Written By Kevin McSweeney
Mallavora Interview
It’s currently not the easiest time to be a young person in the UK.
It’s certainly not the easiest time to be a disabled person, with swingeing cuts to benefits and services.
And a general hardening of attitudes towards them, fuelled by certain sections of the UK media making no distinction between genuine claimants and cheats, and a general resentment towards public expenditure in straitened times.
The disabled and the young have borne much of the brunt of the austerity years and post-covid situation in Britain. Bristol-based band Mallavora are not happy about this, and are only too happy to let you know.
Mixing alternative metal with activism, they aim to draw attention to the struggles faced by disadvantaged and vulnerable people in today’s modern society, as evidenced by the enraged invective of their recent single Smile.
Metal Lair spoke with vocalist Jess Douek, (who, along with guitarist Larry Sobieraj, bassist Ellis James, and drummer Sam Brownlow, will be embarking on a UK tour in the autumn with ThisCityIsOurs,) about their music and their message.
Metal Lair: Congratulations on the success of your recent single Smile, which was received with widespread acclaim. Can we look forward to a fourth EP or perhaps a debut album in the near future?
Jess Douek: Thank you! It had been a while since we’d released any new music so we were super excited to release Smile, particularly with how well the music video came out and the world we built around the song.
And yes, we are very proud to say that our debut album “What If Better Never Comes?” will be released on March 27th 2026.
We’ve all worked so hard to craft an album that says everything we want to say creatively, and to have Church Road Records delivering the release as well, is a perfect fit.
Metal Lair: Was the single deliberately timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Disability Discrimination Act?
Jess Douek: We wanted to draw attention to the fact that 30 years ago, the UK passed the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, and to how much work there still is to do to remove barriers and improve attitudes towards Disabled people in our society.
Disabled activists fought hard for the 1995 DDA, and it was a huge milestone. But today, Disabled people still face so many unnecessary barriers when trying to participate in society like everyone else.
And media and politicians’ rhetoric still depicts Disabled people as scroungers for needing support to remove those barriers. Smile asks the question: “how far have we really come?”
Metal Lair: Is it the case that being patronised is a more frequent occurrence than being openly discriminated against? The lyrics of Smile would seem to suggest that to be the case.
Jess Douek: Our society was not designed with the needs of Disabled people in mind.
Inadequate accessibility is absolutely everywhere you look, and more often than not, when accessibility is considered, it doesn’t go nearly far enough.
As a result, Disabled people in this country are discriminated against pretty much every time they leave the house.
When Disabled people live with this every day, to be treated with pity and patronised on top of all that, really just makes you furious. That’s what Smile is about.
Metal Lair: In Smile, you lament disabled people being ”…treated like a burden.”
As a former carer, I know how easy it is for vulnerable people to be made to feel as such. It’s for that reason that the assisted dying bill currently making its way through the UK parliament fills me with dread.
Though it is clearly well intended, I fear that an unscrupulous future government might misuse the legislation as a means to reduce spending on health and social care. Do you share my concerns?
Jess Douek: You won’t find a Disabled People Organisation (DPO) in this country that supports that bill and that should tell you everything you need to know really.
We already have Disabled people being issued DNRs without their consent in this country, likely due to a widely held attitude that Disabled lives aren’t worth living. Disabled people do not need the state to have more opportunities to disregard their lives. Assist us to live, not to die.
Metal Lair: We saw what seemed to be a hardening of attitudes towards the disabled with the introduction of austerity in UK politics post 2010, with benefits being withdrawn and genuine claimants being tarred with the same brush as cheats.
More recently, legislation has been introduced to restrict access to Personal Independence Payments. Do you believe that, as a society, we are less compassionate towards the disabled than we ought to be?
Jess Douek: According to Scope, Disabled households face average extra costs of about £1,010 a month just to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households.
Now imagine struggling everyday to navigate a world that wasn’t built for you – then having the already inadequate financial support meant to address those inequalities stripped away.
The rhetoric around the proposed reductions to PIP (Personal Independence Payment) is beyond infuriating for anyone who’s been through the system, or knows someone who has. The PIP assessment process is already harsh, dehumanising, and routinely rejects people who clearly meet the criteria.
PIP also isn’t an out-of-work benefit, so cutting it will do nothing to reduce unemployment.
If you want more Disabled people in work, we’d suggest improving workplace accessibility, and removing the barriers in recruitment processes that make it virtually impossible for many Disabled people to obtain gainful employment.
Perhaps they should also ask why so many more people are sick now than there were five years ago. What mass-disabling event happened around that time, again?
A society where comparison and empathy is shown towards Disabled people would look very different to the one we live in today.
Metal Lair: What unique challenges does a condition like fibromyalgia present to a musician?
Jess Douek: I have fibromyalgia and Larry has Long COVID. The way the music industry is set up is unsustainable for Disabled people.
We’ve all seen artists cancelling tours and pushing back releases due to burnout, and this of course has a greater effect on Disabled and chronically ill artists. And we wonder why Disabled artists are so rare in the scene.
Touring is physically challenging, as is the process of recording an album. We’ve had to put in a lot of work to rethink the way we approach these things, which is ultimately more expensive as we have to hire more people to help us with things that other bands can do themselves.
But for us, it’s all about finding a way through. We’d rather problem-solve and adapt than accept that “this is just how it is.” We want to show that with the right support and flexibility, Disabled artists can thrive and have successful, sustainable careers.
Metal Lair: It is a condition characterised by, amongst other things, chronic pain. Does the intensity of your music offer a means to alleviate the discomfort?
