Make Them Suffer - Gig Review & Photo Gallery 5th September @ Forum, Melb VIC

Make Them Suffer
Forum, Melbourne VIC
September 5, 2024
Supports: Bury Tomorrow, Spite, and Bloom.

My introduction to Make Them Suffer began with ‘Doomswitch‘. That track was the beginning of their current era and kickstarted my passion for the band. I dove into their discography and have seen them live 12 times, most recently at their biggest sold-out headline show to date. The air at the Forum was rife with anticipation about the kind of next-level performance one of the best names in metalcore would present. Such a momentous occasion could only be sweetened further with some excellent supports, such as UK metalcore band Bury Tomorrow, LA deathcore giants Spite, and fellow Greyscale Records superstars Bloom.

Bloom returned to the Forum in style, showing that they are more than capable of nailing these big stages on top of the smaller venues. The band launched straight into an emotionally charged performance featuring older tracks such as ‘The Service‘ and ‘Cold‘, alongside bangers from their tremendous debut album Maybe In Another Life. The melodic singalongs to ‘You & I‘, explosive movement during ‘Bound To Your Whispers‘ and breakdowns during the iconic ‘Siren Song‘ were a pleasure to bear witness to. Personally, I would’ve loved to have seen ‘Carve Yourself Into My Lungs‘ on this set, however, I still loved the selection we got. Screaming and singing these words back to such an energetic and grateful act added to the catharsis that any Bloom fan present would’ve experienced. The openers’ job was done and the crowd was raring for the next act.

Nothing could’ve prepared us for Spite. Even after catching their first Melbourne headline show at Stay Gold, the sonic destruction that Spite brought to the Forum was next level. From the opening notes of ‘IED‘ and a communal yell of “SPITE CULT MOTHERFUCKER”, we were assaulted by a frenzy of riffs, machine gun drums and demonic vocals for 30 minutes straight. Spite’s high-octane music was matched by energetic frontman Darius Tehrani, who gorilla pounded the ground, made faces, and slid into his role as a performer like a hand into a glove. The breakdowns were heavy as fuck, and my favourite track ‘Kill Or Be Fucking Killed‘ was played. I relished the opportunity to scream those words with the rest of the crowd, and I found myself thinking after their set that this was the best deathcore performance I’ve seen live to date. After their Melbourne headliner featuring awesome local bands Terminal Sleep, Body Prison, and Hate Complex, as well as a second Forum performance to a sold-out crowd, I hope a Spite headline tour is a more likely possibility than ever.

Bury Tomorrow‘s performance was my first introduction to that band. Going in completely blind to their tunes and seeing six members on stage, I was curious as to what I was in for. These guys are masters at crowd interactions, as the vocalist and other members took opportunities to give the audience orders and demands to follow throughout their timeslot. One of these orders was to continuously crowd surf during ‘Black Flame‘, and I swore Bury Tomorrow were ready to bury me. The constant wave of bodies over the barrier lasted the duration of the song, and I considered tapping out of the prime position I claimed at the start of the evening. I stuck it through and I came away impressed with the dynamics of the six person performance. It’s a challenge to get two people to work well sometimes, but to have six musicians perform so well on stage shows professionalism and dedication to the craft. No wonder they had such an active fanbase in the audience.

Make Them Suffer opened up their 15-song performance with ‘Epitaph‘, a fast-paced belter that set the tone for their anticipated performance. I love that this song gives a chance for keyboardist and co-vocalist Alex Reade to showcase her awesome clean vocal skills throughout the chorus. She was able to demonstrate her keyboardist skills throughout ‘Uncharted‘, in the melodic opening and alongside her vocal delivery. The high level of production was apparent, and a lot of credit is due to those behind the scenes who contributed. Drummer Jordan Mather and Alex were elevated on platforms fronted by displays which acted as a join to the main display behind these members. The visuals for each song were dynamically themed and added to the spectacle of lights, CO2 and pyro on display. For example during ‘Vortex‘, it looked like you were going through a wormhole. Nick McLernon’s iconic riff opened ‘Ether‘, one of the most nuanced tracks of the Make Them Suffer’s catalogue. As a technological visualiser appeared, the band shredded through their latest single off their upcoming self-titled album ‘Oscillator‘.

The effects incorporated and vocalist Sean Harmanis’ infectious on-stage energy prompted crowd surfers and breakdown appropriate walls of death. Jaya Jeffery’s punctuating basswork kept dialling things up throughout ‘Ghost Of Me‘ and ‘Soul Decay‘, before a chill moment in ‘The Attendant‘. These two tracks from How To Survive A Funeral were fucking unreal. We did the thing where we waved our phone lights during ‘The Attendant‘, while Sean and Alex gave some of the most heartstring-pulling performances of the night. Straight into ‘Hollowed Heart‘ we went, as Sean demanded circle pits to get things moving again. We were thrown back to 2015 with the daunting darkness of ‘Blood Moon‘. Jordan’s punchy drums echoed pure power throughout the venue before we got the fan-favourite performance of ‘Contraband‘. To fulfil the guest feature aspect, Daniel Winter-Bates, the vocalist from Bury Tomorrow jumped on stage to scream alongside Sean, generating a violently ecstatic crowd response. One of my favourite songs ‘Erase Me‘ was up next, if only for the finale where we all get to chant and scream at the top of our lungs. I was out of breath from all the crowd surfers, but hearing the voices of the people around me rejuvenated me and I felt a sense of poignancy as I rose up and yelled “Why would you save me, I’m not worth saving”. The finale of ‘Erase Me‘ has been solidified as my favourite part of Make Them Suffer‘s performances and I hope it doesn’t go away for a long time. ‘Doomswitch‘ seemed like an appropriate near-final pick to play for the night, given it’s the first single of the current era of the band. Alex taking the keyboard into a keytar stance will never get old. Speaking of old, a throwback to Make Them Suffer’s beginning was in order. After a planned encore, a standout from Neverbloom reared its head in the form of ‘Widower‘. After witnessing this on last year’s Neverbloom Anniversary Tour, I never thought I’d experience this heavy hitter live again, let alone at the Forum. What a fucking huge way to harness any pent-up energy left in the audience, and light up the room with pure musical prowess.

Sean mentioned that Make Them Suffer has been a band for 15 years that have been on the verge of pulling the plug and going their separate ways a few times. Thankfully they’re happy to be here doing these incredible shows, and as fans, we’re stoked too. An ongoing message regarding their upcoming self-titled album is that this is the definitive version of the band. After taking in this world-class headline performance, alongside all of the incredible support bands, I agree. Setting a high standard for their upcoming album, I can confidently say that Make Them Suffer are in the best shape of their career. Their headline show cemented this, and it was a pleasure to bear witness to such a historical gig. Once the embodiment of their hard work is released upon the world and they start touring the record, I know Make Them Suffer will continue to dominate the world.

Review by Tyler Lubke. @huntsman421

Setlist

Epitaph
Bones
Uncharted
Vortex (Interdimensional Spiral Hindering Inexplicable Euphoria)
Ether
Oscillator
Ghost of Me
Soul Decay
The Attendant
Hollowed Heart
Blood Moon
Contraband
Erase Me

Encore

Doomswitch
Widower

Photo Gallery by Adam Portelli. Insta: @adam.ellia
Please credit Wall of Sound and Adam Portelli if you repost.

Bloom

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‍SPITE

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‍Bury Tomorrow

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‍Make Them Suffer

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