Album Reviews : Make Them Suffer – Lord of Woe

Make Them Suffer’s 2010 demo Lord of Woe is a breath of fresh air in a genre that is increasingly stagnating, but at the same time is frustrating in its inability to deliver a product that lives up to its potential. The band has been described in other reviews as “symphonic blackened deathcore” and, though this is clearly an absurd label, it is quite apt. The band have taken what is essentially a standard deathcore base- massive riffs, thundering drums and more breakdowns than a pregnant Parkway Drive– but added a number of elements that really make the band stand above their contemporaries.

The most apparent, and the most interesting, of these new elements is the attempted integration of a symphonic black metal sound- an attempt that works really well. Permeating the whole release is extensive use of piano and synths that play a whole host of functions, from simply providing a background atmosphere, to setting a dark and sinister tone for the rest of the band to play around, to going solo with either a soft piano melody or eerie synth walls. It is good to see keys that actually play a role in the music (unlike, say, Bleeding Through), without overpowering it or just sounding lame (as, say, Children of Bodom are guilty of from time to time). Also, to all haters of breakdowns, let me tell you that keys behind a good breakdown sounds sick. On that note, the band actually knows how to use a breakdown; firstly they insert them in the correct places of the songs and then execute them with a fast-paced, galloping style, making them just as good for a massive headbang as silly pit dancing.

Together with this we have the vocals of Sean Harmanis which range from a vicious death metal roar all the way through to the more black-metal-styled shrieks and are changing constantly through the songs. Harmanis’ vocals are one of the highlights of the release because unfortunately, for all that the band has tried to do something different, Lord of Woe’s five tracks all sound very similar. A release this short should be able to make its tracks quite distinguishable but after a good many listens even I am having trouble pulling them apart. This isn’t so bad in that all the songs are good, but getting to the end does feel like I just listened to a 25-minute deathcore song.

To anyone looking for a really interesting take on deathcore with a sick vocal display I would recommend this, but unfortunately the band really wants to make its songs much more distinguishable before it can start really grabbing people’s attention. 6.5/10

Band: Make Them Suffer
Album: Lord of Woe
Year: 2010
Genre: Deathcore
Origin: Perth, Australia
Label: Independent
http://www.myspace.com/makethemsufferau

Track Listing:

1. Summoning Storms
2. Lord of Woe <– Reviewer’s Choice
3. The Eternal Cold
4. Affliction of the Dead
5. Weeping Wastelands