Having risen back to the top of their game and beyond. Lorna Shore haven’t set a foot wrong since To The Hellfire propelled them back into the limelight in 2022. From the phenomenal Pain Remains to last years blistering release, I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me. The band have been going from strength to strength over the last few years. So, when their UK tour rolled around this week. With support from Humanity’s Last Breath, Shadow of Intent and fellow deathcore champions, Whitechapel. We jumped at the chance to check it out at London’s famous Alexandra Palace and the o2 Academy in Birmingham.
With four bands on the bill it’s early doors at the o2 Academy and we’ve only been inside a few moments when the house lights suddenly drop. Confirming we’ve made it just in time to catch tonights first act, Humanity’s Last Breath (8). Pioneers of the ‘thall’ sound, which is perhaps best described as melange of doom and black metal. Heavily seasoned to taste with equal measures of Swedish deathcore and djent. The four piece from Helsingborg start things off with Väldet. A lumbering, malevolent track that wouldn’t sound out of place on a level of Dante’s Inferno. Building to a crescendo of bowel rattling riffs from guitarist, Buster Odeholm.
For our money though, as impressive a dissonant wall of sound as Buster and his cohort, Tuomas Kurrika build with their guitars. It’s drummer, Klas Blomgren who’s man of the match for us. Not just for his impressive footwork on Abyssal Mouth, which also gives us the first and most definitely not the last blast beat of the night. Or for his ability to lean back into the colossal groove of Labyrinthian with ease. It’s his mastery of filling emtpy space and knowing exactly where to leave it. Accentuating every doom laden riff and droning chord in just the right place.
Admittedly, there isn’t a great deal of crowd interaction from vocalist, Fillipe Danielsson. Who growls his way through the majority of their set from beneath a hooded robe. Remaining shrouded in mystery while he showcases his monumental guttural range. Humanity’s Last Breath aren’t really that kind of band though. They’re clearly focused on crafting an atmosphere of dread and angst so thick you could cut it with a knife. Making them the ideal band to start the evening off and setting a suitably devlish tone for the rest of the night ahead!
After a quick changeover, it’s time for Shadow of Intent (8) to take to the stage and the change of pace is both immediate and savage. After the slow grooves of their predecessors, the lightning fast technicality of tracks like They Murdered Sleep and Flying the Black Flag hits us hard. Ticking all the traditional deathcore boxes that Lorna Shore themselves were well known for. Making it obvious why the four piece from Conneticut have been invited to join them for this tour.
There’s more to Shadow of Intent than just by the numbers breakdowns and blast beats though. Once our ears adjust we begin to pick out shades of Dimmu Borgir. Which are particularly prominent during tracks like Vehement Draconian Horrors. As well as some more melodic metalcore influences, which really help to elevate their sound beyond the basic nuts and bolts of the genre. Making Shadow of Intents set an unexpected treat.
Whoever is running the lighting desk for Shadow of Intent deserves a special mention too. As they make the most of every available lumen and spotlight in the o2 Academys arsenal to enhance the sense of chaos on stage. Syncing the strobes so perfectly with Bryce Butlers manaical drumming that he appears to be switching places between beats as if by magic. As well as bathing the now raging mosh pit in light at every available opportunity.
Perhaps it’s their frenetic pace. However, it doesn’t feel like long until vocalist Ben Duerr is calling the audience to arms for Shadow of Intents final track, The Heretic Prevails. Which, thanks to some extremely tasty licks from guitarist Chris Wiseman, hypes up the crowd one last time. Bringing their set to an appropriately furious end.
With two awesome support acts behind us and Lorna Shore still ahead. It’s entirely too easy to forget, as we almost did, that Whitechapel (9) are waiting in the wings. A band that could easily pack out this venue in their own right. Much like tonights headliners, the Tennessee natives have been enjoying something a resurgence recently. Thanks to a duo of of pulverizing studio releases in the form of The Valley and their most recent album, Hymns of Dissonance.
