Mallory Knox Slam Dunk festival at Hatfield park.

Review By Dave Martin

Mallory Knox is an alternative rock band from Cambridge made up of Mikey Chapman on Vocals, Sam Douglas on bass and backing vocals, James Gillett on Rhythm Guitar, Joe Savins on Lead Guitar and Dave Rawling on Drums. They released four albums over a six-year period from 2013 to 2019 before being on hiatus.

I first encountered Mallory Knox in 2012 when they supported Lower than Atlantis at the Tunbridge Wells Forum along with local band Cities. I remember talking to Mikey, their singer, after their set, having been blown away by his unique vocal sound combined with the dynamic punch of the band. I felt that the band were destined for big things but had not envisaged how quickly this would occur. They were nominated for the Best British Newcomer at the Kerrang awards but ultimately lost out to the band they had shared the stage with, in Tunbridge Wells. Roll on three months and the band had released its album “Signals” and rocketed to the top of the iTunes download chart. The band was rewarded with festival slots which included the main stage at Download, followed by appearances at Slam Dunk and Reading and Leeds the following year. The band seemed destined for great things, however in February 2018 the band parted ways with Singer Mikey Chapman with Sam Douglas taking on the role of lead vocals. Roll on to Slam Dunk 2024 which marked Mikey reuniting with the band for their first performance together in 6 years and 11 years from their first performance at Slam Dunk. The festival has grown significantly in size since those days and the Hatfield crowd were there in large numbers to support the return of the fan favourites.

As the band entered the stage it was apparent at how excited they were to be performing again after such a long time apart. Smiles could be seen all round and the crowd warmed to them immediately with cheers as Mikey raised his arm in greeting to the gathered followers. They started their performance with a fan favourite “Beggars”, the opening track from the 2013 album “Signals”. There were clearly long-term supporters in the crowd as they joined in with singing, giving the band a rapturous applause at the end of the song. They continued their set with “Wake Up”, again from the “Signals” album, before moving on to songs from their other three studio albums. The band were highly energetic in their performance and Mikey commented that 35 year old Mikey is not the same as 26 year old Mikey explaining that he wanted to get fitter for the fans before heading out in October for their recently released run of UK shows. The band finished with my personal favourite Lighthouse and ended to an enthusiastic ovation. It was satisfying to see the band back together and I can only hope that they continue to grow and fulfil their potential. Since starting to write this article their London show has sold out and an additional show added due to overwhelming demand proving their lasting appeal within the fan base.

Set list * Beggars. * Wake Up. * Getaway. * Ghost in the Mirror. * Shout at the Moon. * Sugar. * Oceans. * Better Off Without You. * Lighthouse