Alt-metal outfit Mallavora have been impressing us for a few years now. In that time, they’ve appeared at both Download and 2000trees Festival, as well as taking on a busy touring schedule. Now, the quartet are destined for big things with the arrival of their debut album, ‘What If Better Never Comes?’
It sees vocalist Jessica Douek, guitarist Larry Sobieraj, bassist Ellis James, and drummer Sam Brownlow carve out a record that is equally furious as it is vulnerable. For Jessica, who has fibromyalgia and is disabled, and Sobieraj, its 13 tracks gives them the chance to explore their experiences of chronic illness. It’s threaded by themes of disability activism, mental health, systemic critique, and the weight of simply existing in a world that was never designed with you in mind. Furthermore, it widens its gaze to take in misogyny, radicalisation, collective burnout, neurodivergence, grief, and the creeping dread of a world that seems to be moving in entirely the wrong direction.
Beyond its range of thought-provoking themes is a ferocious sound led by Douek’s versatile range (you may have seen her provide the wails for the banshee challenge on ‘Celebrity Traitors’). Her bandmates weave in dense metallic blasts and thunderous rhythms with soaring R&B melodies. At the same time, Jessica’s rich Jewish-Middle Eastern roots appear throughout. It results in an impressive debut full-length outing for Mallavora.
From the explosive stomp of ‘Waste’ to ‘Smile’s battering onslaught, through to ‘Sick’s rumble and the metalcore charge of ‘Walking the Edge of the Knife’ and ‘Birth of a Sun,’ they conjure up a fierce intensity. In contrast, there’s the hypnotic lure of ‘Hopeless’ and the measured ‘Make The World Wait’. While ‘Empty’ compels with its melancholy execution. There is also a nine-minute epic prog exploration to round it off.
Without a doubt, ‘What If Better Never Comes?’ is the sound of a band that has lived experiences and channelled them into something powerful, cathartic, and at times genuinely moving.
To learn more about how about their debut album came together, Mallavora discussed it track-by-track.
Prologue
“Anyone who’s seen us live in the past year or so will already be familiar with this, the introduction before ‘Smile’. We needed something that sets the scene before ‘Smile’ hits you over the head – a grand opening. After writing it, we found that it introduces the album really well, and it gives an insight into the kind of sounds you should expect to hear over the next 48 minutes.”
Smile
“Had to fight for ’95 / They resisted subjugation / We’re still fighting for our lives / Unrestricted liberation”
“We needed to capture the urgency, fury, and righteous rage we feel about how society continues to treat Disabled people. We felt it was the perfect way to start the album, with its high energy and unfiltered anger. It was the first single for the album campaign, and we released it just before the 30th Anniversary of the UK’s Disability Discrimination Act, to make the point of asking, ‘how far have we really come?'”
Waste
“I will never be / What you wanted me to be / It’s fine by me / Hands off my life”
“We had fun with ‘Waste’ and experimenting with its contrasting tones. The track confronts misogyny and the impossible expectations placed on women. It’s scathing, sharp, and almost gleeful in its indictment of this pervasive societal sickness.”
Lilith & Esther (feat. Banshee)
“All of the forces combined / Can’t wipe out my pride / My people survive”
“We connected with Banshee online way back in 2023 and instantly loved the ethereal, haunting quality to her vocals. We wrote the track with her in mind and were very excited when she agreed to feature on it.
In ‘Lilith & Esther,’ we delve deeper into our cultural influences and draw strength and power from these ancient heroines. We’re really pleased with how this song turned out, and it always goes down so well live.”
Hopeless
“I try to fight / But I’m barely holding on / And lately, I’ve been afraid / To dream of tomorrow”
“We wrote this song at a time when everything just felt too hard, and the challenges we face felt insurmountable. We learned that it’s ok to let your guard down, take off your brave face and accept that there really is no such thing as certainty. Staring down the possibility that things might not get better can be terrifying, and feels so hard to do. But it’s not about abandoning hope altogether. Rather, it’s about letting go of things that we don’t have any control over, and trying to find the balance between acceptance and hope.
We know hopelessness can be incredibly lonely, so we hope this song provides some solace and connection for anyone who relates to its meaning.”
