A band fluent in endurance and innovation, thriving against varying states of flux for over a decade, it’s in 2024 that Make Them Suffer have arrived at their most galvanised era to date, today releasing their brand new self-titled album, out now via Greyscale Records and SharpTone Records.
A full-circle moment, Make Them Suffer’s self-titled album spans 11 tracks of inventive ferocity, with the five-piece in unwavering control of their sonic identity. Bound with lashings of melodic light and blistering shade, the album also fearlessly steps into new creative terrain.
Accompanying the release of their brand new self-titled record, today Make Them Suffer have also shared a new visualizer for the album’s closing track, “Small Town Syndrome”.
“I really like the lyrics,” shares vocalist Sean Harmanis of the album’s closing track. “It’s describing someone trying to flee their hometown. They live in a small town and everyone’s always watching you and talking about each other, so there’s this paranoia and this sort of fear surrounding all of that.”
“That song’s pretty much about Perth. I like that lyrical content, and on the flip side, it’s just very fun to sing.”
Tracing its origins back to 2022, the new Make Them Suffer era was first set in motion by the announcement of Sean Harmanis (vocals), Nick McLernon (guitar), Jaya Jeffery (bass), and Jordan Mather (drums) joining forces with Alex Reade taking up the role of backing vocalist and keyboardist, aka Make Them Suffer’s trademark “Fifth Member”. Reade’s addition was also accompanied by a vortex of heaviness in the form of the band’s 2022 single Doomswitch, ushering in a ravenous new Make Them Suffer chapter; a dynamic return to heavier terrain bolstered by bold new elements, and a voracity that spoke to the abrupt creative hibernation surrounding the release of their 2020 album “How to Survive a Funeral”, as well as the band’s overall changes and challenges to reach this incredible point in their career.
Self-produced alongside returning collaborator Jeff Dunne (Disturbed, Ice Nine Kills, Fit For A King) on engineering, mixing and mastering duties, the album that would become Make Them Suffer sprouted from arrangements conjured at home, with the group eventually flying to Portland to record on site with Dunne in a short two week window between tours.
The final 11 tracks lying in wait throughout Make Them Suffer’s expansive sonic palette traverses everything from metalcore savagery (The Warning), through to caustic deathcore (“Mana God”), palpitating vehemence (“No Hard Feelings”), frenzied melodic dexterity (“Venusian Blues”), and piercing earworms (“Tether”). And in quintessential Make Them Suffer fashion, the self-titled album encompasses a variety of hard-hitting lyrical content, including post-doomsday ruminations, abandonment, resentment, mental health, and anger, all woven with unbridled authenticity reflecting the band’s shared professional and personal experiences.
“The end product of this album is the amalgamation of all of our years of hard work, experimentation, and experience,” shares Harmanis. “It represents a new chapter, but it’s also one that we’ve been building and working towards for our entire careers.”
“This ultimately feels like the gateway album into Make Them Suffer.”
In 2024 alone, Make Them Suffer have continued their world domination with an almost entirely sold out Australian tour supporting Bring Me The Horizon with Sleep Token in April, a run of European and UK festivals, including Download Festival, Copenhell, and Jera On Air. The band also recently ticked off some of their biggest headline shows to date with their Suffer Forever Australian tour, selling out Brisbane, Newcastle and Melbourne and joined by special guests Bury Tomorrow, Spite and Bloom, and will next appear onstage for a headline show in New Zealand before supporting Bury Tomorrow in the UK and Europe.
Forming in 2008, Make Them Suffer roared to life armed with ferocious deathcore leanings before stamping their name on the heavy scene with lashings of melodic flair via their 2012 debut full length Neverbloom. From here, a fearless pursuit of creative exploration would see the group morph from local Perth favourites into stalwart fixtures on the world stage, expanding their reach into melodic death metal, heavy metalcore, symphonic elements and beyond.
Previously releasing four studio albums, including 2020’s How to Survive A Funeral which debuted at #17 on the Australian Charts, Make Them Suffer have amassed millions of streams, performed sold out headline runs, and toured the globe alongside a horde of industry heavyweights, including Bring Me The Horizon, Sleep Token, Parkway Drive, While She Sleeps, ERRA and Stray From The Path.