Jess Douek: Songwriting is a real outlet for us, and so when we experience all of the emotions that come with living with chronic illness, it goes straight into the music.
We know that people who experience life similarly to us feel a catharsis when listening to our music, and that creates a real connection between us and our listeners that is so special.
We also hope that it provides an insightful window into our experience for those who don’t know what it’s like to feel this way.
This is the main concept behind our debut album, What If Better Never Comes?, to distill every aspect of our experiences of disability, illness and neurodivergence into 48 mins of rage, fury, grief, loss, desperation and defiance.
Metal Lair: You are embarking on a UK tour with TheCityIsOurs towards the end of the year. Are there any plans for further live shows in 2026? Is there a possibility of you performing outside of the UK?
Jess Douek: We are so excited for our first ever tour in November! We’ve put a lot of work into creating a live show that’s as impactful as possible and we can’t wait to share it with everyone who will come to watch.
We’re playing in so many places for the first time as well! We certainly will be performing live in 2026 to promote the album, and we would absolutely love to play our first shows outside of the UK.
Metal Lair: You publish details on your website regarding the accessibility of the venues you are due to play. Do you ever find that venues are not as accessible as they claim to be? How widespread a problem is this?
Jess Douek: Mostly the problem with this is when staff at the venues haven’t been trained properly to understand accessibility.
Terms like “fully accessible” with no further info get used a lot, and this has a real impact on Disabled people who need to fully consider whether or not they can attend a venue.
Inadequate or inaccurate information is an accessibility barrier in itself, so we started publishing accessibility information of the venues we play on our website because we wanted our fans to have an easy way to make this decision without having to spend the time and effort investigating the accessibility of the venues themselves.
Metal lair: To quote the lyrics of Smile:
“I don’t want your admiration! I am not your inspiration!”
But has anyone in particular inspired you? Is there anyone, musical or otherwise, who has overcome adversity to achieve their goals in a way that inspired you to follow their lead?
Jess Douek: Part of the problem we face as a band is we don’t really see anyone above us paving a way for us to exist as Disabled musicians in the rock and metal world.
That’s not to say they don’t exist and undoubtedly there will be many musicians out there dealing with similar challenges to us, in fact Attitude Is Everything recently published a survey that found that 69% of Disabled musicians do not disclose their impairments, and that really shows what we’re up against.
We’re not operating in an environment that is accepting and accommodating towards Disabled musicians.
Sometimes it’s hard to look towards the future and imagine what our success will look like, but we know that we have the right team to make it work.
We are inspired by any artist that is unapologetically themselves though, like Nova Twins for example. They carved a space for themselves in an industry that didn’t know what to do with them at first.
Metal Lair: Smile fuses “…ferocious riffs with elements of R&B, soul, and the rich cultural heritage of vocalist Jessica Douek’s Jewish-Middle Eastern roots,” to quote your label, Church Road Records.
Are there any other experimental elements that might be added to the sound in future? Are there other musical directions in which you are keen to go?
Jess Douek: Our debut album has allowed us to push boundaries and expand our creativity in new ways – blending different genres and using our cultural and personal backgrounds to express the deepest parts of ourselves.
Metal Lair: We have a good rapport with Church Road Records here at Metal Lair. It’s a label with an impressive roster.
Does being with a label run by musicians benefit you in terms of your creative freedom?
Is there a greater appreciation of your need for free expression from those who understand the challenges of being in a band?
Jess Douek: We absolutely love working with the Church Road Records team. Their passion for heavy music is infectious and they care deeply about their work.
Working with a team who really gets it is so beneficial for us. We take huge inspiration from Sammy and Justine with their successes with Employed To Serve as well.
We saw them open for Gojira at Cardiff Arena a few years ago and to share the main stage at 2000trees with them this year was a very cool moment for us.
Metal Lair: Finally, what’s one thing that everyone can do to make the world of rock and metal a more accommodating place for people with disabilities?
Jess Douek: It’s got to start from involving more Disabled people in decision making.
Disabled people generally know what they need better than you will. It’s when we get sidelined and ignored that things go wrong, and it’s glaringly obvious when the accessibility of an event has been put together without any Disabled people involved.
Metal Lair: Metal Lair thanks you for your time and wishes you great success with the tour and your future endeavours.
Jess Douek: Thank you so much!
If you enjoyed this you’ll love A Rip in Time: Women in Metal
Please catch Mallavora on their UK tour with TheCityIsOurs this autumn if you can. The dates are as follows:
13.11 – Plymouth @ The Junction
14.11 – Bristol @ The Exchange
15.11 – London @ Downstairs at The Dome
16.11 – Bournemouth @ The Bear Cave
18.11 – Norwich @ Waterfront Studio
19.11 – Manchester @ The Star and Garter
20.11 – Glasgow @ The Garage Attic
21.11 – Nottingham @ Billy Bootleggers
22.11 – Leeds @ The Key Club
23.11 – Birmingham @ O2 Institute
“If you enjoy discovering new heavy music, you might also like our weekly column Seven Deadly Songs — written by the same author, Kevin McSweeney.”
PRE-ORDER Mallavora – What If Better Never Comes? Here
Track Listing:
1.Prologue
2.Smile
3.Waste
4.Lilith & Esther
5.Hopeless
6.Break
7.Birth of a Sun
8.Sick
9.Walking The Edge Of The Knife
10.Empty
11.Make The World Wait
12.Host
13.What If Better Never Comes?
Mallavora Online