Review by Daniel Boyle
Photos by Krista Melsom
On the back of last year’s self-titled release, Make Them Suffer have embarked on a national regional tour. It just happened that the winter solstice played host to a chilly Canberra evening. That didn’t stop the crowds with the crowd piling in the doors for a nearly sold out event.
Sydney’s Harroway kicked off proceedings having joined the tour for the New South Wales leg of proceedings. Led by the growls of Matt Banks, the band put their spin on the tried and tested balance of singing and screaming, with a big nod to fellow Sydneysiders Polaris. There were plenty of people in the room early and Banks demanded more movement from them. Bassist Jordan Sherriff continued prowling around the stage, with both guitarists chiming in with vocal duties. The band finished with “Heresy” which brought the level of heaviness up a notch.
The Gloom in the Corner were far from formulaic, with a wildness to their set. Led by Mikey Arthur on vocals, the band seem to flow through various musical styles within each song. With their sound described as cinema-core, there is a bit to unpack through every song. The crowd continued to build and there were plenty of heads banging down the front. There were some elements of metal, some hip hop inspired parts and some heavy breakdowns along the way.
Next up was Justice for the Damned and this was the set where the mosh really opened up. With new album Stay Relentless due out in August, the band previewed some tracks including the title track. Throughout the course of the set, Bobak Rafiee had the crowd in the palm of his hand. Circle pits sprung up when demanded, a cartwheel in the mosh was asked for and received and the band continued with high intensity throughout. Drummer Chas Levi kept a steady ship, blasting away throughout. With influences from bands like Bury Your Dead and Hatebreed with a little deathcore sprinkled over the breakdowns, the band had the moshpit activated right the way through.
While the crowd had been building steadily through the night, by the time Make Them Suffer kicked off with “Epitaph”, there was barely room to move. The band showed a tightness developed over constant touring. Since the Make Them Suffer album came out last year, they have traversed Europe and North America and on this regional tour play a show almost daily.
The band appeared through a haze which never completely disappeared, making it difficult to see all the members at times. You could certainly hear them, with the intertwining combination between Sean Harmanis and Alex Reade on vocals a real highlight of the evening. Harmanis spent much of the set up on the foldbacks building off the energy of the crowd, while the rest of the band was in constant movement.
From “Epitaph” they kicked straight into “Bones” from How to Survive a Funeral opening up with the growled “I can’t breathe and I’m terrified of falling asleep”. The band didn’t give much time for resting, powering through the tracks which mainly featured the new material. With singles being steadily released over the past few years, many of the songs would have been already familiar to many in the crowd. This was noticeable when the crowd shouted back “See you when you reach the bottom!” at the start of “Ghost of Me”.
Having been regulars on various festivals across the world, the band takes a few moves from these, such as having the whole crowd sit down before jumping up into action. This seems to be being demanded a little too regularly these days. There was also a pit of rowers which seems to have sprung up organically towards the end of the set.
The band certainly didn’t muck around with the end of the set, with Alex Reade up on the keytar and giving her full headbanging attention to the crowd. Make Them Suffer finished their set with the triple treat of “Soul Decay”, “Erase Me” and “Doomswitch”, which once again had the whole crowd shouting out the title.
After a very brief hiatus, the band returned to stage to wind back the clock with 2012’s “Widower” from debut album Neverbloom. Finishing off with this heavier track with the band in full movement and the crowd responding in kind.
Each of the bands showcased new material and commended the crowd for coming out in great numbers, with all of them claiming this night as their biggest in the capital. It was my first time seeing all of these bands and I’ll be keeping out a keen eye for their next visits to Canberra.