If you’re chasing the best Make Them Suffer songs, you already know this Perth five-piece doesn’t do anything halfway. Since forming back in 2008, Sean Harmanis and company have spent close to two decades stitching together deathcore brutality, symphonic keys, and honest-to-god pop songwriting into something that shouldn’t work on paper but absolutely slaps on headphones. I’ve spent way too many late nights with this discography, and I keep coming back to the same conclusion: nobody else in the genre balances savagery and melody quite like this band. So let’s dig into the 20 tracks that define them, from their 2012 debut through the 2024 self-titled record.
Neverbloom
The title track from their 2012 debut album, released on Roadrunner Records, is where the blueprint got written. “Neverbloom” throws blackened tremolo riffs against Heather Menaglio-era piano lines, and the contrast still hits hard more than a decade later. It’s raw, a little unpolished around the edges, but that rawness is exactly what makes it feel like a genuine document of a young band figuring out their identity. On a cheap phone speaker it loses some of its bite, but throw on a decent pair of over-ears and the layered vocal trade-offs between clean and unclean really open up.
Widower
Also pulled from the Neverbloom era, “Widower” leans harder into the symphonic deathcore side of the band’s sound, with orchestral swells acting almost like a horror-film score underneath the breakdowns. The drumming here is relentlessly technical, all blast beats and sudden tempo shifts, which was a hallmark of the band’s earliest, most extreme phase before they started smoothing out their arrangements. If you’re building a workout playlist that needs a jolt of aggression, this one still delivers.
Blood Moon
Taken from 2015’s Old Souls, produced by Roland Lim and released through Roadrunner, “Blood Moon” marks the point where the band’s songwriting started getting noticeably tighter. The chorus is genuinely catchy, which was still a slightly controversial move in deathcore circles at the time, and the mix gives the keys real room to breathe instead of burying them under guitar walls. Lyrically it leans into cosmic, almost gothic imagery, a theme the band would keep returning to.
Ether
Released as a standalone single in 2016 before later appearing on the Old Souls & Lord of Woe reissue, “Ether” is one of the most important transitional songs in the catalog. It’s the track that signaled the band’s move toward Rise Records and a more melodic, radio-friendly direction without sacrificing heaviness. The vocal interplay between clean and harsh delivery feels genuinely emotional rather than gimmicky, and it’s aged remarkably well against the current metalcore landscape.
Uncharted
From 2017’s Worlds Apart, the band’s official Rise Records debut, “Uncharted” experiments with electronic textures layered under the guitars in a way that felt ahead of its time. You can hear the influence of the era’s growing djent and progressive metalcore scenes here, but the symphonic keys keep it feeling distinctly like Make Them Suffer rather than a genre exercise. It’s a deep cut that rewards repeat listens, especially through a solid set of studio monitors or closed-back headphones where the low-end programming doesn’t get muddy.
Save Yourself
Another Worlds Apart highlight, “Save Yourself” is where the band’s pop-songcraft instincts really start to show. The verse-chorus structure is almost anthemic, built for festival crowds to scream back, and it reflects the world tour energy the band was chasing that year alongside acts like Wage War. There’s a real sense of urgency in Harmanis’s delivery that keeps it from ever feeling formulaic.
Hollowed Heart
Released as a standalone single in 2019 ahead of How to Survive a Funeral, “Hollowed Heart” is one of the band’s most confrontational tracks lyrically, taking direct aim at abusers and the damage they leave behind. Musically it’s brutal and unflinching to match, trading some of the symphonic polish for pure aggression. It’s the kind of song that hits differently live, where the crowd response tends to turn into something closer to catharsis than entertainment.
Erase Me
The lead single from 2020’s How to Survive a Funeral, produced by Drew Fulk (known for his work with Motionless in White) alongside Jeff Dunne, “Erase Me” helped push the band toward their most commercially successful release, which cracked the Australian Top 20. The production here is noticeably cleaner and more radio-ready without losing the band’s teeth, and the hook is one of the stickiest in their whole catalog. If you’re curious how mastering choices shape a track like this, comparing the mix across different playback gear via a headphone comparison guide is a genuinely fun exercise.
Bones
Track three on How to Survive a Funeral, “Bones” is a tightly wound three-minute burst that leans on tempo changes to keep the listener off balance. It doesn’t have the same streaming numbers as some of the album’s singles, but longtime fans often point to it as a sleeper favorite because of how efficiently it moves between sections. There’s no wasted space here, which says a lot about how disciplined the band’s arranging had become by this point.
Drown With Me
Released as the album’s second single in April 2020, “Drown With Me” is, in the band’s own words, a love song twisted into something dark and unsettling. Recorded in Los Angeles with Fulk, the track pairs Alex-era… well, actually Booka Nile-era keys (her final album with the band) with some of the most emotionally direct clean vocals in the discography. It’s a genuine mood piece, the kind of song that lands best late at night on headphones rather than blasting through car speakers.
Soul Decay
The third and final pre-release single from How to Survive a Funeral, “Soul Decay” leans into the record’s more grounded, personal songwriting approach. Where earlier albums built elaborate sci-fi and fantasy narratives, this one is direct and confessional, and the arrangement mirrors that honesty with a stripped-back verse structure before the chorus opens things up. It’s a strong example of how the band uses dynamic contrast rather than sheer volume to create impact.
