Make Them Suffer
Make Them Suffer


3.0
good

Review

by MrToothbrush USER (12 Reviews)
November 12th, 2024 | 46 replies


Release Date: 11/08/2024 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Are you not entertained?

Based on their discography so far, you would not expect to see 'Make Them Suffer' and 'mass appeal' in the same sentence. Deathcore and the masses are as far apart from each other as the Hawk Tuah girl and common decency. But one EP and five albums later, here we have the Australian metal band's sixth effort and mass appeal (or as far towards that as they can feasibly go) is the order of the day. However the results are decidedly mixed.

A self titled album should make a statement about who you are as a band. It should tell the world what you are all about and scream it loudly. The latter is definitely achieved with flying colours, but the former not so much if you look past the bells and whistles. There are many positives to this album. Vocalist Sean Harman is is one of the most unique, energetic and capable voices in metal; and one of the most well spoken if you see him being interviewed. He can and he does go from decently high screams to guttural growls and back again, keeping you entertained from start to finish. Couple this with the impressive clean vocals of Alex Reade and you have a winning formula and some powerful performances throughout the album. Alex is a beyond solid replacement for Booka Nile, the previous clean vocalist who left in 2022. Alex in fact uses both clean vocals and also screamed vocals sparingly which works to mix it up and this contrasts well with Sean. The vocals are definitely the high point in this album.

The main problem here, however, is the music itself. The instrumentation is solid. It's very catchy and it definitely keeps your attention. There are no slow songs at all, except during the introduction and in the 2 tracks at the end where it slows down slightly. But that's just it. It feels like the whole album was designed to keep your attention at the expense of crafting something deep and meaningful. The heavier parts never go on for long enough to keep the metal fans happy and the clean sections (despite these being incredibly catchy soaring choruses) are used liberally, as if they are scared to stray away from them for too long in case they alienate a potentially new fanbase. This all leads to the music being very catchy and almost addictive but frustrating. Take Epitaph, for example, which starts off strong and builds up to what could have been an interesting heavy breakdown or even a quick solo in the 2nd verse, but instead jumps straight back into the chorus.This happens again on Venusian Blues which features an interesting electronic almost-breakdown before the final section but it doesn’t seem to go anywhere before it jumps right back into that catchy chorus. The apparent desire to not go too far one way or the other is a common theme here.

The lyrics follow this similar theme, being comprised of mainly the chorus and some clever enough soundbites but they never go into really profound territory, which is a shame because I know they are capable of it. Electronic effects are thrown in also, in some places, like in Oscillator where the random pew pew laser effects are there to make it slightly more interesting than it really is. The riffs are also recycled often; seriously, if you take out the vocals and just play the guitar riffs, you would be hard pressed to tell the difference on some of the songs here. You cannot convince me that Oscillator and Doomswitch are not essentially the same song, even to the way the song title is screamed (which seems to be a theme throughout for Sean to scream the song title at some point, just in case you forget which song you are listening to).

It's not all the same though. Sometimes they do make an effort to switch it up. Mana God has no clean vocals and is still a solid song. Venusian Blues has an electronic almost-breakdown. No Hard Feelings has clean vocals at the start. The final 2 tracks are slightly slower, acting as an exit ramp for the relentless energy throughout. There are generally enough differences between the tracks that you can tell which one is which. The quick-tapping style features in a lot of songs here which might be a signature of theirs at this point, but they could do with using it more sparingly.

When it comes down to it, this is the musical equivalent of fast food. It's very fun but it's not very filling. Despite all of its drawbacks, this really works as a piece of entertainment. As art? Not so much. Maybe that's not what they are going for, and if that's the case, mission accomplished. I was not bored for one second listening to this album. But at this point, it feels like they are trying to please everyone and that's not viable as a long term strategy in the metal scene, which proudly prides itself on being outside of the concept of appealing to anybody, never mind everybody.

Ultimately, Make Them Suffer need to decide who they want to be and where they want to go. This album is very solid and very fun, but it creates a bizarre paradox where the energy and musical capability make the music feel very focused when actually it is slightly all over the place. They are stuck between metal and mass appeal, which can become a rock and a hard place if they're not careful. More variety in riffs, more fully engaging their metal capabilities, a couple of slow songs, and maybe bringing back the piano (which really isn't used enough in metal, let's be honest) will go some way towards bringing them back to the heights they are definitely capable of. That, and not releasing 75% of the songs as singles before the album comes out, but maybe that's wishful thinking.

For now, we can enjoy it for what it is. A solid piece of entertainment. A carnival ride with bells and whistles included. And maybe that is enough for most casual listeners. Will it be enough for current and future fans? Only time and hopefully a more focused direction will tell.



