Those of you who tuned into our 2020 Album of the Year podcasts will be very aware that both Da Ed and I have a serious amount of admiration for British post-hardcore artists Svalbard, whose When I Die, Will I Get Better? (Church Road) caught our attention with the subtle expansion revealing an icy Black Metal core, most prevalent in the proliferation and development of tremolo-picked motifs. Guitarist Serena Cherry goes one step further with her debut Black Metal solo outing, Wretched Abyss (Translation Loss), released under the Noctule banner, indulging her frozen soul and frostbitten inspirations. Continue reading →