Fake Your Own Death
Buried a little deeper in the How to Survive a Funeral tracklist, “Fake Your Own Death” doesn’t get talked about as much as the singles, but it’s got one of the album’s most interesting rhythmic pockets. The interplay between Jordan Mather’s drumming and the guitar syncopation gives it a groove that’s almost danceable in a deathcore context, which isn’t something you can say about most bands in this space.
That’s Just Life
Closing out How to Survive a Funeral, “That’s Just Life” ends the record on a note that’s more resigned than triumphant, and that emotional choice says a lot about the album’s overall tone. It’s less flashy than the singles that preceded it, functioning more as a mood-setting closer, but the vocal layering in the final chorus is genuinely one of the more understated production highlights on the whole record.
Contraband (feat. Courtney LaPlante)
Released as a standalone single in 2021, between How to Survive a Funeral and the self-titled album, “Contraband” pairs Harmanis with Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox, and the chemistry between the two vocalists is honestly one of the best guest-feature moments in modern metalcore. LaPlante’s melodic runs slot in perfectly against the band’s heavier instrumentation, and the song’s massive online reception (it remains one of their most-streamed tracks) reflects just how well the pairing worked. This is one I’d recommend testing across different earbuds if you want to hear how the vocal blend translates outside a studio environment.
Doomswitch
The lead single from the 2024 self-titled album, released in October 2022, “Doomswitch” marked keyboardist and co-vocalist Alex Reade’s debut with the band following Booka Nile’s departure. It’s a bold reintroduction, heavier and more djent-inflected than anything before it, and Reade’s vocal presence immediately feels essential rather than transitional. Meanwhile, the production (helmed by guitarist Nick McLernon himself) has a noticeably tighter low end than the Drew Fulk-era material.
Ghost Of Me
Released in May 2023 as the album’s second single, “Ghost Of Me” earned some of the strongest listener scores of the entire self-titled era, and it’s easy to hear why. The chorus melody is enormous, practically built for arena singalongs, while the verses keep enough grit to remind you this is still a deathcore band underneath the hooks. On the other hand, it’s also one of the more accessible entry points for listeners new to the band who might find the earlier, more extreme material intimidating.
Epitaph
Dropped in April 2024, “Epitaph” continues the self-titled album’s push toward tighter, more compact songwriting. It’s got a driving, almost mechanical rhythm section that plays against the atmospheric keyboard textures Reade brings to the table, and the contrast keeps the track from ever feeling static. Nick McLernon’s self-production really shows here in how clean the separation between guitars and keys stays even during the busiest sections.
Oscillator
Released in August 2024 alongside the album announcement, “Oscillator” is arguably the heaviest cut on the self-titled record, built around a genuinely unsettling, almost industrial rhythmic motif. It’s the kind of song that benefits enormously from a good low-end reproduction system, since a lot of the track’s tension lives in the sub-bass and kick drum interplay. In the car with the volume up, it’s borderline overwhelming in the best way.
Mana God
The final pre-release single, dropped in October 2024, “Mana God” is where the album’s ambition really crystallizes. Frontman Sean Harmanis has spoken about how writing this record’s tracks (this one included) felt like everything finally clicking after years of lineup changes and stylistic experimentation. It earned some of the highest listener scores of the album cycle, and honestly, hearing the full band chemistry lock in like this after so many years is genuinely satisfying as a longtime fan.
The Warning
Opening the 2024 self-titled record, “The Warning” sets the tone for the whole album in under three minutes, front-loading the record’s djent-leaning riffs and Reade’s keyboard textures before the record’s heavier tracks take over. As an opener, it does exactly what it needs to: announce that this version of Make Them Suffer, five albums deep, still has something to prove. If you’re building out a full listening session, browsing more picks like this over in the songs category is a solid way to keep the discovery going.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Make Them Suffer’s most popular song?
“Contraband,” featuring Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox, is widely considered the band’s most-streamed and most recognizable song, largely thanks to the crossover appeal of pairing two distinct vocal styles on one track.
What genre is Make Them Suffer?
Make Them Suffer are generally classified as symphonic deathcore and progressive metalcore, blending death metal aggression, blackened tremolo riffing, and orchestral keyboard textures into a sound that’s shifted toward more melodic, radio-friendly songwriting over the years.
When did Make Them Suffer release their self-titled album?
Their fifth studio album, Make Them Suffer, was released on 8 November 2024 through SharpTone Records, and it was the first full-length to feature keyboardist and co-lead vocalist Alex Reade.
Who are the members of Make Them Suffer?
The current lineup includes Sean Harmanis on vocals, Nick McLernon on guitar, Jaya Jeffery on bass, Jordan Mather on drums, and Alex Reade on keyboards and vocals.
Is How to Survive a Funeral the band’s best album?
It’s frequently cited as their most commercially successful record, having reached the Australian Top 20, though opinions are genuinely split among fans between that album’s accessible songwriting and the more extreme, symphonic aggression of earlier releases like Old Souls.