Album Review: Mallavora – What If Better Never Comes? (Church Road Records)

Alternative metal band Mallavora will release their highly anticipated debut album ‘What If Better Never Comes?’ on March 27th, 2026, via Church Road Records.

Phenomenal. Mallavora have delivered on all the promises that the last couple of years and their explosive live performances have given. Writing, recording, and releasing an album that perfectly encapsulates who they are, where they have been, and where they are going. It’s a record of strength, but also a record of vulnerability, defiant and destructive, but also emotionally fraught and fragile. Something that few bands can balance the way Mallavora do so effortlessly.

I’m genuinely in awe of what they have crafted here. Where every aspect of their songwriting has advanced and they sound more like a complete band than ever. It seems almost assured that they’re about to become one of the biggest bands in the alternative metal scene and it’s all thanks to an album filled with staggering songs.

Just look how far this band has come since ‘Favourite Mistake’ in 2020.

Smile. Not just what you’re guaranteed to be doing as you listen to the album, but the name of the first track, following a noisy and dark Prologue. Heavier, more intense, and more vitriolic than ever, the manic energy of this one is something else, but it is also filled with recognisable Mallavora catchiness, and that is what gets stuck in the head for hours afterwards.

From that staggering effort to another, it’s Waste, and this track pushes their alternative ways into even heavier and groovier territories. Albeit with their penchant for expansion and, unsurprisingly, as the track goes on, it develops in exciting ways. Least of all a breakdown that is liable to give you heart palpitations. Then there is Lilith & Esther, a track that features the immense talents of Banshee and sees Mallavora delivering a potent and dramatic effort that takes the more ethereal melody aspects of the guest and twists it around their intense modern alternative metal sound.

Music with bite. Yet track after track also has the familiar heart and soul of Mallavora, the feeling that makes their music so much more impactful.

It might not get more heartfelt than Hopeless though. A stunning showcase of haunting melody, sensitive drama, and temperamental rock. This one will touch the soul, and all because it is so open, honest, and relatable. One of the best tracks I’ve heard this year.

How do you follow that? If you’re Mallavora, you cleverly offer up a chance to take a breath and let moodiness wash over with the brief Break. Before going bloody heavy with Birth of a Sun. The relationship between harsh and clean vocals is at its strongest here and when coupled with some thick riffs, the whole track becomes very immersive.

The heavy anthem of the album is next though and it’s a live banger. A track written to cause carnage in the pit, Sick is awesome. Not only is it fast and furious, but it has got a vicious chorus and some really potent lyrics. I know I’m sounding like a broken record, but I freaking adore tracks like this.

Rarely do I feel so compelled to just keep writing about an album and each track in detail, but that’s how good What If Better Never Comes? is. It’s a record that just keeps giving me musical thrill after musical thrill and I want to gush about it to everyone who will listen. Especially as there is no loss of impact as the album reaches its latter stages. Not when Mallavora have alternative anthems like Walking the Edge of the Knife, where once again, the lyrical sharpness and open honesty make for a sobering listen. A big chorus, a haunting melodic drop, and thumping drums throughout help make it so special, again.

Yes, again. Truthfully, if you’re here to read me say anything bad about this album, you’re reading the wrong review. I’m in love with this record and found myself just as addicted to darkly melancholic listens like Empty, where lines like ‘what a mess we’ve made’ really hit hard, as I am to tracks at the start of the album like Smile, Waste, and Hopeless.

Their songwriting abilities have reached a whole new a level and ultimate proof of that is the consistency in the album. Where heightened drama and storytelling come into play on the soaring Make the World Wait. Close your eyes and take this one in, it’s such a rewarding experience. As is Host and all because of the passion behind the vocals. I particularly love the explosive flashes of guttural nastiness that comes from the odd roar here and there.

In most circumstances, the idea of having a nine-plus minute finale would be awfully off-putting, especially considering how extensive the album has been up to this point, but Mallavora do not exist in most circumstances and what we have is a finale that can simply be defined as epic. However, epic in their way. Meaning it’s a track with layers, and those layers draw from a wide wealth of genres. It’s quite brave to end the album in this fashion, but it’s the title track of an album that has showed what bravery and vulnerability can achieve in the face of such a restrictive world. Mallavora should be so damn proud of what they’ve created here.

Mallavora – What If Better Never Comes? Track Listing:

1. Prologue
2. Smile
3. Waste
4. Lilith & Esther (feat. Banshee)
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?

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