"I joined the circus!" How tragedy, a stint in Sleep Token and a very surprising career detour defined the fall and rise of one of British metalcore's most promising bands, Shields

Formed in London in 2011, Shields were a formidable force in British metalcore. But their aspirations came to a sudden halt when their guitarist, George Christie, took his own life on January 31, 2018. Although not a founding member, George had become an integral part of the group with founders Samuel Kubrick Finney (guitars/vocals) and Joe Edwards (vocals), and the pair recall him fondly.

“He was great – funny, talented, professional… a great person to be around,” Samuel says. “Even when he was having his darker, less humorous, less together moments, he never really made it anyone else’s problem. And I guess I kind of wish he had, you know?”

Shields persisted for a while after George’s passing, touring for their debut album, 2018’s Life In Exile. But in June 2018 they announced plans to split, citing health concerns in a statement on social media. “Every band practice, show, administrative and organisational decision we make is coloured by the death of George and with that comes inevitable pain,” they wrote.

In the aftermath of Shields’ breakup, the remaining members coped in different – sometimes bizarre – ways.

“I joined the circus!” Joe reveals. “I straight up went up north, trained in a circus school and wrote and performed musically for circus productions. Metal was something that I’d fallen completely out of love with and I was engaged to a circus performer and director at the time. She just kind of swept me away up there.”

Meanwhile, Sam continued writing music, aiming to front a new band. “My identity was very attached to being ‘Sam from Shields’,” he reflects. “When Shields came to an end, I felt like I didn’t have much purpose.”

Shields - Miss Me (Official Music Video) - YouTube

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But while he was working on new material, opportunity came knocking. In 2019, he was invited to join masked phenomenon Sleep Token, ultimately playing guitar in the group for two years. But if you’re holding out for a tell-all expose, you’ll be disappointed.

“I was a glorified session musician,” Sam says with amiable dismissiveness. “I say that with no insult to what my role was, but that’s how that worked.”

At the same time, Sam was still working on another project, Kubrick. He ultimately decided that rather than being the cog in someone else’s machine, he’d rather focus on his own music.

“I felt like I had to make a choice,” he admits. “I departed from Sleep Token – sorry to say, no drama to report – and just threw myself into doing Kubrick.”

Working with producer George Lever (Sleep Token, Loathe, Thornhill), Sam leaned into a metal-experimental pop hybrid and, after enduring a particularly bad breakup, regained his confidence.

“I felt like I’d exited this alternative universe and stepped back into reality,” he says. “I was allowed to be myself again.”

But there was unfinished business. As it happened, Joe’s relationship also ended and when he moved back down south, he quickly reconnected with Sam in Kubrick. At Burn It Down Festival in 2022, the pair ran into former Shields members Lawrence Welling (bass) and Alex Rayner (drums), and the festival organiser suggested Shields get back together for one more gig. They quickly agreed – then realised there was potential for so much more.

“We didn’t want to do the one-off gig without having something more to offer, so we started writing again,” Joe explains. “To be honest, from there, it just accidentally snowballed into, 'Shields are back.'"

In late 2023, after the release of their comeback single Bury Me, Joe and Sam dug into a trove of demos, recorded individually over the last five years, that provided foundations for their new album, Death & Connection. Every note on Death & Connection, from its production (George Lever once again fiddling dials) to the inclusion of violins, mandolins and synthesisers, was a “claws in the ribs” process, as Sam describes.

It became an album of personal reckoning, surfacing emotions that had long been stifled. Industrial-synth tune Kill adapted lines from a poem written by Joe’s brother, a poet, who passed away, while the melodic Red And Green contemplates his loss (“it’s a wound that never truly heals,” Joe says).

The stall is set out early; opener, This Is Not A Dream, recounts the physical abuse that Joe endured in a previous relationship. “This four-minute spoken word experience [was one] that I was not ready to show anyone, ever, except for Sam,” Joe says. “Being vulnerable whilst writing the lyrics for the album meant doing things that allowed me to accept and recognise the traumatic things that had happened in the last five or six years.”

Naturally, the band also acknowledged their fallen comrade on the album. Ballad Miss Me was written about George’s funeral, Sam admitting that he was brought to tears screaming in the studio. But for all the trauma, Shields say they’re in a healthier place now – and eager to get back out into the world.

“We were able to bring our memories and time spent with George into what we’re doing now,” Joe explains. “Shields getting back together again meant that we could process George’s death in a way that we couldn’t before. It became an extension of us getting back to ourselves, as people. Me and Sam have been playing music together since we were 10 or 11 years old, so about 20 years now. Having that break meant I could come back to doing Shields refreshed and excited. And, with the ability to handstand.”

Death & Connections is out now via Long Branch Records.