Mallavora’s ‘Echoes’ EP: Resilience, Revolution, and Raw Emotion

The metal scene is built on resilience, on expelling darkness from the pits of us. It’s hard to find a rising band that fits the criteria better than Bristol based four-piece, Mallavora, a recent addition to Marshall Records signed artists.

Composed of vocalist Jess Douek, guitarist Larry Sobieraj, bassist Ellis James and drummer Jack Pedersen, Mallavora is tearing up stages across the country, from the Bristol Beacon to the Avalanche Stage at Download Festival. Their EP, Echoes, is out tomorrow.

Echoes is Mallavora’s most ambitious and powerful release yet. It explores disability and cultural identity with lyrical and instrumental performances sure to whip-up a sandstorm in your chest.

The EP opens with It’s Not Enough, setting the musical landscape of the album. Thrashing guitars loaded with fuzz from Honeybadger pedals and vocals ranging from screamo to angelic paint a desolate world, an expanse of desert. Listeners are at the mercy of the elements.

Creating such a world comes from the true-life experiences Jess and Larry have with chronic illness, Jess living with fibromyalgia and Larry with chronic fatigue and brain fog from long COVID.

Mallavora have explored themes of disability since the release of the single Disorder in 2022. They represent overlooked communities who make up a large portion of alternative metal, punk, and goth scenes across the globe:

“I think there is still a big stigma [against fibromyalgia and long COVID, and other chronic illnesses] because people still are struggling to understand non visible conditions and how much they can impact someone. Things that you can’t see immediately, that challenge people’s assumptions on what being disabled like looks like.” – Jess

With the second Echos single, Skin, the band interrogates order in their lyrics. As disabled artists, they challenge ‘order’ within society, and expectations placed upon artists by the touring industry:

“This [the touring industry] isn’t great for anyone, and it’s not possible for some disabled and chronically ill people. There needs to be a rethink on touring and the expectations put on artists. I think a lot of that comes down to trying to unpick the grind, hustle culture and the concept of working until you drop.”– Jess

The lyrics, “losing parts of myself as I morph for you” showcases her painful metamorphosis, trying to meet unfair expectations placed upon her.

In their headlining shows, Mallavora included a fifteen minute break in their set. This allows Jess, Larry, and folks in the crowd to rest.

A light touch of Arabic chord progressions and vocal runs enhances Skin. Recording the EP at Marshall Studios, Mallavora worked closely with Mikey Demus of Skindred – super eager to produce the record.

Mikey’s influence on the production is evident, the most crisp of all Mallavora releases. Despite the instrumental intensity, he imbues the tracks with a sheen, a delicate boundary preventing instrumental overwhelm.

Without the time constraints of studio hire, the band workshopped ideas with Mikey and played with the gear at Marshall Studios, including George Michael’s piano and discontinued Marshall bass amps. Jess was able explore her Arabic roots with instrumental and tonal motifs, not just lyrically as seen in the title-track, Origins, from their 2023 EP.

The title track, Echoes, is the most expansive on the EP, opening with a chorus of voices. Starting as a ray of light, the track darkens, culminating in an epic guitar solo below the most raw screamo moment of the EP. Despite the track taking a darker turn from its seraphic introduction, it keeps hope alive in their musical Sahara, “In the darkness where I hide, there’s a bruise, but I’ll survive.”

Mallavora has overcome adversity, conquering the anxieties facing independent artists, and breaking perceptions of what artists with chronic illnesses can achieve.

Echoes feels like a victory lap for the band. After being shortlisted for the Kerrang! Radio The Deal competition, Larry wrote Echoes demos during the public vote heats of the competition, manifesting the win. The band worked tirelessly, promoting the competition on social media and at their live shows. The effort paid off, hitting the Download Festival Avalanche stage.