Make Them Suffer : "s/t"

 The Perth-based band hopes to transcend the bounds of deathcore with their 5th album. It is a more polished affair, though the vocal growled vocals are still present there are more vocal colors in play, putting them alongside many of the more commercially minded metalcore bands who have risen in ranks over the past few years. "Oscillator" is pretty much nu-metal. Which works in terms of songwriting. This is the direction most of these bands are going, these guys are just doing it well with sun female vocals handling the hooks in an almost radio-ready fashion. It is hard to fault these guys for writing songs rather than beating you in the head, even if there is more of a mainstream formula in place. 

"Doomswitch" has the guitars doing progressive gymnastics with some of the fleet-fingered turnarounds. They jerk you around like a roller coaster, but it is not as catchy as the previous song. Once we get to "Managod" it feels like they are back to bouncing off more of a formula. It does have a groove and does not suck, but does not feel all that original. "Epitaph" hits with a wall of sound. There is no denying this album is well produced but almost produced too well for their own good. The sung vocals feel a little bright and a more organic production might have made this feel darker. It feels pretty bright and the lyrics are given a hopeful quality this kind of music should not have because of this. The electronic elements mixed in work well, but this would sound more industrial if it were done with more grit. Instead, we are getting Myspace metal. 

The female vocals lead into "No Hard Feelings" almost giving a more rock feeling until they dig into the pummelling.  She is good at adding a poppy hook to counterbalance what they are doing so nothing wrong with that. Here it points them in the nu-metal direction. There is also more rock in the drive to "Venusian Blues" Her vocals work best on this song as she is singing in a more sultrier lower register, so it takes some of the brightness out. "Ghost of Me" offers a more typical pounding, that is not unlike what Code Orange does when they are still playing just with a more core breakdown. There are sung male vocals on this one which is a different touch, though they are just a brief refrain. 

"Tether' has a strong vocal hook, but rides more of a metallic middle ground. "Small Town Syndrome" hits harder and still makes the most of melodic nuance. I will give this album an 8.5, not the most original thing, but they are becoming better songwriters. I think this is hard enough for their fans to embrace the change as they are more than likely already listening to this sort of thing. Drops November 8th on SharpTone Records. 

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