Live Review: Make Them Suffer w/Resolve, Conjurer and If Not For Me at the O2 Academy Islington!

A sold out show is always a thing is beauty and tonight the O2 Academy in Islington is packed to the rafters for the return of Australian Progressive Metalcore merchants Make Them Suffer. Seven years after they last headlined a London show, tonight is a celebration of last year’s self titled album, a record which introduced new keyboardist and clean vocalist Alex Reade in place of Booka Nile and has gone on to surpass 64 million Spotify streams alone. That came about following an alignment between SharpTone Records and Greyscale Records, after the band celebrated their 10th anniversary with the almighty “Doomswitch“. What we’re not prepared for however is the length of the queue for merch which runs down the corridor and into the second stage room. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and to be fair, nothing says popular like a twenty plus minute wait for a t-shirt. It’s worth it. They promise.

Usually venues fill during the duration of the show with a good number of people arriving for the headliner alone, which is a crying shame because you never know when you’ll see a support band you’ve never heard of that will blow your socks off. However tonight isn’t one of those nights and as American R&B Metalcore quartet If Not For Me [7/10] take to the stage they’re greeted like returning heroes. An outfit who carry with them a certain nostalgic quality for the 2010 era and Fearless Records Punk Goes Pop style sounds with flavours of bands like Issues, they’ve got a vocalist able to mix up the stylings with cleans being his main focus as he muses on relationships. The band themselves have plenty of gut punch moments, bringing out all the tricks as they play with the melodic and the heavy, never afraid to hit us with a breakdown after a lush chorus. Given how well they’re received tonight and how polished their sound is, it won’t be a surprise to see them on bigger stages than this before too long.

The odd band our tonight are of course Conjurer [9/10] who are easily the heaviest on the bill and as if to rise to the occasion they deliver a set of pure blood and thunder. Eerie, haunting nuances perforate the songs as slab after concrete slab of rhythmic chug tear the audience in half. They’re just as brutal as the last time we witnessed them at Tech-Fest but here, on a smaller stage in a sweaty club they’re so much more intense. A festival length slot means they only get four or five songs to decimate the weak, “Warmth” seemingly the title of a brand new cut that swoops in after the majestically dark “Rot“. Before they depart the stage, they promise not only a new album for this year but also a release show in this city. As punishing as they are atmospheric, we expect that to be an absolute belter.

French Metalcore outfit Resolve [9/10] have blown up since releasing their album “Human” via Arising Empire and at this point, it’s safe to say that the World is very much their Oyster. If there are any naysayers in the crowd they quickly get beaten back by the barrage of staccato riff breaks, seismic bass and double kicks as the quartet go off like a firework in a venue that can barely contain them. Mid-set vocalist Anthony Diliberto asks the audience if they’re still with them and then asks them to prove it, a cleverly designed move which gets the biggest Mosh pit of their set. For at least one song guitarist Antonin Carré has a Go Pro attached to the headstock of this stringed implement of destruction with “Death Awaits” and “Of Silk and Straw” particularly good tonight. Perhaps the only surprise is that they don’t have any of the vocalists from the other bands on stage to join them for set closer “Older Days” but c’est la vie.

Seven years or so since they were last a headliner in this city Make Them Suffer [10/10] deliver the kind of show that puts other bands to shame. An incredible high energy output from the band, big enough to put a hole in your chest, is reciprocated by the capacity crowd as the non stop DJent fuelled riffage from Nick McLernon is met by a constant flow of crowd surfers. “Bones” is an early set sing-a-long as is a powerful rendition of “Uncharted” and there is a real emotive edge to the performances, as if it means more, the quintet clearly refusing to go down without a fight. At points the entire venue is a mosh pit, the spine juddering “Occillator” followed by the fierce “Weaponized” like the songs are conjoined twins, never to be separated. The rhythm section of Jaya Jeffery and Jordan Mather is as tight as ever, hammering the crowd with low end frequencies and pummelling percussion as “Soul Decay” erupts like a volcano. It’s all blood, sweat and spilled beers as each new song brings a fresh energy to the packed audience, cups getting thrown in the air as everyone moves. Arguably “Doomswitch” gets the biggest reception, going off like a cannon before the crowd roar the chorus back to Sean Harmanis. The surprise is the unclean backing vocals from Alex Reade who had previously delivered some lush moments during the set but has since morphed into a firebrand. Cries of “one more song!” don’t fall on deaf ears and the band return to the stage for one final swing of the sledgehammer, bringing out “Widower” to bring the curtain down for real. A triumphant from a band who deserve all the attention they’re currently getting, their future is looking so bright it will burn your retinas.