| | Full Review | Ratings (279) |
Give your Rating |
| 4.5 superb | Mitch Worden EMERITUS | September 22nd 20 |
This is gonna be AotY material and y'all don't even KNOW
EDIT: BUT I KNOW
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| 4.5 superb | ajcollins15 | September 30th 20 |
A nearly flawless record from the three-piece, UK based band?s fourth album. From the heavy riffs to the absolutely sole crushing screams and lyrics this album will keep your ears peaked and your emotions at an all-time high. Honestly, the only small downside is that it sounds a bit like Japanese-based band Envy, but this might even blow them out of the water since this album is a lot shorter and easier to digest then their last full length was. Such a great screamo and post-hardcore record that anyone fan of those genres needs to try out.
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| 4.0 excellent | Robert Davis | September 26th 20 |
AOTY contender for sure. The lyrics here are bitter and honest about society's many issues, but fused with some of the strongest and most aspiring songwriting this band has ever written. Svalbard have been looming in my "curious" band section for a while now ever since I saw them live, but on this album surely they prove to be one of the frontrunners for the UK metal scene.
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| 3.5 great | justsomelad | October 22nd 23 |
Not "all that" and the message while being good is somewhat corny to me
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| 4.0 excellent | Gene Gol-Jonsson CONTRIBUTOR | January 26th 21 |
Svalbard go so much more atmospheric and overwhelming. Makes it difficult to dislike, even though I often found myself thinking it's more flashy show than meaty substance.
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| 3.8 excellent | Erwann S. STAFF | January 4th 21 |
Long live female vocalists within the hardcore scene. Rolo Tomassi got everyone on board, Nuvolascura put out a solid midyear banger, and now Svalbard makes sure the year-end is not devoid of great female-led hardcore. Compared to other, male-fronted, projects, it's a different kind of intensity, which mainly comes from the feminism that emanates from the lyrics. The feminist lyrics' bluntness are only matched by the frenzied riffing and intense drumming, with the incorporation of blackgaze elements to make sure the band deserve their "post-metalcore" descriptor. Maybe the Bears weren't the most aggressive thing to come out of Bristol in 2020.
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| 4.5 superb | InFiction | November 1st 20 |
This album fucks. There are so many moments throughout the record's 38-minute runtime
that really make you stop and go; "okay wait, that was sick". Not only is When I Die,
Will I Get Better? the band's crowning achievement to date but an absolute front
runner for metal AOTY. This whole album slaps, but my personal favourites are 'Open
Wound', 'Listen To Someone' and 'The Currency Of Beauty'. Gold star, Svalbard.
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| 5.0 classic | noumenon111 | September 25th 20 |
Great album, delivers what we want from Svalbard; emotion, peaky highs and a genuine intensity and momentum to the tracks
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| 3.0 good | Brandon Scott EMERITUS | September 25th 20 |
As far as competency goes, there are few bands who can do it like Svalbard; over their relatively
short career they've consistently released high-caliber material. When I Die, Will I Get
Better? is no different, and again the band impresses with their shoegazing hardcore flavor.
My only gripe is that it feels so familiar, just another attempt of a sound that's been
circulating throughout the metal/hardcore underground for the last decade. In some ways it feels
dirty to dock this hardworking band points because of the honesty and integrity that comes through
in their music, but there were definitely a few points across these 8 tracks where my mind
wandered into "been there, done that" territory.
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| 4.0 excellent | Malcontent | September 24th 20 |
When I Die, Will I Get Better? Is an intelligent hardcore album. The lyrics are sharp (even more so considering the studio environment which produced this record and the admirable stand taken by Svalbard) and the guitar and drum work is textually and conceptually rich. Take ?Throw your heart away? which skips absolutely any pretense of buildup to catapult the listener directly into what sounds like the middle of a chorus; ever evolving until only returning to these same lyrics in the final minute of the song. This track, and others, are the sounds of a band actively resisting a typical approach, choosing to embrace the emotive heights of shoegaze, the fury of hardcore, and the force of extreme metal over a single focus, and forging a compelling soundscape from this combination. This variety is the only real critique I can find: every track has this varied soundscape, and in this mix I did not quite hear the peaks of harsh shoegaze found in Oathbreaker or Deafheaven, and in spite of the pointed lyrical focus, the vocals did not cut as deeply as the best from hardcore outfits like Envy or Birds in Row. ?Click Bait? commits closest to a single overarching sound and comes across as one of the strongest tracks. This minor criticism aside, this is an excellent album and Svalbard?s best yet.
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| 4.0 excellent | Matty CONTRIBUTOR | November 7th 23 |
| 3.5 great | Jeejee | October 19th 23 |
| 4.0 excellent | FunJan | October 6th 23 |
| 4.0 excellent | h0rsie | November 22nd 22 |
| 4.0 excellent | thawey | June 21st 22 |
| 4.0 excellent | ckssr1 | March 19th 22 |
| 4.0 excellent | Kirderf | February 10th 22 |
| 4.0 excellent | Josh | November 26th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | huskr96 | November 14th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | iGuter | October 7th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | sicky | September 3rd 21 |
| 4.5 superb | Metaxu | July 12th 21 |
| 4.5 superb | Nimlot | July 3rd 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | nash1311 | February 10th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | progsun | January 22nd 21 |
| 3.5 great | gschwen | December 28th 20 |
| 4.5 superb | ARDCWE | December 19th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | sevhar | December 16th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Lassie | December 12th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | DANcore | December 8th 20 |
| 3.5 great | em17ah | December 6th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Uzumaki | December 1st 20 |
| 3.5 great | Trebor. EMERITUS | November 27th 20 |
| 4.5 superb | Trem16 | November 15th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | wwf | November 5th 20 |
| 4.5 superb | hadriel | October 30th 20 |
| 3.0 good | Wizard | October 26th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Alex C. | October 26th 20 |
| 2.5 average | Marci | October 22nd 20 |
| 3.5 great | Belbew | October 13th 20 |
| 4.5 superb | qdgyu | October 12th 20 |
| 2.5 average | RogueZ | October 8th 20 |
| 4.5 superb | Kurai | October 8th 20 |
| 3.5 great | Pangea | October 8th 20 |
| 3.5 great | Thibs | October 8th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Rowdy | October 7th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Cormano | October 7th 20 |
| 3.5 great | LOGOS | October 3rd 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Sowing STAFF | October 2nd 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Ectier | October 1st 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Ray91 | October 1st 20 |
| 2.5 average | LMadden | October 1st 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Kantala | September 30th 20 |
| 3.0 good | jmh886 | September 30th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | leon486 | September 30th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Xenoflux | September 30th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | thutho28 | September 30th 20 |
| 2.5 average | Veks | September 29th 20 |
| 3.5 great | BeeRyan | September 29th 20 |
| 5.0 classic | Floofus | September 28th 20 |
| 2.5 average | Henry | September 28th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Project | September 28th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | emmny | September 28th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Tom Read CONTRIBUTOR | September 28th 20 |
| 4.5 superb | snakesc | September 28th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | KrillBoi | September 28th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Arctick | September 28th 20 |
| 3.5 great | ZBJE | September 28th 20 |
| 3.5 great | Lucman | September 27th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | meditant | September 27th 20 |
| 3.5 great | botb | September 27th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | jesper STAFF | September 27th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Scoot | September 27th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Halez | September 26th 20 |
| 3.0 good | Krelkin | September 26th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | hesperus | September 25th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | JLR2DEG | September 25th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | coopj | September 25th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | NBA | September 24th 20 |
| 4.5 superb | zzf1918 | September 24th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Ashtiel | September 24th 20 |
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