The Snow Maiden (Pt. II)

'The Snow Maiden (Pt. II)' is the second studio album by British dark-alternate duo, Status and the second and final part of the successful 'Snow Maiden series'. It was released on 10th February 2014 through Blacklight Records and charted at number 1 upon release, matching the success of the first half. The girls worked with similar producers on the album compared to the first, including Liam Howe, Rick Nowels and Emile Haynie, although the two half were curated separately, in order to keep focus on the narrative.

The second part included running similarities with Part I of the set, which was released a year prior, although the girls themselves, fans and critics noted a darker, more violent sound, in juxtaposition to the first album, and received acclaim for critics and fans upon the release. The album was first introduced with the double a-side single, Yours To Break along with Smoke & Mirrors from the previous part in September. It followed with the release of Purge at the beginning of 2014. The album was cut short with the runaway success of Purge, which is currently the fourth highest selling single in Uraps history.

Smoke & Mirrors and Yours To Break
It was announced that the girls would release a double a-side, featuring the closing single to Part I and the opening single to Part II, in order to bridge the gap between the two albums and ensure they ran 'concurrently'. Smoke & Mirrors was written by Jodie Steele, while Yours To Break was penned by fellow Alternative artist, Suicide Blonde. Each song received strong reviews from critics, who celebrated the 'marrying' of the two tracks, and decision to release them as a collective. Upon release, the single topped the chart and sold 410,086 copies during its chart reign, becoming the girls second most successful single at the time, behind Monster In Me.

Purge
It was announced that Purge would be the second single released from Part II, and was originally written and released for 2013 horror, The Purge, although the girls failed to have it ready in time for the soundtrack. Written by both Steele and Taylor, the track was released in January 2014, several weeks before the albums released. Receiving critical acclaim upon release, the track shot straight to the top and gave the girls their highest opening week sales thus far. Success of the single spiralled out of control, and remains charting on the official Uraps chart 64 weeks after its release. It is on its way to become Uraps' fourth 'One Million Selling' track, the third act to receive such a fate.

Following the success of Purge - and despite a video for a third (fourth overall, including digital single '(Beg Me) For Your Mercy') - the girls cut short promotional campaign and began working on their third studio album, in fear anything released from the album after Purge, would jeopardise success and not live up to it.