February 2026 Featured Release - The Revolution Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month's feature release for The Revolution, nominated by me (Shadowdoom9 (Andi)), is the 2012 debut album by Perth-based metalcore/deathcore band Make Them Suffer, Neverbloom. With the rising wave of symphonic deathcore going on, I thought it would be a good time to take a break from Lorna Shore and their current peers and look back at one of the earlier progenitors of the subgenre. Neverbloom was my favorite album in both symphonic deathcore and deathcore in general before Lorna Shore became popular, a throwback to Make Them Suffer's sound before beginning their transition to djenty metalcore. So let's dive into this epic greatness!

https://metal.academy/releases/7734

Here's my review summary:

With the deathcore scene rising and the metal community protesting over that scene because of lack of variation and talent, it can be hard for a deathcore band to actually get people to enjoy the genre. Australian band Make Them Suffer knows just what to do try to get some metal purists to give deathcore a try. The symphonic deathcore idea has already been created by Winds of Plague, but Make Them Suffer really unleash it to the world with a mind-f***ing gem, their debut Neverbloom! They were ahead of their time with epic deathcore tracks as massive as the ones Lorna Shore would make 10 years later, pretty much reaching the essence of perfection. The beautiful poetic lyrics are brutalized by the powerful screams of lead vocalist Sean Harmanis with a mighty voice ranging from black metal shrieks to death metal growls. The guitar work here is incredible too, as are the bass and drums. Keyboardist/pianist Louisa Burton is really talented, offering great soft piano contrast to the deathcore breakdowns and riffing, playing actual piano melody instead of just a few keys. Not to mention the Audiomachine/TSFH-esque symphonic synths. She also provided background vocals in a couple songs, similar to Skillet drummer/vocalist Jen Ledger in their album Awake. All in all, Neverbloom is a fantastic display of what the band has in store, and they helped deathcore continue going the right direction. The symphonic elements are excellent, never out of place, and they use actual riffing so they don't have to keep monotonously overusing breakdowns. A glorious album worth listening to for some of the most epic deathcore in the world!

5/5

Recommended tracks: "Neverbloom", "Morrow (Weaver of Dreams)", "Maelstrom", "Widower", "Chronicles"

For fans of: Lorna Shore, The Breathing Process, Winds of Plague

I probably sound like a broken record when discussing releases from The Revolution, but unfortunately there is just too much musical carnage going on here to allow my mind to get a grasp on anything. I already struggle enough with the busy nature of an awful lot of metalcore, but throw in the, seemingly unrelated, piano tinkling and the angelic female vocals into the mix alongside the interminably spasmodic chugging, the unrelenting triggered drumming and the two guys seemingly shouting at me as if to scold me for some unknown fault of mine, then my head is spinning in confusion and bemusement. This is just too much of a trial for me to get anything out of it and sometimes you just have to say "I guess this one just isn't for me, sorry." The gentle, movie soundtrack-like "Ocean of Emptiness" was actually a lovely little oasis of calm for me in the midst of all this chaos and was by far my favourite part of the album, although the following track "The Well" also offered a brief glimpse of something I could get a grip of with quite a chunky main riff and seemingly a little more direction than the rest of the album. But, that said, I am seriously going to need a couple of hours of funeral doom or drone metal to realign my head after this one. Sorry Andi, but I tried, I really did.

1/5

I have given Neverbloom around three spins over the past couple of days and it has grown on me, from my first impression at least.  When they settle down into rhythm and riffage, there are some genuinely entertaining moments for me. Tracks such as ‘Widower’ and ‘Maelstrom’ standout as being high points in this regard and I suspect there could be more of these moments if the arrangement was just a little better thought through.  I think the piano is perhaps the worst conceived part of the instrumentation, often it sounds like someone has started playing another track over the top of the current one and it does take a couple of seconds to reconcile that it is actually on the same track.  The synths stab perfectly well to create a sense of theatre and drama where they get deployed, but for a “symphonic deathcore” record, I find it surprising how little focus the symphonic elements actually get.

Vocally there is nothing here to surprise me as it seems to be pretty standard deathcore fare in all honesty, but it is the riffs that are my only real positive takeaway from this record.  They are by no means perfect, but they certainly do land a lot better than most of the rest of what is on offer.  I get the sense that Make Them Suffer had some good ideas going into this one, and I am of course giving them some rope as this was their debut.  However, the ideas never really shine as I suspect they could, appearing to be sacrificed by a confusing, if not outright disorientating arrangement problem that is something of a curse on the album I feel.

I listen to a lot of deathcore during my workouts nowadays and so I am perhaps a little more desensitised to The Revolution clan’s previous penchant to overwhelm this well-travelled metal head than I was some three or four years ago.  Although Neverbloom does not quite land all that well with me, I still enjoyed the discovery experience and could be tempted by a listen to a later album to see if they did improve at all.

2.5/5