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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Make Them Suffer : " Worlds Apart"

Death Core or Metal core or whatever the kids are calling it these days is not typically my thing. It tends to be masturbatory and only focuses on aggression, basically today's version of mall metal. So I was surprise when the first track off this Australian band's new album caught my attention. They have a more organic feel. I understand why purists of the genre might not find them heavy enough, but I think that is there saving grace. The fact the clean vocals are female give this another dimension. I think what they do right is make heavy another color to make music with rather than the totality of what they do. Not to say they are not heavy in a metallic sense. The have gruff vocals that are screamed a forceful hardcore like manner. Not quite a death metal growl, that tends to come at the end of phrases. "Grinding Teeth" kinds breezed past me and didn't keep my attention after the melodic guitar intro as it went into the chugging and seemed like nu-metal. The songs begin working off more of a formula once we get to "Vortex". "Fire Works" might be more screamed but where the song goes finds a similar path though the melodies in the previous song are stronger.

The do develop more of a groove for "Power Overwhelming" . The more 90's metal thing occurs on "Midnight Run". I think this is because the way the male vocals are phrased in the verses come too close to rapping. It's not Bio-Hazard bad, but seems more focused on getting a pit going. The guitar do some clever tricks and their drummer is pounding it into the pocket, but that is what comes with the job description ,so I am not going to praise someone for something they should be doing in the first place. What I want to hear is what makes you stand out from the rest. "Dead Plains" is a pretty solid song for what it is. It is more on the death metal side. Then there is more of Myspace era core on the last song. I can hear where these guys step into more of a Dark Tranquility place, if we are talking about the Swedish band's more recent work.

I'll give this album a 7.5 , it's pretty decent for what it is and the most listenable album I have heard recently from this sort of thing.The reason it didn't score higher , for all it's strengths like the stellar production is what it is just isn't my thing so I don't think I would get much play out of this. If this is your thing you will probably round it up to an 8.