The Pitch: Australian progressive metalcore/djent band Make Them Suffer may have tricked me with their brutal death metal throwback band name, but they deliver one of this genre's best albums of the year nonetheless. FFO: Periphery, August Burns Red, Bleeding Through
What I Like: I was just the other day complaining that I haven't been impressed with much metalcore/deathcore this year; and then like Laura Palmer from the heavens, the Giant saw fit to bestow Worlds Apart upon me (no, the Twin Peaks references aren't going away anytime soon). I don't generally take the time to flip an album review in 24 hours, but for Make Them Suffer I was willing to make an exception. For fans of progressive core, this is just too good to sit on. "First Movement" yanked all of my attention instantly like some beautiful, melodic singularity.
Such hooks! Such energy! Such fun! "This can't possibly persist for very long," said the cynic inside of me; but lo and behold 4 tracks in I was still unabashedly hooked. While the riffs aren't going to dazzle veterans with their originality, they are undeniably catchy and still have enough technical flair to inspire the burgeoning guitar players out there. Furthermore, the band makes up for their more conventional elements with creative use of piano and other synths as well as some truly ethereal clean singing all courtesy of the lovely and talented Booka Nile. Her vocals provide the perfect counterpart for Sean Harmonasis' syncopated metalcore barks and growls (reminiscent of A Day to Remember and The Plot In You).
Critiques: Worlds Apart gives us all of its best tracks on the front end. While the entire album is consistently enjoyable without any tracks I would consider skipping, the band might have done well to disperse some of these earlier ones more evenly throughout. They have an atmosphere that is a little different from some of the more straightforward songs (especially "Uncharted" below) and could have broken up the tone.
The Verdict: Combining the impact and catchiness of modern metalcore with a certain elegant grace in their melodic qualities, Make Them Suffer serve up an album that, in my opinion, is leaps and bounds better than the latest I have been hearing from many of their more celebrated genre peers in 2017. Buy it today with the links below and stream on all available platforms HERE.
Flight's Fav's: First Movement, Uncharted, Grinding Teeth
USA: https://RiseRecords.lnk.to/WorldsApart
AUS: https://WMA.lnk.to/MakeThemSufferWorldsApartFA
UK/EU: http://bit.ly/2qYChlX
If you enjoyed this article, be sure to share it with others to help us grow. You can also like and follow us on the social media of your choice with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and support us on Patreon.