SVALBARD
SERENA CHERRY
LIFE LESSONS
Svalbard’s guitarist and vocalist talks roller coasters, martial arts and the dark side of social media…
WORDS: MATT MILLS • PICTURES: JORDAN MIDDLETON
NO ONE HAS their finger on the pulse of modern metal quite like Serena Cherry. The lead singer and guitarist of post-hardcore dissidents Svalbard writes songs savaging the patriarchy, examining topics from harassment at gigs to female objectification, and she’s out to create a safer, fairer and more inclusive scene for everyone. After another triumph in third album When I Die, Will I Get Better? – which was No.4 on Hammer’s 2020 Albums Of The Year – we asked Serena for the greatest takeaways so far of her thoughtprovoking career.
FEMALE REPRESENTATION CAN BE LIFE-CHANGING
“A big thing for me in figuring out how to do vocals was seeing other women do it. I saw Arch Enemy at Download in 2003. Angela Gossow came out and did this mighty roar, and it was one of the first times I had ever heard a woman do that. It struck something in me and made me realise I can do that too. If I hadn’t seen Angela or bands like My Ruin, I never would have thought to have tried it. I never would have thought my voice was capable of growling that low. I learned about the power of female representation in metal and how it can inspire you. After I saw Arch Enemy at Download I went home and tried screaming into a pillow! Ha ha ha!”