MAKE THEM SUFFER - EP review added 15th February 2011
EP Review: Lord Of Woe EP (2011)
For fans of: Symphonic Death Metal... and sitting on the throne
Make Them Suffer - Sean Harmanis on vocals, Cody Brooks on guitar, Chris Arias on bass, Tim Madden on (real) drums, and Heather Menaglio on keys - hail from Perth in Western Australia. The band formed in October 2008 and released a self-titled four track demo in January 2009.
Their sound is deepest darkest death metal with lots of demonic screams, super-fast synth drums and a layer of symphonic piano-based majesty draped over the top. They are somewhere in the middle of Emperor, Job For A Cowboy and Richard Clayderman...and that's not necessarily meant in a bad way. The combination of stupidly inaccessible metal with concert hall piano is genuinely interesting and gives the whole shebang a gothic ambience. The main surprise is the fact that the band come from Australia, not a cold, bleak part of Scandinavia.
There isn't a huge amount between the songs quality wise. No individual track stands out, but that's mainly because they are all really decent. Thing is, this style of music does not generally lend itself to catchy choruses and big hooks anyway - it's the overall atmosphere that matters - and "Lord Of Woe" has that in spades.
In Summation:
This is an interesting take on extreme metal. The piano is good, the fake drums are silly. Worth a punt if this genre is your thing.
Entertainment/Enjoyment:
Musicianship:
Vocals:
Song Writing:
Production:
Overall (Not An Average Of The Above):
Check out... That piano.
Track List:
01. Affliction Of The Dead
02. Lord Of Woe
03. Summoning Storms
04. The Eternal Cold
05. Weeping Wastelands
Artist's website(s): MySpace | Facebook
