She Must Burn: This Fire Is Eternal
Handpicked for international tours by black metal and deathcore giants. Line-up changes. Experiencing, surviving and adapting to the fallout of a global pandemic. We’d certainly be inclined to agree that it’s been one hell of a journey so far for SHE MUST BURN. The mood is one of reflection and renewed confidence as Distorted Sound catches up with guitarist and founding member of sorts (“I actually joined slightly after the band was conceived – I don’t want to be credited unfairly!”) Frankie Korsair. At the time of our conversation, we’re just over a month away from the release of sophomore album Umbra Mortis, which has arguably reached “labour of love” status at this point.
Rewind to February 2020. The London collective found themselves riding high on the back of a huge sold-out show at The Black Heart in Camden. They’re poised to drop this (now upcoming) album. And Covid hits. Like many other bands faced with a now uncertain future, such disruption had the potential to become an unequivocal hindrance in terms of their creative output. But as a thoughtful Frankie divulges, it was all about how the band reacted in the face of adversity that brought them to where they are now. “We’d sold out the show, everything was looking good. Granted, there were a few people who were ‘a bit worried about this Covid thing’ so didn’t want to attend. I understood, but honestly just didn’t think too much of it. But within a week, it was clear that we were in big trouble. And it changed from ‘oh don’t be dramatic’ to ‘yeah, I’m going to be dramatic with you!’,” he reflects.
“We had material for [Umbra Mortis] and were working on it. But then lockdown hit and we made a conscious decision to slow down the social media stuff. It was difficult for us ‘coz we didn’t want to go radio silent but at the same time, we didn’t want to release an album when there wasn’t a way to tour it!” He laughs somewhat ruefully. “I dunno if you’ve seen the videos for Misery Eternal and Eulogy – fucking hell, we put a lot of work into getting those done. We sat on them for so long. Waiting for the right time. But we didn’t wanna do the repeated ‘coming soon!’ thing. Because sometimes, you can walk a very fine line between building anticipation and jumping the gun – ‘coz if you don’t get it right, people can go completely the other way. We’re not glad or pleased Covid happened, but ultimately, we took it and used it to our creative advantage. We went back into the studio, re-listened to tracks and looked at feedback from previous albums. And I feel like we came out the other side of it a lot better off in that respect.”
Which, dear readers, brings us somewhat artfully to the proverbial sonic fruits of the sextet’s labour – Umbra Mortis. First and explosive single Of Blood & Bone (“we picked that song as it just had loads of different elements that are infused in the rest of the album”) aside, the ten tracks on offer here are the perfect juxtaposition of brutality and spine-tingling atmosphere. Tracks like Incantation and tear-jerker Eulogy emphasise the dynamics between vocalists Kyle Lamb (A TRUST UNCLEAN) and classically trained Valis Volkova (who also performs the choir vocals throughout the record’s entirety) to give SHE MUST BURN a marked authenticity – a certain je ne sais quoi if you will – compared to similar bands who go down the synthetic route in terms of dynamics. And at the risk of us sounding horribly simplistic here, the latter mentioned track is just beautiful to listen to. Lyrically, it’s full to the brim with heart and depth. But then that breakdown comes along and rattles your teeth to the point of disintegration. It’s beauty and beast in one. And an aural triumph borne out of tragedy.
“It was about us honing in on that emotional element that we’ve tried to bring to the table in the past. Creating something that elevates us past anything we’ve ever done before – and something we can relate to and are emotionally charged by,” Frankie explains. “Jack [Higgs, guitars] -who’s the predominant songwriter in the band – lost someone incredibly close to him who was such a massive influence in his life. And he wrote that song about them and his experiences with them. And then, in turn, Kyle and Valis brought it to life in the studio. We called it that ‘coz it’s like the final goodbye yknow? And that’s I guess how you could encapsulate the song as a whole – it’s a goodbye.”
Unfortunately, it’s almost time for Distorted Sound to bid a farewell to the affable guitarist, but we couldn’t sign off without asking those final all-important questions – is Umbra Mortis indicative of a band fully realised in what they’re capable of as musicians? And is this merely the jump-off to the blackened symphonic deathcore stratosphere?
“It’s definitely the best stuff we’ve ever conceived as a band. I’d say that if you look at Of Blood & Bone being the first song and then Eulogy and Misery Eternal being the final songs that we finished, I’d definitely say that those two are the ‘coming out of the cocoon’ songs of this band,” Frankie states enigmatically. “It was SHE MUST BURN wanting to make a statement about how things were gonna be from here on in. I’ve been around since 2014, but at this point, it feels like a lot more. Like this is the first step of so many more to come. We’re honestly so proud of this album. Even in like two albums time, I still feel like this one will have stood its ground yknow? It’s just so great to be a part of something that I sincerely love as opposed to just creating something ‘coz we think others will love it. Even if no one else listens to it, I’m happy with it! I do hope however, that it’s going to open some doors for us – and even surprise some people. And I really cannot wait for those people to be surprised!”
Umbra Mortis is out now via Grey Rock Music.
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