Make Them Suffer – Gig Review & Photo Gallery 25th May @ Princess Theatre, Bris QLD

Posted on May 29, 2023 by andrewkapper

Make Them Suffer
Princess Theatre, Brisbane, QLD
May 25th, 2023
Support: Fit For An Autopsy, Ocean Sleeper

Make Them Suffer’s 2012 debut Neverbloom saw the Perth group quickly leap the would-be and stake their claim as one of Australia’s most promising new heavy acts. Beyond that, the record’s blackened deathcore sound was still very much a new subgenre, putting Make Them Suffer, along with North American contemporaries Abigail Williams, Carnifex and Winds of Plague, on the cutting edge of a fresh metal style. The combination of monster breakdowns, lush orchestrations, frost-bitten blastbeats and tremolo-picked guitar work added a new flavour to the then-already stagnating deathcore genre.

It’s only fitting that Make Them Suffer have decided to pay tribute to their breakthrough LP on the 10th anniversary of it’s debut. Though the band’s sound has evolved greatly over the last decade, this Australian-exclusive tour promises not only a full run-through of their most extreme material – but a chance for their longtime fans to bid this era goodbye. As if this wasn’t enough to entice Aussie heavy music buffs, joining Make Them Suffer are American powerhouse Fit For An Autopsy and fast-rising Aussie’s Ocean Sleeper. With the first date of the tour long sold out, Brisbane’s Princess Theatre is buzzing with anticipation as the black-clad masses enter the historical venue.

With half an hour to work with, Ocean Sleeper gets the night started, taking to the stage to an already packed house. Their melodic-metalcore is warmly received, and creates a bit of movement in the pit, but the four piece seem like a little bit of a strange choice for the national support. Heavier cuts like ‘Hate Me Like You Mean It’ get the biggest reactions, whereas their very pop-rock newest single ‘Never The One’ – drenched in backing tracks – sticks out like a sore thumb. Not to critique Ocean Sleeper’s sound too much, but in a highly saturated national/international market, they will have to do a bit more with their by-the-books metalcore stylings to stand out. Perhaps focusing on the style featured on ‘Never The One’ will be the key to the group forging their own identity.

Having toured Australia with their own headliner back in July of last year, the Fit For An Autopsy machine has not stopped one iota. With a huge welcoming roar as they take the stage to the intro of ‘Higher Level Of Hate’, you could be forgiven for thinking that FFAA are this evening’s headliners. While the mix is a little rough through their performance – although Josean Orta’s underrated drumming powerfully stands out – it’s not enough to dampen the heaving crowd. ‘Black Mammoth’, ‘Iron Moon’ and newest song ‘Hellions’ are all rapturously received, and it’s obvious that Fit For An Autopsy has been hitting the road very hard over the last 18 months. Their material is certainly not entry-level on the musicianship front, but the five piece are airtight throughout their far too short 40-minute set. But, again, they’re well seasoned pros at this point, and there is not an ounce of fat or drop of wasted energy across their truncated showing, with frontman Joe Badolato comfortably directing the pit with his every whim. Australia has been lucky to catch FFAA twice on the back of their excellent 2022 album Oh What The Future Holds. Judging by how they’ve been received both times as headliners and main supports – and with the band’s stock in general rising – we’ll no doubt see Fit For An Autopsy on our shores again in the near future.

Taking to the stage to the strains of the Neverbloom opener ‘Prologue’, our headliners Make Them Suffer receive a hero’s welcome to the Princess Theatre, before launching into tonight’s furious titular title track. With the group playing their massive debut front-to-back for the first time – literally the first time as Brisbane is the tour’s premiere – we’re treated with a bunch of killer tunes hitting the stage for the first time in years. With a proper headlining stage set up, and an immediately improved live mix, Make Them Suffer effortlessly dust off some of their oldest material with great aplomb. The circle-pit inducing ‘Maelstrom’, anthemic ‘Elegies’ and massive ‘The Well’ – whose breakdown absolutely levels the crowd – sound as powerful and vital as they did back in 2012.

The most straight up black metal selection from the album – and night – ‘Weeping Wastelands’ originally arrived as the closer of their very first EP Lord of Woe. It shows the musical growth of the band even in the years between that EP and their debut full length, highlighted by Neverbloom’s huge ‘Widower’ – it’s starting crowd-led vocal call-out fills the venue – showing Make Them Suffer’s refocus onto tailor-made live moments and beefy grooves. Frontman Sean Harmanis’ seems chuffed to bits with the excellent reaction for their earliest material, and although highly energetic throughout, seems to be missing the power in his shrieks – which is a bit of a shame as that vocal style really does lend itself so well to the blackened material. Wrapping up the main portion of the set with the record finale ‘Chronicles’, the following two song encore of Make Them Suffer‘s newest material, ‘Doomswitch’ and the live debut of ‘Ghost of Me’, is a nice way to have one musical door close and another open. The stylistic change over the years could not be any starker – almost any black metal influences have been wiped away completely – and while a few punters begin to file out after Neverbloom’s conclusion, the die-hards make sure they give every ounce of energy til the end. A special evening for fans and artist alike, the kick-off date to Make Them Suffer’s Neverbloom anniversary tour in Brisbane is undoubtedly a resounding success for all involved, and a fantastic celebration of a major highpoint in Australian heavy music.