“The ghost of me becomes a part of you.“
Over their near 15 year run as a band, Make Them Suffer have developed utmost respect and love from vast swathes of fans. Their discography stretching back to the start is arguably one of the strongest within the metalcore scene, that many other acts themselves look up to. Their early material from Lord of Woe, Neverbloom and Old Souls are classics, which during their initial releases showed Make Them Suffer as a one of the most exciting and interesting acts. Even as they stepped into their modern footing, Worlds Apart can still be held up as an incredibly strong record, with the following album How To Survive A Funeral my personal album of the year for 2020. Between all this singles such as “Hollowed Heart“, “Ether” and “Contraband” which threaded larger releases together, that shows if anything over the last decade, Make Them Suffer fans have been absolutely spoilt.
Since the aforementioned “Contraband”, there has seen a period of flux for Make Them Suffer that has become visible on the surface. Harsh lockdowns in Australia, line-up changes and the process of piecing together their new record has put forward challenges that tested the limitations of Make Them Suffer. Making it through the other side, with Alex Reade formerly of Drown This City joining on keys and vocals, giving them added strength vocally and extra starpower that has only improved them as a unit, as was shown on debuting track “Doomswitch“. This has all lead to an anticipation of Make Them Suffer‘s self-titled record that had a lot to live up to.
Make Them Suffer opens in similar fashion to Old Souls and How To Survive A Funeral, a short, tension-building introduction, this time in the form of “The Warning“, that bursts into energy on “Weaponized”. The opening riff here is forceful and groovy, giving an extra edge before Sean Harmanis‘ barks add in their well-known aggression. This is contrasted against Reade‘s cleans on the chorus, seeing a continued elevation of the backing vocals taking a more lead role that began at the turn of the decade. It’s a solid opening, yet it lacks that dynamism to truly blow open the start of Make Them Suffer.
This dynamism begins to surface on “Oscillator“, offering an interesting approach with darting synths and other electronic elements, before introducing a EDM-like bass to given an extra ompf to the opening stretch here that grabs attention. Chorus duties are split between the two vocalists, adding an aspect to Make Them Suffer that had never fully evolved until now on the vocal front. This is further displayed on “Doomswitch“, where harsh vocals from Reade are layered, before her cleans come out in magnificent form on the chorus. Despite being released two years ago, “Doomswitch” is one of the best songs on Make Them Suffer, with the fresh aspect that Reade brings on the vocal front a major part of that.
Before having a small disco with the synths, “Mana God” bursts into its furious nature and sets outs its purpose, which is to be the heaviest track on Make Them Suffer. It displays Sean Harmanis‘ range, who has been one of my favourites for a long time now. His ability to use his voice in a range of ways, from cleans, deathcore growls and everything inbetween. Despite the grand vocal performance from Harmanis, the issue with “Mana God” is that it’s not particularly interesting outside of being a heavy metalcore track, and is far way from the impassioned aggression that was shown on the likes of “Hollowed Heart“. This is followed up by “Epitaph” which is equally underwhelming. This is also where the standard song structure Make Them Suffer have for this record shows its limitations – even with a neat little bridge, it leads into the djent-y metalcore breakdown that is too prevalent on the record.
Neither of the more middling tracks are assisted by the production across How To Survive A Funeral, which sounds flat and compressed. Much of Make Them Suffer has the ever-common place modern metalcore mastering and production that sounds uninspired and sterile, leading to a sound that is claustrophobic as much of the elements sit in the middle. There are moments on the likes of “Oscillator” and “Doomswitch” where the higher register cleans are mixed in a way that sound crispy, hitting the ear obtusely. The main issue though is that something about Make Them Suffer lacks any overarching atmosphere and presence that previous Make Them Suffer records had clinched. Anything resembling the haunting grief and ethereal natures of “Old Souls“, “Elegies” and “Ether” seems absent here.
“No Hard Feelings” does however inject a breath of fresh hair as soon as it starts. The lighter, upbeat, sweeping strumming style is immediately different from anything the album has shown so far. And though they sound way more hidden than in the past, you get some sound effects that sound like they’re ripped straight from Worlds Apart. Reade is given more of a spotlight on this track, too, and she more than delivers with it. When Harmanis comes in, it feels closer to vintage Make Them Suffer in how the heaviness is earned and uniquely presented. This track is an absolute joy, and should become a firm-favourite of many fans. “Venusian Blues” is another fresh cut, and not only because it’s another softer one. The opening riff is very much Worlds Apart in tone before drums and a slight production effect lead in the heavier riffage. Harmanis’ singing style on this track is more of a nu-metal and shoegaze mix than I’ve ever heard from him and it’s another example of how impressive his range and variation is.
The closing stretch is busted open empathically with “Ghost of Me“, where darting synths make their return and bouncy riffs build up a momentum. Harmanis leads on the chorus which is a nice change, with Reade layered in and leading on the more melodic moments. While there are moments that feel slightly too similar to “Doomswitch”, the vocal performance between the two is some of the best on the record. Unfortunately what follows on “Tether” is completely dull. Djent-y riffs are hammered in throughout the track, which are tiresome on the ear. The chorus is flat, with lyrics “So you can feel what I feel, I’ll let you tether onto to me“, having absolutely no hook to them. This of course ends in another breakdown which is crowbarred in at the end, for some reason.
The album ends with “Small Town Syndrome” which is immensely enjoyable. I love the subtle references to past music, and the pacing of the track is closer to how I personally prefer Make Them Suffer tracks. The tone is also noticeably punchier and more impactful than nearly the rest of the album’s run time. Harmanis‘ lyrics here are also closer to the more metaphorical style that has given life the band’s past works. That’s a big reason why How To Survive A Funeral hit so hard from me, and that lyrical style is lost for a lot of this album. Regardless, “Small Town Syndrome” very much ends the album on a high note.
Make Them Suffer showcases strong moments throughout, yet these are more than often contrasted with weaker ones. And when Make Them Suffer are as seasoned as they are, with such a strong discography of work, there is too much that doesn’t reach the mark for a band such as this. Adding onto this the issues with mixing and production, that ultimately feels rushed, it can leave a sour taste despite some of the great moments on Make Them Suffer. The silver-lining is that Make Them Suffer now more than ever have the tools to create their modern magnus opum, with proof of that the Australian unit can achieve that, needing to come sooner rather than later.
6/10
You can pre-order Make Them Suffer here before its release this Friday, November 8th, via Sharptone Records.