Break
“I guess this world just wasn’t made for bodies quite like mine”
“After listening to four pretty intense tracks, it’s time for a bit of a ‘Break’, don’t you think? As the first four were all singles released before the album as well, this interlude allows you to take a breath and almost reset before being launched into the unknown second half of the album.”
Birth Of A Sun
“Rising / Tearing up through the sky / You know that you can’t stop me / Raging / Burning worlds with my mind / The gods will fear me, watch me”
“This was one of the first songs we wrote for the album. It fantasises about a world where strength and power is not defined by the physical limitations of the human form. It imagines being a celestial entity that is all-powerful and limitless in ability. It’s an empowering track, particularly if you’re Disabled and frustrated by a world that wasn’t built for you.
‘Birth Of A Sun’ serves to remind us of the importance of dreams and ambitions, and not to be limited by what is expected of us. This is something that has driven us through our career so far as a band, as we have already achieved much more than what some thought we were capable of.”t.
Sick
“Burnt out? How sad / Have you tried being kicked in the head? / Why are we pretending that everything is fine? / ‘Cause the system is broken and / We’re out of time”
“We’re all Sick. We may not all be Disabled, or chronically ill (yet), but we are all Sick. We all exist in a society where the health and well-being of people is a complete afterthought. We have built a world where burnout, loneliness, depression and polarisation are inevitable, dominating forces. We ploughed through a global pandemic and have come out the other side pretending as if nothing even happened. As a society, we must reflect on this and reconsider our entire approach. You may think you are immune, but it’s coming for you.”
Walking The Edge Of The Knife
“We’re not going places / We’re losing our minds and they wonder why / We’re the nameless faces / Walking the edge of the knife”
“With everything going on in the world right now, and in the aftermath of a global pandemic that we haven’t yet recovered from, we’re all losing our minds. And they wonder why? Everyone feels the direction the world is headed in, but nothing is changing.
We all feel that things are not the same as they were pre-pandemic, that global conflict is on the horizon, and that inequality is rising with seemingly unstoppable momentum. It’s maddening to be aware of these things while watching the world carry on, as if these problems will somehow go away by themselves. Well, they won’t. Neurodivergent people often have a unique perspective on things that is ignored by the neurotypical masses, made to feel that we are crazy for pointing out the obvious.”
Empty
“Meet me far away / Where life is not the same / Where words will not be empty”
“Reflecting further on the world we have built for ourselves, what a mess we’ve made. ‘Empty’ dreams of a world far away, where history does not repeat itself, where we learn the lessons offered to us by tragedy, and where our society is built upon a foundation of honesty and compassion, and genuine care for each other. This world doesn’t have to be a fantasy, if it weren’t for those in powerful positions who benefit hugely from the way things are, as they watch us fight amongst ourselves.”
Make The World Wait
“Make the world wait for me / I’ve been down here for a while / We might be out of time”
“Sometimes, your body stops you in your tracks, whether you’re ready for it or not. You’re left with no choice other than to ride the wave and let go of any control over your situation. It can be terrifying, and so lonely. This song processes the grief of a life that was once taken for granted and is now out of reach. At the bottom of the well, we look up to the wider world, hoping to rejoin it one day. If only the world could wait, while we figure out how to get there.”
Host
“There’s poison in your eyes / It’s cold and lonely in the dark / But I will not be burned / To keep you warm”
“‘Host’ was cathartic to write. With rage and vulnerability in equal measure, it tackles the pervasive societal sickness of radicalisation that is taking hold in today’s world. It warns of the poison of extreme ideologies that pit us against each other, in a time where community and solidarity is needed more than ever.”
What If Better Never Comes?
“When will this body be home again? / Will I ever be well again? / And what if better never comes? / Oh what would I do then?”
“It may come as a surprise that this was the first song that we wrote for the album. The entire concept was born out of the last section, where the lyrics ask the seemingly unanswerable question ‘what if better never comes, and what will I do then?’.
This nine-minute prog epic contains the blueprint that the other 12 tracks that precede it drew from, showcasing every corner of musical expression that Mallavora is capable of.”
‘What If Better Never Comes?’ by Mallavora is released on March 27th on Church Road Records (order here).
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