Korn‘s Jonathan Davis was so excited by ORGY that he created his own record label …
MAKE THEM SUFFER with Silent Planet, Oceans Ate Alaska, & Thornhill
The Zoo, Brisbane
Tuesday 14 August, 2018
With a line-up that went a half block around The Zoo, apparently most of Brisbane had nothing to do the night before a public holiday and were all hanging out to catch Make Them Suffer. Fresh off the plane after starting their tour with two shows in New Zealand, the Brisbane show marked the third of an eight-show national tour and looked as though it would be a big one.
MORE: TROPHY EYES: The Dreamers And The Doers // ALPHA WOLF: … And Out Come The Breakdowns // OUTRIGHT: Don’t Holler Atcha Girl
REVIEWS: TROPHY EYES: The American Dream // AS IT IS: The Great Depression // PLINI: Sunhead`// THE SPIRIT: Sounds From The Vortex
Staff were still stamping wrists when the first support of the night Thornhill kicked things off. Recently announced on the Unify Gathering line-up for 2019 the band is well and truly breaking through the stereotypical stock standard Melbourne metal scene and is raising the bar higher and higher. After playing their first show with Hellions, the band set a certain standard for their live shows that they didn’t fail to bring to the sweaty bodies of Brisbane last night.
Midway through the bands track Reptile off their 2018 release Butterfly, the crowd piqued in terms of rowdiness for the set, despite the surprisingly few people that had managed to get in at this point. That said with the number of people complaining that they missed the band and were there specifically for them, it’s only a matter of time before they announce their own headline tour.
Thornhill // By Alex Nisiriou
Easing into the second band of the night there was still a hefty line around the building consisting of fairly pissed off attendees who still hadn’t managed to make it into the venue. The night went on without them and Oceans Ate Alaska brought their own brand of metalcore, which with the release of their latest album seems to be heavily infused with Japanese culture. The crowd wasn’t super sold on it as they played tracks like Hansha off the aforementioned album Hikari but towards the end of the set, the mood picked up and the crowd did a double take when Oceans Ate Alaska delved into the depths of the music archive and played Vultures and Sharks from their 2015 album Lost Isles. Seemingly saving the best from their newest release ’til last they brought out the track Escapist and the solid breakdown and growing circle pit reinvigorated the room after a somewhat flatlining set.
Oceans Ate Alaska // By Alex Nisiriou
The real highlight of the night so far came from the two members of the crowd who mid-set realised they were wearing the same Architects shirt and proceeded to the bar to buy each other a drink.
Despite the energy faltering significantly during the Oceans Ate Alaska set, anything lost was nearly doubled when Silent Planet made their first ever Australian debut despite nine years in the scene. They opened with a new track off their upcoming album When the End Began which is due to drop later this year, in a joint venture through UNFD and Solid State Records. A band that has never been one to shy away from making a political statement, a lot of their most profound tracks were prefaced with an explanation or dedication for the song to come. Leading into Orphan frontman Garrett Russell launched into a heated discussion about the ongoing refugee crisis in the US and the inaction of President Trump. It was a refreshing change from the metalcore bands who attempt to use spoken word be progressive and poignant, compared to a band that lives, breathes and writes their music around a push for social change.
Silent Planet // By Alex Nisiriou
Silent Planet // By Alex Nisiriou
Their entire set was filled with a heartwarming contempt for society, and the apathy that comes with youth. The band was at no point trying to placate their fans through their performance, but give them a reason to stand up and fight. An absolute highlight of the set was the open discussion of mental illness that preceded the track Pychescape, bringing a raw honesty about the band’s’ own personal struggles with anxiety and depression. Silent Planet closed out a huge set with Depths II, and the band provided one of the most well-rounded shows, and the energy they set in the room would be hard for headliner Make Them Suffer to top.
Make Them Suffer // By Alex Nisiriou
Make Them Suffer // By Alex Nisiriou
With only a short gap between sets, Make Them Suffer had a long instrumental introduction that mainly consisted of a lot of strobes and people squinting to see if the band had actually stepped on stage yet. When Make Them Suffer finally kicked things off with their new single 27 and despite only being dropped two weeks ago the band performed it like a seasoned track. After the third or fourth track and what didn’t feel like a super energetic performance the band admitted they were all pretty tired from flying and playing shows, but as they led into Weeping Wastelands off their 2010 EP Lord Of Woe it was obvious the band made a conscious effort to try to kick things up a notch.
Make Them Suffer // By Alex Nisiriou
Make Them Suffer // By Alex Nisiriou
They delivered a strong set, with some wild breakdowns and some even wilder circle pits, with a nice throwback to their OG fans, they brought out tracks off their earlier albums like Widower which well and truly brought the energy back up to scratch. However, anyone present will tell you that the highlight of the night came just before the band performed their fake encore. It started slowly, and some of the crowd willed it to die, but before we all knew it, the majority of the room was cheering “SHOEY”, and not a band to back down from a challenge, frontman Sean Harmanis said “Welcome to Queensland cunt, fuck yeah!” and downed a beer that he’d poured into his shoe. Throwing his shoe right back on he mentioned already regretting it and something about having tinea, and the band launched right into what is arguably one of their best tracks Ether.
Catch Make Them Suffer with Silent Planet, Oceans Ate Alaska & Thornhill at the following dates:
Wed 15 Aug // Cambridge Hotel // Newcastle
Thu 16 Aug // Factory Theatre // Sydney (Lic/AA)
Fri 17 Aug // Corner Hotel // Melbourne (Sold Out)
Sat 18 Aug // Uni Bar // Adelaide (Lic/AA)
Fri 24 Aug // Capitol // Perth
