U.K. metal band Cage Fight has shared the music video for “Oxygen” from its second studio album, “Exuvia,” released May 1, 2026, via Spinefarm Records (get it here).
“When your worries occupy all the space in your head, you’re navigating through fog; every task, every move, feels like a challenge,” vocalist Rachel Aspe said. “‘Oxygen’ is about a fight against time, when everything becomes overwhelming and suffocating.”
Discussing the video, she said: “The mask on the album cover is the radiotherapy mask my grandmother wore every day for her cancer treatment. It was moulded to her, and I’m now wearing it as she lives through me. The process was painful and exhausting. This is a symbol of strength, perseverance, and healing. It represents a cage you fight in, until you shed your skin and are reborn. The mask also has specific meanings for each song on the album.
“In ‘Oxygen’, we wanted to portray the feelings of fear, oppression, and anxiety. To be locked in this cage, pushed down by its weight. The mask here is our own mind, and overwhelming thoughts, while seeing time passing by and being powerless.”
“Exuvia” was recorded by Sam Bloor at Lower Lane Studios and mixed by Jim Pinder (Sleep Token, Malevolence). The band shows it isn’t afraid to experiment and have a bit of fun throughout its 11 songs. A case in point is “Pick Your Fighter,” which features Julien Truchan from Benighted on guest vocals,and was inspired by the French pop song “Et c’est parti …” by Nâdiya.
The rest of the lyrics on the album were written by Aspe, the first time she has expressed herself in this way, and the results are deeply personal, taking in anxiety, assault and having to deal with grief. The final track, “Élégie,” is about losing her grandfather and the regret that can come from things left unsaid. On “Pig,” meanwhile, she calls out the creepy men who send women unsolicited messages online, while the title track was inspired by her grandmother, who is battling cancer and helped Aspe write the lyrics.
“Exuvia” track list:
1. Confined
2. Oxygen
3. Pig
4. Pick Your Fighter
5. Un Bon Souvenir
6. Deathstalker
7. Le Déni
8. Exuvia
9. The Hammer Crush
10. IHYG (I Hate Your Guts)
11. Élégie
Un Bon Souvenir (single version – digital only)
Cage Fight tour dates:
27 Jun – Basinfire Festival, CZ
26 Jul – Mozhell Open Air, FR
31 Jul – Radar Festival, UK
1 Aug – Xtreme Fest, FR
2 Aug – Sylak Festival, FR
14 Aug – Motocultor Festival, FR
22 Aug – Barbeuk Festival, France
23 Aug – Furiosfest, FR
29 Aug – Beastfest, Gravesend, UK (headline)
23 Oct – Firemaster Convention Festival, FR
24 Oct – Margate Rock Festival, UK
Leave a Reply