In the sphere of Australian heavier music, it’s quite rare to find a band who seemingly improves with each and every release. Instead, most bands spend the majority of their career having fans comment “I just wish they went back to this sound…”
Make Them Suffer (MTS) are that outlier.
Their 2012 release ‘Neverbloom’ saw the band skyrocket to immediate ‘home-grown hero’ status, with the album’s iconic cover becoming regional Victoria’s most sought after calf tattoo for a few years there.
Now onto album number four, MTS have steered clear of the general direction most of their contemporaries are; there’s no mention of tumblr inspired pro-life lyricism, breakdowns haven’t been replaced by guitar solo’s and most importantly; at the same time MTS have maintained their brutality, they have also found their own unique subtleties.
‘Falling Ashes’ delivers a nice dose of those nü metal-esque highs which have been making their way back into modern heavy music which is contrasted with an technical and melodic keyboard interlude. But the key’s never feel half-assed with MTS; they aren’t just a focus in the melodic interludes instead they maintain their prevalence throughout, most impressively alongside blast beats in black metal inspired moments.
‘Bones’ is arguably one of the heaviest songs the band has ever released (with the exception of the chorus). The rhythm sections in this track just drip steeze with mesmerizingly groovy angular djent riffs.
The later half of the album seems to take more of a soft approach but there are still moments found in songs like title track ‘How To Survive A Funeral’ which will definitely put some pop in your two-step.
All in all, Make Them Suffers fourth efforts may easily become their magnum opus in years to come but I can’t claim that, there’s far too much that excites me about this bands future to claim this is the best it can get.
4/5
Greyscale Records
Reviewed by Alex Callan
Photo by Sandra Steh
