Even with guitarist James Monteith unfortunately having to miss the tour, they still brought their everything. Will Chain, who usually plays bass for the band, filled in on guitar and a friend of the band Dave Runham stepped in as bassist. As if an impromptu lineup change wasn’t enough for the band to deal with, Chain dislocated his knee on the first night and will have to spend the rest of the tour playing sitting down. However, they weren’t going to let any of this deter them from delivering a set full of passion.

French vocalist Rachel Aspe was recruited to the band and has proved why she is a great addition, with her visceral screams shaking the entire room for the full set. Drummer Nicholas Plews added to the intensity by hammering on the drums and having a snare tone that can be felt from miles away. The massive riffs and guttural vocals had the headbangers in full effect throughout the whole set. CAGE FIGHT sets feel like a wall of brutal noise reverberating perpetually through every atom in your body. Their recently released singles ‘Pig’ and ‘IHYG (I Hate Your Guts)’ got big reactions from the crowd, showing the excitement for their second album, set to come out in 2026. CAGE FIGHT are proving that they are a force to be reckoned with and will be working towards being mainstays in the scene in the near future.

SVALBARD have embarked on this one final UK tour as a farewell to their home country before the band comes to an end. Formed in Bristol in 2011, the band have reached heights many only dream of, and have made this one final send off something to remember for themselves and their fans.

Opening their set on ‘Disparity’ from their debut album ‘One Day All This Will End’ had the crowd excited from the very start, knowing that this one final time would be a special one. Lead vocalist and guitarist Serena Cherry jokingly said “welcome to our funeral” to describe the tour, which was met with a crowd member yelling “please don’t break up” back to her, showing that they will be missed after the last run of shows in 2025 and 2026. Moving into ‘Open Wound’ from the 2020 album ‘When I Die, Will It Get Better?’ brought a wave of big emotions and had the band playing their hearts out in every note. Next up was ‘Defiance’ from their final album ‘The Weight Of The Mask’ and the word defiance is a perfect way to describe the band; they have played by their own rules and forged a path for themselves since day one.

Their latest and final track, released this week, ‘If We Could Still Be Saved’ is a tribute to the band breaking up and has given the fans one final experience of their unique and colossal sound. The band have never been ones to shy away from difficult topics in their lyrics. They playing a run of songs Serena Cherry described as “being about feeling depressed” gave that raw and honest look into the deep emotions that have gone into the band over the years. However, no matter the difficulties they’ve faced along the way, they still have that passion. They have cited not wanting to end up in a creative slump as one of the reasons for the band having their amicable ending and this is evidence that they were never going to give anything but their all to the music.

The haunting and ethereal sound lit up the room for ‘Throw Your Heart Away’ with its slower and melodic outro, giving a moment for the band to gaze upon the crowd for one last show in the city and gave Serena Cherry a chance to give a huge thank you to the fans for showing up for the band over all the years. After almost every song, she was showing her and the rest of the other band members gratitude for the support. Before Serena Cherry could go into her speech about how the band were ending as friends, a hum from the amp of guitarist and backing vocalist Liam Phelan caused some very short-lived frustration between him and bassist Matt Francis, which was promptly joked about as the irony of them having issues but talking about being friends was on full show. Closing out the main set on ‘Eternal Spirits’ gave the fans what they thought was one last chance to enjoy the monumental sound of SVALBARD, and as the band were walking off stage at the end they were met by huge applause and cheers. They came back to give the fans one final song in ‘Greyscale,’ which gave the fans their actual final chance to enjoy the wonderful sound of SVALBARD live and left the crowd sad to see them go but happy to know they had given the band everything since their formation all those years ago.

This tour was SVALBARD passing the torch to the new era of British bands as their final contribution to the UK scene. SVALBARD will be missed, but have left a legacy and impact that will be felt for a long time and not go forgotten for many years to come.

Words: Alex Long

Photos: Jack Norris