SVALBARD
A self-taught player, Serena Cherry of Svalbard is a key figure in modern metal
Serena Cherry puts it simply. “Metal is my outlet for anything that’s troubling me,” says the lead guitarist, frontwoman and principal songwriter for Bristolian quartet Svalbard. “If you’re having a bad day, metal is the thing that lifts you up and helps you release all those negative emotions.”
These words will no doubt ring true for anyone who’s ever experienced the uniquely therapeutic effect that plugging in, turning up and thrashing out some ultra-savage riffs can have on both the heart and mind. But the band’s brutal yet vulnerable new album, The Weight Of The Mask, is about more than just personal catharsis for its author. “The album is about depression and how isolating mental illness can be,” explains Serena. “Something I’m really keen to do in Svalbard is create that resonance that will strike a chord with people. They can listen and not feel alone.”
Serena herself first found solace and inspiration in the world of heavy music when she was just 12 years old and a fan of Slipknot and Fear Factory. After a brief period of wanting to be a drummer, she realised her true calling involved picks rather than sticks, and she began teaching herself the basics on quite possibly the least hardcore axe≈you could imagine…
“My sister had a little three-quartersize nylon classical guitar in her bedroom,” she recalls. “I used to sneak in while she was out and try to figure out how to play Slayer on it!”
A morning paper round then paid for a “terrible” knock-off Flying V, before a Saturday job at the local guitar store really started to peak her interest in higher-end gear – with her “first proper good metal guitar” arriving in the form of a Jackson Soloist.
All the while, Serena followed her instincts to figure out “all the metal techniques” herself – never receiving a single guitar lesson. “I’ve been told that I play guitar wrong and that I hold a pick wrong because I hold it with three fingers,” explains the now highly conversant guitarist, whose selfdirected approach has led to some very effective if not slightly idiosyncratic methods. “I do remember using a 2p coin as a plectrum back then as well,” she laughs.
Nowadays, she’s upgraded to .73mm Dunlop yellow Tortex picks, simply because they’re easy to spot when dropped on dimly lit stages. “That’s literally the reason for using them,” she insists. “I’ve tried the smaller, stubbier ones which a lot of metal players use – that maybe enable greater speed and accuracy – but I’m so used to these now.”
But neither speed nor accuracy are a problem for Serena, whose trademark technique is wicked fast tremolo picking -and t
