Malevolence insist they aren’t psychic. In late February 2020, days before Covid-19 lockdowns started being implemented around the world, the Yorkshire metalcore band released their breakthrough single, Keep Your Distance. It was a melee of growls and beatdowns that propelled them to new heights – in part thanks to a title that foresaw the next year of government messaging.
“It was completely by coincidence,” guitarist and vocalist Konan Hall tells me on a video call from his home in Sheffield. “But everyone started tagging us in signs saying ‘Keep your distance because of Covid’.” Lead singer Alex Taylor can’t help but laugh, joining the call from his place just up the road. “It was free marketing!”
