MAKE THEM SUFFER // How Alex Reade Is Currently Living Every Musicians’ Fantasy.

It’s a story that feels straight out of a movie. One second Alex Reade is fronting an up and coming metalcore outfit, tirelessly gigging away at dive bars and intimate Melbourne venues, the next, she’s finding her new home in Make Them Suffer, one of the most cult-followed groups in Australian metal history.

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For Reade, it’s like something out of a fever dream, with the recent announcement sending metalheads into an absolute frenzy.

“It’s honestly like a dream come true” she lavishes, “it’s honestly been really weird to see everyone’s reactions.”

“I never considered myself someone that people would know. My previous band was much smaller than the calibre of Make Them Suffer, so I didn’t think there would be as much of a reaction as there has been, and I certainly didn’t expect them to be overwhelmingly positive.”

“I actually had to brace myself to just take whatever comes and embrace that some people might not be happy about it, but it seems that everyones happy about it. I really wasn’t expecting it, so it’s a really good feeling.”

With the release of the group’s newest single Doomswitch, coinciding with the announcement of Reade’s inclusion, it’s been quite an tumultuous couple of weeks for Make Them Suffer fans, with many commenting online about their excitement for the band’s future. In particular, when it comes to Reade’s unique vocal range, which merges soaring cleans and brutal gutturals all in one. Although, considering Reade initially agreed to join as the groups keyboardist, utilising her vocals was an inclusion that even surprised her.

“In my mind, I’m coming in to honour this role, I really wasn’t expecting to end up screaming on it.”

“The keys and clean vocals are such a beautiful part of Make Them Suffer’s sound, and it’s so established. I’m here to honour that, not change things.”

I actually had to brace myself to just take whatever comes and embrace that some people might not be happy about it, but it seems that everyones happy about it. I really wasn’t expecting it, so it’s a really good feeling.
[ Alex Reade ]

“So when I was fleshing out the songs with Sean and he was like ‘yep, you can scream that,’ I was completely taken back. The fact that he gave me that opportunity is incredible. I mean, I get to scream alongside one of my favourite vocalists, but then in saying that, it’s a hard role, because who can go up against Sean Harmanis as a vocalist? His versatility is just psycho, so I was happy I got to just do the simpler part.”

“It was a really nice experience. You’d never expect our vocals would fit that well together, but I think it works. It was really nice for me as well because it means that instead of just replacing something, I got to actually add something different to their sound. I’m hoping everyone likes it. So far, so good.”

Although, considering Reade is normally the one fronting the band and penning the lyrics, her inclusion to Make Them Suffer sees her adopt quite different a to the role she is used to fulfilling, with the songwriter admitting that it was initially hard to “step back,” but now, it’s a move that she is revelling in.

“It was really hard to step back, but it’s also really fun.”

“I don’t really feel the need to be a frontman at this stage. Plus, now that I’m playing keys and have a launch pad and am running Abletone, there’s so much to do anyway. And honestly, I think I like it better. It really feels like the pressure is off. I still feel like I’m a part of it, but I have more time to be really present on stage because I’m not focused on being the frontman.”

“It means I’m able to stop, look around, take a deep breath and think, ‘this is fucking awesome.”

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