It can’t be said enough, Australia is leading the scene in the realm of metalcore. With acts such as Parkway Drive, Northlane, In Heart’s Wake, Polaris and Thy Art is Murder, redefining and further perfecting the genre, metalcore is in great hands. One act that learns the rules, only to break them and eventually reinvent them is Make them Suffer.

From opening numerous stages all over the world with fellow acts in the genre, their new album How to Survive a Funeral shows that they are ready to take the world by storm. This album conveys imagery, emotion, intensity, atmosphere and technical excellence like no other. Sean Harris delivers aggression behind his screams that will insight the most brutal of moshpits, and lyricism that is relatable and is able to be open to interpretation or engaging to the point where a listener wants to be informed on the subject matter. Keyboardist, Booka delivers clean vocals and keyboards that bring serenading and emotional melodies that will make you shiver, cry and smile all at the same time. Nick delivers the most intense riffs you have heard in this genre, and Jaya and Jordan serve as the ultimate rhythm section to the group. In the end, Make them Suffer made every song, minute, and second count. This record is easy to digest, easy to relate to and easy to get lost in. We feel every song deserves to be analyzed as everyone plays by its own rules, but worked so well in one concoction of an album. Signing with Rise Records who are a key label in pushing this genre forward, they are locked and loaded.

Opening up with Step One, It sets a very beautiful and unsettling and mesmorizing tone that will make the listener instantly indulge in the inevitable impact that lies ahead. Half way through, just when you think it’s a standard soft intro track, the growls and vocals instantly pull you into a realm of screams and super down tuned riffs. In a track that’s just less than 2 minutes, they unleash all out relentlessness and demonstrate so much. Falling Ashes delivers all out destruction and chaos that is unleashed on the ears with a sustained scream that pulls you in full force. The vocals unleash pure sonic brutality like no other while they keys deliver an underlying melody behind it. This track has a consistent momentum that is fulfilling and groovy. In the end, it does what Step One does but in reverse. It pulls back and delivers mesmerizing keys with great serenading and emotional melody and some dialogue as well before kicking in once list time. Bones unleashes the scream of “I Cant Breathe”, perfectly representing the times that we are living in now, it starts the track off with the most uncompromising effect of this genre. We get the first take of melodic vocals serving as one of the main points. It doesn’t slow the song down or interrupt the flow. It makes it stronger, more intense and more emotional than ever. Drown with Me delivers an amazing rhythmic buildup followed by more down tuned riffs. This is a straight up crowd killer that unleashes the sound of pure sonic violence. This time, the clean vocals change the vibe a little bit. It adds as a soothing and gentle melody that guides you through the intensity. The contrast demonstrated on here is perfection.

Erase Me starts off with the keys that lead you in change the vibe when the brutality kicks in again. Starting off with these melodic tendencies make the aggressive ones have more emotion and sensitivity. It is the sound of pure emotional darkness. The contrast is further demonstrated when the clean vocals kick in again. It stood strong as a single, and stands just as strong with the rest of the album. Soul Decay is when all the harmony that was built up in the last two tracks is instantly shattered. When this kicks in, the groove and hardcore grit comes back with a vengeance and continues the intense momentum. The melody is still prevalent on here but it merges with the intense vocal style. Fake your Own Death The heaviness is turned up even more. Riffs are more intense and growls are pulling no punches. Super fast, raw, intense and technically. This track is more riff and driven and intensity than having melody. We get into the title track How to Survive a Funeral, which has groovy and suspenseful leading you in, the flow of intensity is easy to keep up with but then it instantly pulls back for the clean vocals to gently take the spotlight over mystical keyboards. It almost seems alternative in this turn combined with something that is epic. For the title track, they showcased all sides of themselves technically and emotionally. The Attendant, which isvery somber and subtle, the guitar notes that gently leads you in sets for a beautiful ballad. It is mesmerizing, melancholy and mystical. When everything kicks in at once, it serves as a ballad. The clean vocals harmonize and deliver goose bump inducing melodies that immerse you into a realm of imagery. It gives you a chance to catch your breath but still keeps the darkness present. This ballad easily serves as the best metalcore ballad since Killswitch Engage’s End of Heartache. Ending with That’s just Life, which continues the formula of suspenseful leads, bracing you for the harmony obtained to be shattered once again and it does exactly that. Full on intense groove that delivers all out brutality and ends the record on the most intense of notes. Some clean melodies are carried over that make the track seem more epic, before fading into obscurity. This concludes the 10 track emotional masterpiece, How to Survive a Funeral by Make them Suffer.

With the times that we are living in, creativity and music that is relatable is needed more than ever right now. Make them Suffer easily created a soundtrack to the internal and external turmoil that we are all currently plagued with. Almost as if the world itself wrote this album. Whether you like this album or not, in the end, it is part of the world we live. Make them Suffer delivered an album where every millisecond counts and will leave any lover of this genre coming back for more. Having elements of contrast and balance, and creating a sound that is brutal, melodic, emotional and chaotic, Make them Suffer has done everything one could want from an album of this genre and then some.

Out on Rise Records 6/19