Lorna Shore // Pain Remains // Album Review

The year that was 2020 saw not only huge challenging for the world as the pandemic slowed the world down, but for Lorna Shore it also signalled a new beginning.

As Will Ramos joined the five-piece to take over the vocal duties, everything seemed to click into place and the Deathcore machine began to fire up. The new lineup also saw a change in the bass playing position as Michael “Moke” Yager.

The EP …And I Return to Nothingness was released in 2021 which just stoked the hype machine as the tunes on that release was stunning and now, we have the first full-length release.

Between the EP and this release, Lorna Shore has been heavily investing their time in live shows, I saw them at Bloodstock Open Air and fuck me, they crushed it. I was already excited about this album and then the live performances showed that they can do it live as well.

So, the new album, does it live up to what has been promised so far?

Let’s get the mundane stuff out of the way, there are 10 songs on the album and it spans around an hour.

Now the interesting stuff and let’s cut to the chase. The album is a fucking banger!

From the start, the music is powerful, emotive and raw. The samples that have been chosen are beautiful and perfectly placed as the instruments behind are tested to within an inch of their lifespan. The blast beats are crippling and the new vocals are bang on.

As the tracks progress through the release the layers of skin will be stripped from your body as the sonic assault whips over you like a hurricane.

There are a few tracks that have already been released, such as ‘SunEater’ which I have, to be honest, is one of my favourite tracks in recent memory and my concern was that others on the release wouldn’t be much up to it. That fear has been allayed as all tracks are at the same level of brilliance and brutality.

This is one of the best releases in recent memory and I can’t wait for the pre-order to land so my neighbours can enjoy it as much as I do!

Any fan of Deathcore simply must get this. Any fan of extreme and brutal music also needs to get on the Lorna Shore train. Granted there are some elitists that will aim criticism their way through ignorance, but that’s their loss so let’s now waste any time or energy on those people.

Pain Remains is the best release of 2022 so far and it’s going to take some beating.

Ed Ford

Pain Remains will be released Friday 14^th October 2022 via Century Media.