On March 3rd at Gramercy Theatre in New York City, Make Them Suffer Played their 9th sold-out show, which was unforgettable, to say the least. The night started with Avaina, who did an amazing job setting the mood with mysterious masks, beautiful blue lighting, and progressive guitar rhythms. For those who are unfamiliar with Avaina, they are a Swedish band that signed to Arising Empire. They made waves with their album ‘Polarise’ in 2017 with their hit album ‘Solar,’ which was streamed over 3 million times on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. The band consists of their lead singer, Joel Holmqvist, who is the ex-vocalist of Walking With Stranges and Oceans Red. The other members are now unknown, which adds to the lore and mysterious direction the band has been moving towards. What we do know about the other members is that they are known as “Fear” and “Death,” and the drummer is known as “Dark.”. The band is known for its unique white masks and black outfits inspired by their new single “Storm Ablaze” released at the end of January. Avaina took the crowd by storm with their stage presence and amazing cleans and lows. At one point, they had the crowd get low before their breakdown. The whole set, the crowd was screaming back their lyrics and formed multiple pits. Their set was an amazing mix of mystery and chaos as the crowd went crazy with mosh pits and crowd surfers.

To follow that, Windwaker took the stage with unmatchable energy. Some of you may know Windwaker from their support tour with Beartooth and Thornhill on Beartooth’s Disease Tour back in July 2018. They are an Australian band signed to Fearless Records and are known for their catchy synths and creative lyrics and melodies. The band consists of Laim Guinane on vocals, Indey Salvestro on bass, Chris Lalic on drums, Justin Keurnjes on lead guitar and rhythm, and Connor Robins “The Synth Master” on keyboard/DJ. The band recently released a new single called “Break the Rules,” which has catchy synth patterns and an even more infectious chorus. Their performance matched everything they represented during their set; they had bright, vibrant blues and greens on display with some white strobe lights. Laim was very high energy, moving from one side of the stage to the other, keeping the crowd entertained the whole time. As soon as the first song started, the crowd surfers and moshers were awoken and making themselves known. It was a very high-energy set, and we look forward to when they come back.

After Windwaker, Like Moths to Flames took the stage and got the crowd riled up with their heavy breakdowns and commands to the crowd. Like Moths to Flames is a metalcore band from the state of Ohio that formed in 2010. They are signed to UNFD Records, which is home to bands like Erra, Invent Animate, Thornhill, and many others. Their recent album was The Cycle of Trying to Cope, which is a masterpiece from start to finish. Just like their album, their sage presence matched. From the orange and green lighting to the high energy, they kept the crowd entertained the whole set. From having the crowd jump up and down to the waves to the banter in between songs, their performance was unforgettable, and I can't wait to see what the band does next.

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At this point, the crowd was ready to go and waiting patiently for Make Them Suffer to hop on stage. Make Them Suffer is a band out of Australia. No surprise there is so much talent coming out of Australia. They are currently signed to SharpTone Records and released a self-titled masterpiece of an album called “Make Them Suffer.”. This album consists of popular songs such as Doomswitch, Mana God, Epitaph, and many more. The album has strong breakdowns and flows very well from start to finish. It is very cohesive and has some DeJenty riffs toward the end of the album. The band consists of Sean Harmanis on lead vocals, newest addition Alex Reade on vocals and keyboard, Nick McLernon on lead guitar, Jaya Jeffrey on bass, and Jordan Mather on drums. For this tour, the band has sold out the first 9 shows and counting, and their fans are very excited and hyped for them to perform. The line before doors was wrapping almost 2 blocks, not to mention the massive lines at the merch table even during the set.

After 15 long minutes for a changeover, the music starts, bright white strobe lights kick on, and the crowd goes insane. Before anyone hits the stage, the crowd shifts, and the pit forms. A circle pit ensues as the band hits the stage, and a surge of people push forward as Sean hits the stage, and it begins. The first song, ‘Epitaph,’ starts, and so do the crowd surfers. One after the other, at one point 3 at a time, one wearing a Teletubbies costume and another wearing light-up shoes. At this point, Security is working overtime and requesting backup for the number of crowdsurfers. The lights go from the white strobe light to solid red with some white flashing and a bunch of fog. The breakdowns get heavier; the crowd is screaming the lyrics, and the Moshes are going crazy. In the middle of their set, they play ‘Weaponize.’ The lights change from red to green, and the lead guitarist, Nick McLernon, starts running from side to side, jumping, Alex's headbanging heavier and heavier, and Sean hyping the crowd up. Towards the end of the song, Sean signals a Wall Of Death. The crowd splits, and as the breakdown hits, the wall closes. Insanity ensues. Moshers are going, people are pushing forward, and crowdsurfers are going crazy. This continues until the end of their set with no pauses. The crowd was so hyped from start to finish. After their set, they come back out for an encore and play ‘Weaponized.’. One of my favorite songs, and from talking to people in the crowd, I'm not the only one. They proved that by making their last song one to remember, the moshers went the full song, and crowd surfers continued to fly forward. The crowd screams their lyrics back as they finish their set. The drummer comes to the front and throws sticks in the crowd, and with that, the set is over, and a herd of people surges towards merch. It was an amazing night from start to finish with amazing sound, lighting, and infectious energy. I look forward to seeing them come back along with their fans.