Interview: Nick McLernon of Make Them Suffer – Spotlight Report
We recently caught up with Nick McLernon, guitarist of Perth-based metalcore giants Make Them Suffer to discuss the band’s eagerly awaited self-titled album, set for release this November. Known for their intense live shows, Make Them Suffer is ready to take the Australian metal scene to the next level with this upcoming release.
In this interview, Nick shares how the band embraced a hands-on, self-produced approach. He also reveals the impact of collaborating with renowned producer Jeff Dunne and offers insights into the inspirations and challenges that shaped their latest work.
SR: Make Them Suffer’s self-titled album drops on 8th November. What can you tell your longtime fans about the new material?
NM: The new album is raw and authentic, representing the band’s adversities since we started coming back two years ago, ever since the release of Doomswitch. I feel like we’ve found our final form, but we’re still Make Them Suffer.
SR. I read that the album is self-produced alongside returning collaborator Jeff Dunne (Disturbed, Ice Nine Kills, Fit For A King) on engineering, mixing, and mastering duties. What was behind the decision to produce it yourselves, and did you handle most of the production?
NM: The decision to self-produce wasn’t intentional at first. When Doomswitch was written, the band was still in lockdown in different parts of the country, so we didn’t have the option to work with a producer. We had self-produced a record before, Worlds Apart, although I don’t often mention it because we were still learning the ropes. Working in the studio with Drew Fulk on the How To Survive A Funeral record gave us the step up we needed to learn how to harness the tools for self-production. Doomswitch was, in a way, a last-ditch effort to keep the band alive. We were just coming out of lockdown and decided to write and communicate our music over the internet. It was written in my home studio, and when it was released, the reaction was unanimously positive, giving us the confidence and encouragement to self-produce the rest of the record.
SR. You just released the song “Mana God.” Do you find it a hard song to play with the many stop-go patterns?
NM: I find it one of the easier songs to play on the record. The stop-go parts are what we’re good at, and we focus on making our songs fun to play live. When you watch the band play live, the songs seem more authentic. That’s the idea behind a lot of our writing these days; we’re always thinking about how we’ll appear when playing these songs live. We want them to be fun to play rather than difficult and technical, where people might struggle to understand them. So, I’d say the song is relatively easy to play.
SR. Do you watch any of the reaction videos on YouTube when a new MTS song drops?
NM: I don’t watch them all as there are so many but there are some that I do like to see.
SR. Did you try anything new in your approach compared to previous records? Were there any guitar techniques or tunings you experimented with on this record? How did that influence the album’s sound?
NM: This is our first record using a seven-string guitar, so we’re tuned a lot lower. The instruments are quite different from our regular six-strings, almost like playing a different instrument. It forces you to perform in a different style, creating a different energy, if you will. We try something new with each record, but I’d say this factor is pivotal in shaping the sound of this album and differentiating it from the others.
SR. Are there any tracks from the new album that you’re excited to play live?
NM: I’m looking forward to playing all of them, to be honest. They’re all written to be performed live. There isn’t a single track on the record that I feel unsure about playing live. I often use this analogy: when you listen to songs through speakers or headphones, you’re experiencing the music three-dimensionally. But when you see the band perform live, it adds a fourth dimension because you’re experiencing a different type of energy. It becomes more than just an auditory experience; it’s audio-visual, combining into something more immersive. That’s why people say, “This band is great live,” or “That song sounds even better live,” because it’s written for the stage.
SR: Your live shows are now a true Aussie metal institution and are known for insane mosh pits. Good Things Festival was one of the wildest ones I remember. What’s the wildest Make Them Suffer show that comes to mind, and why?
NM: There have been many, but a recent one that stands out was Copenhell in Copenhagen, Denmark. It wasn’t just because the audience was completely packed, with people flipping over each other’s heads throughout the whole set—though that’s fairly standard for a high-energy performance. What made it even crazier was that we were on the smallest stage at the festival, at around 2:00 p.m., one of the opening acts. The stage was tucked away at the corner of the festival grounds, and 30 minutes before our set, there were fewer than a dozen people across a 100-metre stretch of grass. But when we came on, the area was packed from front to back. There are videos of it online somewhere, but that experience holds a lot of meaning for the band given the context behind it.
