Drudging through a vast sonic landscape perfectly encapsulating a smorgasbord of unmitigated sorrow, anger, grief and disappointment, in relation to society’s failure to admit to its disabling influences; the Bristolian alternative metallers Mallavora, have created a passionate multi-pronged attack of tenderised pleadings and wounded imagery, vying for validation in a world that ceases to dignify its peoples hardship, with their magnificently produced debut album What If Better Never Comes?
In recent years, Mallavora have garnered great acclaim and respect among the heavy music community, after their debut at Download Festival in 2024, a headline tour of the UK including coveted support spots for bands such as TheCityIsOurs and Skindred. Main stage performances at 2000 Trees, Alyx Holcombe’s Mantra showcase and Noizzefest 2025; yet all the while, their advocacy and allyship with the disabled community has always stood firm, they’re vulnerabilities routinely on full display for a fanbase utterly entranced by their connectivity and care for one another, and it is precisely the lived experiences of physical limitations and historical political neglect, that is woven deep into the fabric of this fascinatingly cathartic record.
Kicking things off with arguably their most confronting single to date, ‘Smile’ is an explosive rebuke of societal injustices, as well as making it clear, that although last year was the 30th anniversary of the Disability Discrimination Act, we’ve still got a long way to go to in order achieve true equality. The introductory single to this era is a powerhouse of informed rage, emboldened by both vocalist Jess Douek and guitarist Larry Sobieraj’s experience of long term conditions.
As we make our way through the album, we were left utterly enchanted by the band’s seamless transitions between the emotionally fraught lyricism, instrumental precision swinging from restrained operatic might and an overwhelming crush effect. Besides the metal muscle, Jess’ carefully constructed lulled yet textured background vocals, emulating the Middle Eastern melismatic ornamentation of maqam techniques, almost feels like you are in the midst of being ascended to a celestial sphere.
Although the majority of the LP is an exquisite listening experience, one that is guaranteed to leave you mentally transported to the heart of an audible landscape of ruin and empowerment, the ultimate stand out across this record is ‘Hopeless’ and its atmospheric yet ominous ode to the art of surrender, echoing similarities to The Cure’s ‘Prayers For The Rain’ and Evanescence’s ‘My Immortal’. Elsewhere, while combining wonder and ache with a structural lucidity vicariously allowing the listener to experience the sound of collapse, ‘Make The World Wait’ delivers a chasm of pain effect, while the title track, clocking in at just over 9 minutes ‘What If Better Never Comes?’ is the kind of heavy gothic ascension that leaves you feeling lifted up from the dirt, dancing in the calming currents of the wind, before slamming you back down to earth, with the kind of thud that would launch you straight through the earth’s core.
This album is fantastic, one pursuing a true representation of a universal body possessed by a force or source of pain, that doesn’t truly know how to leave it to rest. Not only is it an expression of lived excruciating torment on the body and the mind, but it is also a reminder to us all, that the world we live in needs to learn the value of empathy. What If Better Never Comes? is a colossal but never grandiose spectacle of wisdom and harm, a testament to the ceaseless spirit of a tenacious survivor, whose made it very clear that they’re unwilling to sit idle by.