As soon as they kick in to Prisoner 666, the step up in stagecraft and experience is immediately apparent. Phil Bozeman, arguably one of the most versatile vocalists in metal right now, coaxes the sold out crowd into bellowing the chorus along with him with practiced ease. Beaming from ear to ear as the circle pit grows ever larger at his feet. While Alex Wade and Ben Savage trade riffs from opposing sides of the stage, adding more and more high gain fuel to the fire. Raising the temperature in the venue considerably.
As is to be expected, with this being their first full Euorpean tour since its release last year. Hymns of Dissonance takes up the lions share of the bands setlist. They throw in a few old school numbers for good measure though. Pulling Devirgination Studies, Prostatic Fluid Asphyxiation and The Somatic Defilement out of their back catalogue. Which Bozeman jokes are all probably older than some of the fans in the room. Simultaneously bringing a smile to our faces and making those of us that were around in those earlier days feel old beyond our years and aching feet.
With sweat beginning to run down the walls and Whitechapel’s slot coming to an end. The only real disappointment is the glaring omission of fan favourite, The Saw is the Law. The absence of which leaves an otherwise brilliant set feeling oddly unfinished. Despite This is Exile providing a more than ample swansong in its stead. We’ll just have to hope it makes the cut if Whitechapel return for a headline tour of their own in the near future!
With our ears already ringing and the audience unironically belting out the words to Bonnie Tylers Total Eclipse of the Heart. Its time to take our place for Lorna Shore (10). Who erase any hope that we’ll be leaving the o2 Academy tonight with our hearing intact as soon as their kabuki curtain drops. Turning the volume and the atmosphere in the room up to eleven as they kick in to Oblivion. Laying waste to the sold out crowd. Turning the entire floor into one massive mosh pit and threatening to shake the very foundations of the building.
They may not have the dazzling pyrotechnics on hand that they brought to London’s Alexander Palace. With tracks like War Machine in their back pocket though; a song that’s making its live debut on this run. They have more than enough explosive punch to rock any venue without them. As well as an inate ability to send any crowd completely feral at the same time. It’s such a full on assault on the senses in fact, that the word heavy almost ceases to have any meaning at all.
That doesn’t mean Lorna Shore have succumed to the hard faced image that is often associated with relentlessly heavy music though. Whether it’s bringing out long time tour photographer Nick Chance to help out on vocals during Sun//Eater. Or the lighthearted way in which Ramos addresses the crowd between songs. There’s an air of unity and for want of a better word, fun about the whole show that juxtaposes the sheer brawn and mind bending complexity of the music itself.
Their latest album, I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me has definitely spawned a couple of new live anthems too. Glenwood in particular goes down an absolute storm. As do Obilivion and Unbreakable, which have quickly found their home at the top of the setlist. The new material slotting in perfectly between tracks from Pain Remains as though the two records were written as one cohesive work.
As the night goes on, it becomes increasingly clear that Lorna Shore are all but ready to take this show to much larger venues. Not just thanks to an upgrade in their overall stage production. Which brings a whole new visual element to their performance. Or the bands well honed, impactful delivery of every single track. It’s the fervour in the crowd and the way in which these songs have become weapons grade anthems that makes it obvious. Especially during the twenty minute finale of Pain Remains I, II and III. Which brings the house down in the most epic way possible.
The stage now bathed in darkness, it isn’t long until the chanting begins and the band return for an obligatory face melting encore of To The Hellfire. Putting a brutal full stop at the end of a show that further cements their position at the apex of the genre and heavy music as a whole. Making us grateful we managed to see them in a venue this small for what might be the last time. As well as wonder what kind of carnage Lorna Shore might be capable of in a larger one!
Humanitys Last Breath – Facebook/Instagram
Shadow of Intent – Facebook/Instagram
Whitechapel – Facebook/Instagram
Lorna Shore – Facebook/Instagram
Photos by RDH Photography captured at the London Alexandra Palace show.
