Having just released their well-received debut album, Grief Is No Ally (reviewed here) via Arising Empire records German metalcore band MAVIS look ready to take the world by storm so The Midlands Rocks decided it was time to sit down with the band’s vocalist Phil Donay to talk about the band’s past, and their hopes for the future. (The band also comprises of bassist Mo Amrein and guitarist Manu Weller, alongside drummer Jakob Schulz-Klein.)
Can you give me a brief history of the band; where did you all meet etc.
When MAVIS was founded, it was mainly our former guitar player who wrote some songs he wanted to play in a band again as he had none at the time. So, he picked people he liked and who had a similar taste in what music they want to play from the local scene. Within a span of two years 5 people came together and made the first recordings for the Shades EP in 2019. In the end of that year, we played our first show and already booked many tour dates for 2020 which (you may know why) mostly were cancelled again. We did the best we could to focus on more Songs again but the next three years were really tough as multiple members had to step back from the band due to various personal reasons such as illness, mental health issues or even leaving making music behind. On top of that our studio with all our equipment burnt down in 2022.
But just roughly three months after that, we suddenly were complete again and started playing shows with old and even new material and it all came together again really quickly. With new strength we hit the studio in 2023 and toured as much as we could and finally our vision of MAVIS took its current form showcased on our rebut record Grief is no Ally.
What are your musical influences? Is there one artist/group that unites all the band members?
MAVIS always consisted of members living for and off music as we all work within different institutions of this industry, so we are all music nerds really. To pinpoint one artist would be impossible within our influences. The common ground and what we wanted to play was always “modern metalcore” but we purposely never defined what this means for us in detail to leave the door open for every possible influence while writing and producing our songs. Those influences may range from typical genre heavyweights like Polaris or Architects to pop, country music, post-black metal and whatever is coming our way. We carefully crafted a sound that leaves room for an “anything goes”-attitude.
The band formed in Stuttgart. What was the local scene like when you were growing up? Were there places to perform, and were there any local bands who inspired you?
We were all coming from local bands and were mostly playing the scene for over 10 years before MAVIS became a thing. We grew into a scene most people called dead at that point in time. But we have never felt that way and were resilient in knowing, that there would be an audience if you try to make the best music you possibly can. With all our long-term connections within the scene it was fairly easy to book MAVIS-shows in the beginning (of course disregarding the pandemic setbacks).
MAVIS is a strange name for a metalcore band. How did you decide on that name?
Finding a name was no easy task for any of us but we knew we wanted something short which could sound beautiful but heavy (at least in our minds) at the same time. By coincidence the female first name “MAVIS” came to my mind and we agreed that for some reason this resonated the best with our sound. In Germany this name is really rare and we are aware that in English speaking countries the name is more common and connected with real people but that never really bothered us so the name stuck with us.
MAVIS formed at perhaps the most inopportune moment (the start of the global pandemic). Did you have any doubts about continuing with the band? What was you motivation for keeping MAVIS going through that dark time?
As mentioned for some of the bands members those roughly three years meant stepping away from MAVIS. But those remaining always had hope to get back on track. I would credit the fact that we ourself were always the biggest fans of the musical ideas of our band. We simply loved too much what we created to stop doing it. But yes, in the time between the studio fire and finding new members, our bass player Moritz and me were the only members left and we may have been one or two conversation away from quitting. Luckily the resilience paid off in the end.
Due to lockdowns and social distancing, did you find new ways of writing and working together as a band?
The first songs of MAVIS were written by our founder Robin Dachtler and I created lyrics and finished the songs with him so we could continue to do so within the pandemic. But when he left, I was in charge of writing instrumentals too. The lockdowns even gave time for me to “relearn” playing guitar and analysing what was making our songs special. With my own touch of course, I was able to continue creating music for MAVIS. With our current Line up guitar player Manu is also writing music for the band. For our record every member of the band was involved in shaping the existing songs the way you can now enjoy them.
Your album, Grief Is No Ally, is both heavy and emotive, and touches on a whole gamut of emotions. How did the pandemic influence the writing and recording of the album?
As some of the songs predate the pandemic, this was always part of our sound. But what we went through since our official founding in 2019 made us lean even more into our darker emotions but also what coping and dealing with such emotions meant for us. Making music is to some extend our very own form of therapy. That’s why sometimes our songs may sound and feel very dark but they are always sprinkled with various amounts of hope.
Your new album is released by Arising Empire. What were the circumstances surrounding your signing with them?
As we were knowing each other from the local scene around southern Germany talks about possibly working together in the future were beginning as early as mid 2019, so right before we even released our very first song publicly. 2020 plans for recording and releasing a MAVIS debut record the following year were made but with our song writer leaving and then all the other setbacks it needed two more years until we finally had the chance to fulfil those plans. Arising Empire gave us all the time we needed and we are really thankful for their constant support and patience with MAVIS.
How will you promote the album? Do you have any shows/festivals/tours planned? Can we expect to see you in the UK any time soon?
MAVIS will tour Germany this year and we are playing some festivals this summer. But more is to be announced so this is all I can say right now. We are working on releasing some of our songs as live sessions soon and as most of the material on Grief is no Ally is now almost 5 years old we are already working on new music that may be released sooner than you might expect.
Finally, what are your hopes and aspirations for MAVIS? If I could make one wish come true for the band, what would it be?
Touring internationally and playing even more festivals would be really awesome. We want to show what we can do to as many people as possible. Therefore, coming to the UK to play some shows will hopefully be a part of our future too. Either touring with some UK based bands or playing festivals like RADAR or even Bloodstock.
