Sep
25
9.39am

HARD NOISE: MAKE THEM SUFFER // A Molten Core Burns


MAKE THEM SUFFER w/ Wage War + Alpha Wolf + Deathbed
Friday 22nd September, 2017
The Brightside, Brisbane

As we trundle in to The Brightside on this fine Friday evening, we’re in the midst of a mid-strength downpour from the heavens above, and everyone waiting in line inside the venue’s beer garden has the appearance of an irritated drown rat.

That is, excepting the cowards standing underneath umbrellas. Be honest, is there a more cowardly accessory? We think not. It’s a sold out show tonight for Perth core outfit Make Them Suffer, and by the time we get inside and receive a hastily applied stamp that surely won’t evaporate in mere seconds, it’s already sweltering and hot enough to spontaneously grow a rainforest canopy in the pit.

Grabbing a beer, we take a vantage point on the venue floor to watch openers Deathbed. Despite being a relatively new band on the local scene, the Brisbane quintet are hungry to impress tonight’s crowd, which seems slightly ironic given the show line-up and posts on their social media and band pages like ‘DEATH TO FALSE METALCORE’ and ‘MOSH WITH INTENTION TO KILL’. With a sound that embodies a late 90s/early 2000s crossover metalcore approach, tracks like Revolt and Transparency from their demo Views From My Deathbed are heavy as fuck: all headbang riffs, caustic vocals and thunderous, vein-bulging double-kick. For the most part, the crowd doesn’t really know what to do during the verses and bridges, but once the breakdowns hit everyone falls in to line, moshing and headbanging enthusiastically.

Death Bed // By Tracie Tee Live Events

After a lengthy soundcheck, Melbourne downtempo unit Alpha Wolf hit the stage with ravenous energy. There’re plenty of dedicated fans in attendance and the pit has thickened up considerably, quickly turning into a sea of flailing bodies and bend-over-backwards headbangers. Tracks from the band’s debut album Mono are clearly what the fans want to hear, with Ward Of The State and No. 2 receiving huge sing-a-longs to every beatdown pit call. Vocalist Aidan Ellaz barks and screams his way through strained lyrics, wrenching every last bit of emotion and spitting it back at the crowd. Guitarist and founding member Sabian Lynch stalks the stage between every downtempo swing, looking like a mix between Wes Borland and Death Note’s L (think less anime version, and more the Netflix abomination). We know that the facemask thing is ‘in’ right now, but it’s really fucking hot in the venue, and we’re forced to ask exactly how much ‘suffering’ is required for art? Closing out their set with the punchy Failvre and the melancholic Golden Fate; Gut Ache, Alpha Wolf give a strong performance this evening and set the tone for the remaining acts.

Alpha Wolf // By Tracie Tee Live Events

Harmanis continues to psych the crowd up, swinging his arms up and down like a pneumatic piston, forcing the condensed pit to mosh themselves into oblivion.

By the time Florida metalcore juggernaut Wage War take the stage, The Brightside is packed to overflowing and set to blow. They may not be headlining this run, but it’s obvious that a lot of punters have turned out to see the Ocala group do their thing. When the opening chords of lead single Stitch burst from the PA, everyone is set to lose their collective shit. Vocalist Briton Bond steps up to the monitors and screams “Pick it up!”—and all hell breaks loose. Being one of heaviest cuts from new record Deadweight, Stitch is an absolute cracker of a tune, and it has Wage War working the room like seasoned pros. During the Slipknot-esque mid-section we sight crowd-surfers, headbangers, pit warriors and people standing on the booths up top, writhing around like they’re in the middle of some bizarre voodoo ritual. It’s heavy, it’s catchy and the crowd is totally eating this shit up.

Wage War // By Tracie Tee Live Events

Moving into a fast and furious set, the band alternates between cuts from Deadweight and debut album Blueprints, hitting fan favourites like Alive, Witness, The River, and Youngblood. At one point, some wrecked dude is leaning on the railing in front of us, trying to reset his dislocated shoulder, while we see the same chick up front stage dive multiple times in a single minute. Suffer for your art indeed. Thanking the crowd for turning up in droves, Bond is humble in acknowledging that this is their first time Down Under and that they’re fortunate to be on a mostly sold-out run with their newfound Western Australian mates. The crowd gives back with mighty applause and greater intensity, as guitarist Cody Quistad leads more melodic cuts like Youngblood, Gravity and Don’t Let Me Fade Away with his pitched sung vocals. Closer Twenty-One brings their set to a close, but both the band and their fans are mutually stoked, with smiling, sweaty faces all round.



For the main event, a screen banner comes to life above the stage emblazoned with the Make Them Suffer logo. The crew seem to have some issues getting the keys and laptop set-up just right, but with a little perseverance, they’re ready to go and lights dim in anticipation. With the Perth group doing a national victory lap for their well-received third album Worlds Apart, we’re curious to see how the band’s transition from symphonic deathcore to full-blown metalcore superstars translates live. Not to be boxed in, the quintet throws tonight’s crowd a nostalgic curveball, instead opening with Neverbloom cut Widower. The pairing of ominous keys from newest member Booka Nile and frontman Sean Harmanis’ crushing gutturals is a winner, and the pit is positively heaving with every slamming breakdown riff. Moving on to new material, album tracks like First Movement and Uncharted prove why the band is blowing up right now: infectious rhythms, punchy half-time drums and a dynamic vocal range show off the band’s versatility much to the crowd’s enjoyment.

Make Them Suffer // By Tracie Tee Live Events

Between songs, Harmanis asks the Brissy crowd if “they want a heavy one?” before the band jumps straight in to the droning chug-fest of Weeping Wastelands. Dressed in a cut-off Obey The Brave stringlet, guitarist Nick McLernon does his best to grind his fingers down to stubs, alternating between djenty scales and the tremolo riffs of the band’s earlier material. Harmanis continues to psych the crowd up, swinging his arms up and down like a pneumatic piston, forcing the condensed pit to mosh themselves into oblivion.

Make Them Suffer // By Tracie Tee Live Events

Nile’s synth textures, key strokes and hair flips add an atmospheric touch to cuts like Vortex (Interdimensional Spiral Hindering Inexplicable Euphoria) – replete with its Morse code nerdgasm (look it up) – and Fireworks. The otherworldly Ether brings their set to a frantic close, with the crowd sensing their final opportunity to storm the stage and leap with reckless abandon. With little fanfare, the band return to deliver a rousing encore in the form of Blood Moon from 2015’s Old Souls. It’s a fitting closer, a song that embraced the band’s roots and also helped to forge the path for their future. And if we take anything away from tonight’s punishing and impressive performance, the road ahead for Make Them Suffer looks brighter than ever.

Make Them Suffer // by Tracie Tee Live Events





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