Western Australian metalcore outfit Make Them Suffer recently returned with their new single Doomswitch after a prolongued absence from the scene.
Not only is it the band's first new music in an age, Doomswitch also sees Make Them suffer welcome new member and former Drown This City vocalist Alex Reade.
Doomswitch is everything you would expect from Make Them Suffer - and more.
Reade joined HEAVY to chat about the new song and how her addition to the line-up came about, starting with the early reception to the new track.
"Honestly, it's been so good," she smiled. "It's been such a surprise because there was so many elements to consider with the song. The band had been on a bit of a hiatus for a couple of years - because of COVID and obviously losing a member - changing a member, changing the sound a little bit, introducing a new instrument and I didn't really know how it was going to be received. I was bracing myself for a healthy amount of negative feedback, and there's none. It's so positively received where I'm sort of at the point now where I want the negative feedback (laughs)."
Doomswitch is a crushingly heavy song, with Reade going more in depth as to the musical direction the band were going for.
"I was not involved in the songwriting for Doomswitch," Reade explained. "I came on when the song was written. There were parts written for me by Nick and Sean, who are an amazing songwriting team, so I got to come in - which was a really nice experience for me, to not have to write, and you're your own worst critic - so I think it's better than anything I've written in the past. It was a breath of fresh air to sing someone elses songwriting. Obviously we introduced the keytar in to Make Them Suffer, which is definitely fresh. In the past there's been a heavy presence with keys, but it's just been a keyboard or piano. Now I've introduced the keytar, introducing synth and samples so it's pretty cool. It's like a new experience for me stepping away from being a frontman and stepping in to being more of an instrumentalist, but I really like it."
In the full interview, Alex talks more about Doomswitch, the visually stunning music video, joining Make Them Suffer and how it came about, her role in the band moving forward, her vocal sections with Sean and how they came together, their current tour, future plans and more.