Recent reviews by this author
As I Lay Dying Through Storms AheadERRA Cure
Bury Tomorrow The Seventh SunDance Gavin Dance Jackpot Juicer
Tilian Factory ResetDance Gavin Dance Afterburner
user ratings (104)
3
good


Comments:Add a Comment 
bellovddd
November 13th 2024


7327 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0 | Sound Off

i tried but this album was just not very good. Vocals are nice but everything surrounding it just sucks.

Ectier
November 13th 2024


3291 Comments


The band is over for me. Their last record was the nail in the coffin and everything since then has failed for me. Im not even sold on Worlds apart tbh

Durrzo
November 13th 2024


3502 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

Poop.



Alex is the only good thing here. Sean has always been strong but this is far from his most exciting performance. I can't talk enough shit to fully express my disdain for 90% of Nick's modern riffs. Bland, recycled, trendy, emotionless garbage, and nothing anyone else in the band does can salvage the situation. New low for the band which was a tough task given how weak their last outing was.

Spec
November 13th 2024


40657 Comments


The *pew pew* sounds in Ghost of Me are not ideal.

bellovddd
November 13th 2024


7327 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0 | Sound Off

ye Alex is a great addition to a shitty band

ToSmokMuzyki
November 13th 2024


13526 Comments


hey now the hawk tuah girl used her fame to buy animals food

Futures
November 13th 2024


13955 Comments


well that's nice :^)

Ectier
November 13th 2024


3291 Comments


Well still have Old Souls so im going to hold onto that

anarchistfish
November 13th 2024


30444 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

I just think it's neat

SteakByrnes
November 13th 2024


30645 Comments


There's no way this is any good so not gonna bother, which is a shame cause I LOVE their first 3 albums a lot

tyman128
Staff Reviewer
November 13th 2024


4680 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

Yeah, just stick to the first three albums



Every song follows the same structure it feels like, and I miss when the riffs had originality to them...

artificialbox
Contributing Reviewer
November 13th 2024


3201 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

kinda going back and forth between a 2.5 and 3. it’s fast food but it has some tasty moments. the chorus in “epitaph” is horrendous tho

alamo
November 13th 2024


5837 Comments


Make Them Suffer

JoyfulPlatypus
November 13th 2024


885 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Damn, guess I'm the only one who really thought this slapped, lol.



Yeah it's way more formulaic than their past releases, but imo Alex is a WONDERFUL addition to the band, and her parts are all highlights. Especially her harsh vocals in Mana God.



I understand peoples' gripes though, and this is a great rev!

MrGlass
November 13th 2024


614 Comments


Despite being a little underwhelmed by the album experience (review hits the nail on the head about the repetitiveness) I still think it slaps too. Big agree on Alex, she's a huge level up for these guys.

Wildcardbitchesss
November 13th 2024


15131 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

Ew you were right about that Epitaph chorus. The first bit was decent, if kinda overly sanitized, metalcore but good god that chorus is bad. If it’s the same girl doing the harsh vocals right after, she should just stick to that. She’s got a good scream.



Undecided if I wanna check this out… I already subjected myself to that dogshit Wage War record. I’m not sure if I can handle more mainstreamcore this year

Wildcardbitchesss
November 13th 2024


15131 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

Alright, and I’m being completely serious, why is anyone listening to this when I have a perfectly good rolo tomassi right over here?



Good review btw, pos

artificialbox
Contributing Reviewer
November 13th 2024


3201 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

thats a great point. gonna jam some Rolo rn

Wildcardbitchesss
November 14th 2024


15131 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

Ok I’m glad I’m not the only one that sees it *that* way, literally the last 3 Rolo Tomassi records are all just better versions of this tbh.

Homegirl should ditch the cleans and scream more, it sounded like there were 3 (?) vocalists at some points, she by far had the most unique harsh vocals imo.



But hey wtf do I know. They have a million monthly’s on Spotify and are probably making bank with this. They’re clearly going for a more mainstream audience and I think they definitely are gonna get that with this record. Idk how older fans of the band feel, I never really listened to them much but what I had heard always just felt like what I said before, overly sanitized metal/deathcore. So, as an outsider looking it, this kinda just feels like exactly where the band would always end up.

onionbubs
November 14th 2024


22785 Comments


their first three were all amazing



You have to be logged in to post a comment. Login | Create a Profile





STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS // CONTACT US

Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


Site Copyright 2005-2023 Sputnikmusic.com
All Album Reviews Displayed With Permission of Authors | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy