Make The Suffer released their fifth studio album on November 8th, 2024. This self-titled album comes with high expectations from lifelong and new fans alike. Make Them Suffer is a prominent name in the heavy metalcore scene, known for their explosive mix of brutal guitar riffs, atmospheric elements, and dynamic vocals. Formed in 2008 in Perth, Australia, the band has carved out a reputation for their intense and emotive music, blending melodic deathcore with symphonic and metalcore influences. Over the years, they’ve gained a loyal following for their innovative sound and powerful live performances.
This is the first album released with the band’s new member, pianist and vocalist Alex Reade. I love the addition for them and many fans would agree. She was used often and in a great way in the singles released prior to the album. She is talented and compliments the other musicians, especially lead vocalist Sean Harmanis, so well. She also brings a lot of energy to live shows as well.
One of the few issues I have with this album was half of it was released over two years. Five of the eleven tracks were singles. If you take away the minute long introduction song, that’s five out of ten songs already out before the album. This is personal opinion, but I think it slightly ruins the album. When a new song is released, it often gets played heavily in anticipation and because its new. I love singles and think they are vital for engagement before an album, but if you release too many, the album and the other unreleased tracks lose value. Half the story is already out. Now I’m not sure why there were so many singles released, but I think two singles should have been saved to the album, at the very least one.
Now, getting into the album itself and what I think overall. It’s a great album. Make Them Suffer is great at what they do. They release heavy metalcore songs that are catchy and fun to listen to. That is what this album is. It is a collection of heavy, catchy and fun metalcore songs. However, the album to me lacks cohesion or a central theme. Each song seems to stand alone lyrically and not flow as well from track to track. That might be the intention as it is self-titled, and the band wanted to make a record with a lot of the themes that make them who they are as a band. I will rarely come back to this album and listen to it start to finish. Rather I will pick out when I want to listen to a specific song and its lyrical components or sound.
Track By Track Analysis and Breakdown
- The Warning –
A minute long introduction song. I like it when albums do this as it usually shapes the album and foreshadows sounds and themes that will be later found in records. I have an article about some of my favorite introductions to albums, read that HERE. But this intro is very bare bones, and I feel like it isn’t as purposeful as other record’s intros for reasons I’ll put in the next song review.
- Weaponized –
This song takes about 30 seconds to do anything. I’m up for slow build songs, but the first bit of the song is lackluster. Also, what is the point of having an introduction to an album, building up anticipation to a song, just to have another build up in the beginning of the next song? There should be a transition where this song starts right away and uses the previous track as a buildup. I’m nitpicking because I have high expectations for this band and the album.
The song though is good. It is like a lot of the singles without straying much from their typical sound. New member Alex Reade shows why she is going to be a key piece to this band moving forward. Not only is she great on the keyboard but she really shines through her vocals. She adds good cleans but really shines in her harsh vocals. It’s dirty and gritty and meshes well with the band. It’s a solid first track but really is outshined but all the other singles.
- Oscillator –
This was the fourth single released from the album on August 9, 2024. It starts off quick and heavy with a quick lyrical callout before the instruments kick in. Then with a really powerful lyric that is one of my favorite of all time from the band. “Everyone wants to kill their pain, but no one wants to kill their sickness.” I could go on and on about that lyric and will in a future article.
A strong start lyrically and musically to a great song. Alex Reade vocals pairs well with Sean Harmanis in this track. Something I can say in a lot of tracks. Reade was the perfect new member, and she adds so much depth to this album. I can’t imagine it without her. Overall, it’s a heavy track in many ways and is one of my favorite off the album.
- Doomswitch –
The first single off this album released by the band, and the first single released with new member Alex Reade. This track was released all the way back in October of 2022, over two years from the album’s release.
I loved this single when it came out and it showcased how Reade was going to fit in the band. Her cleans add a healthy change in sound, and I say it was an upgrade on any past vocalist. Furthermore, her harsh vocals helped give listeners so much to look forward to. The breakdown is heavy, and this song is great and super fun to see live. At first, I didn’t think this would be a part of an album and be a standalone single. I thought this was showing off the new member, but I’m glad it’s on the album because it’s too good to leave off.
- Mana God –
This was the final single released of five total. Heavy and choppy verses mixed with heavy and smooth verses make for a – well, heavy and great song. It’s one of my favorite songs and my favorite moment of the entire album is on this track. Reade’s callouts pre-chorus is one of the best things I’ve heard in any song. The “come on,” “fuck” and “yeah” add so much to this song. That and the scream chanting of “pray to the mana god” is goosebump worthy. If I had to choose one song to represent the album, it would be this. While it isn’t my favorite album, it’s my second, and represents what this album is and who Make Them Suffer are.
- Epitaph –
The third single released, and the first one released in 2024 shares a similar structure as Doomswitch. Heavy and harsh choruses mixed with clean vocals. I think it’s a great song and the stretch of songs thus far is fantastic. My one complaint is that I wish this song wasn’t a single. Save it for the album release. That said, it’s a great song. It hides behind some of the better songs off the album but is one of the better songs off the album in my opinion. The chorus is extremally catchy and I like the dark and heavy melody that this song has throughout
- No Hard Feelings –
After the first few album play through’s, this is my favorite non-single from the album. The typical structure is turned on its head and is lead with Reade’s clean vocals. They come back in the chorus paired with harmonizing harsh vocals. It’s a unique song with a structure seen only once in this album but a few times in earlier releases. I also really like the theme of this song lyrically. Towards the end, when the instruments drown out and it’s the vocals that are front and center, is another favorite moment off the album. The constant flip between angelic cleans and heavy harsh vocals harmonize so well.
- Venusian Blues –
One of my main gripes with releasing half the album as singles is clear in this track. When all the singles are so good and there are so many released, the other songs tend to be at a disadvantage. This is my least favorite track and with all the other singles following it before, its doomed to underperform when listening to the album from start to finish. If an album has a mediocre song that isn’t a single it is easier to forget it and fans are less likely to come back to it. With all that said, I do like the guitar switch up at the end of this track. It’s not a bad song, just not a great one, especially in comparison. Maybe it will grow on me.
- Ghost Of Me –
This was the second single released and my favorite off the album. Right away, the drums are insane and unique, the riff is heavy and catchy, and the vocals are emotional. Reade’s harsh vocals are amazing and gritty and like I’ve said so many times, pairs so well with the rest of the band. I love the chaotic structure as it’s not completely chaotic but not a simple or typical structure. The tempo switches a few times, and Harmanis’ highs are beautiful in this song.
The spoken words by Reade and then the pre-breakdown callout “abandon the ghost of me” still gives me goosebumps over a year later. I also love the lyrical theme as it came out when a breakup was recent and helped me cope. That adds to why it’s my favorite, but it’s such a good song, one of the bands best across their entire discography.
- Tether –
It’s always hard following the best, but this track does a good job with that task. There are good riffs and cleans in the choruses. Being towards the end of the album, the structure gets a little repetitive. However, the back and forth of harsh vocals midway through the song helps the track stand out amongst the rest of the album. Lastly, the catchy almost futuristic sounding riff helps make this track stand out among the many good songs that came before it.
- Small Town Syndrome –
A strong way to end a good album. Everything that I mentioned was good in earlier songs is present in this track as well. Good vocals, both harsh and clean, catchy and heavy riffs and overall, just great metalcore. However, the end song of an album has a chance to stand out and be a great finale. Instead, they chose to go with what works for them and keep that same structure. This isn’t a bad thing at all, but just a personal preference of mine. I do really like this tracks theme. Super unique and I feel like it’s not covered in metal music often. Very well executed lyrically as well.
Verdict:
Some songs on this list I absolutely love, but majority of those are singles. So, the drop of the full album seems lackluster and not as special. Tracks like No Hard Feelings, Small Town Syndrome and even Tether will be on repeat, but the other two non-single songs probably won’t be. It doesn’t sit too well with me when the singles outshine the rest of the album. It almost feels like a letdown. However, this album was anything but that. Even with a lack of cohesion and the excess number of released singles, this album still rocks. The band is evolving, growing and coming together with a new member in Reade. It’s just hard for me to rate the album highly as there are only three new songs that really stand out to me and there is a lack of central lyrical theme. The album seems to be just a collection of great singles. Is that bad? Not at all, especially when said song collection is as good as it is.
Overall Rating: 8.1/10
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