Deathcore giants Lorna Shore said farewell to Australia with an explosive performance at Brisbane's The Fortitude Music Hall at the weekend.
Lorna Shore have skyrocketed to success in recent years, thanks to their invigorating contributions to the deathcore and extreme metal scene (with a little help from ongoing virality). Frontman Will Ramos has fascinated, scared and impressed the masses with a voice that has invoked medical research and summoned demons alike.An act who have been active for over 15 years, Ramos' presence alongside their 2021 single 'To The Hellfire' has catapulted the New Jersey quartet, reaching thousands of new fans through inescapable discussions surrounding how exactly one makes that noise; Lorna Shore have receive their flowers and are now stampeding across the globe.
In what is their first expedition to our part of the world, Lorna Shore recruited Floridian core-heavy deathcore upstarts Bodysnatcher, with national support from local export To The Grave.
With sellout status across all shows of the tour, Brisbane's The Fortitude Music Hall (22 February) serves as the largest, by a measly thousand fans – a moment highlighted later in the evening by Ramos, nonetheless.
Taking to the stage with a primed crowd through To The Grave's opening endeavour success, Bodysnatcher started heavy, and believe it or not, finished that way. The Floridians burst onto stage to driving toms and chugged guitars before launching into their hardcore-centric iteration of modern metal.
Bodysnatcher - image © Clea-marie Thorne
The quartet bounced and threw their heads alike as they delighted fans to a set not only encompassing their most known tracks such as 'Take Me To Hell', 'Infested', 'Ego Killer' and 'Black Of My Eyes', but with a ferocity and enthusiasm reminiscent of the most memorable of community hall gigs (albeit to a higher calibre).
The energy was as raw as the distorted guitars and gravelly screams it accompanied, with the ecstatic punters returning the favour by way of mosh-pit enthusiasm. Where this band shines brightest, was the execution and delivery of such a professional performance without the bells and whistles we know (and love), maintaining a raw and true-to-origin semblance.
With lyrics darker than the dissonance it lay atop of and the palpable mosh-goers, it was a busy night for venue security. In no way suggesting this was the fault of any act of the evening, it was a semi-regular site from my vantage point of punters being walked, wheeled, and even uh. . . scuffled out?!
If there is a bigger (begrudging) accolade to an extreme metal artist than having overzealous fans giving it their all, then I'd love to see it. For what it's worth, this was an ongoing theme that impacted the backend of the evening.
Closing out with everyone's favourite intro one-liner, 'King Of The Rats', the band invited attendees to spend one final evening with them the following day at a standalone headline show, sharing the love with Newcastle's Volatile Ways, who would be in support.
As promised at the top of the review, finishing on this heavy high-note brought Bodysnatcher's Brisbane debut to an end.
If selling out a 3,000 capacity venue isn't enough of an indicator of the excitement and anticipation of Lorna Shore taking to the stage, then the experience of being shoulder-to-shoulder firsthand would surely suffice. It was packed from the front row in the pit to the back of the mezzanine – the people were ready!
Lorna Shore - image © Clea-marie Thorne
From darkened shadows, Ramos and associates burst forth with fire and destructive fury immediately, delivering blistering technicality across all instruments and crushing breakdowns filled with ambience and appropriate silence.
Helmed with an enigmatic herald of the underworld, there is an immediate shift in the energy in the room as ungodly growls fill the fold-backs. Unable to be unstated is the immediate impact felt through the insane proficiency of drummer, Austin Archey.
With a flurry of hands and feet alike, Archey puts on a drumming masterclass that's undeniably cool despite the fandom of heavy music – he is a machine. This unrelenting intensity, flourished with tight chokes and huge tempo changes laid a foundation strong enough to support and withstand the carnage of the accompanying guitar work.
Guitarist Adam De Micco plays with incredible precision and speed, matching the audacious tempos delivered from Archey. Tracks such as 'Sun//Eater' showcase the fantastic versatility and musicality from De Micco, ranging from wailing ambient leads to tightly syncopated and technical riffs, to absolute fretboard bullshitery.
Lorna Shore - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Although realistically, there are few moments throughout this vivacious set where this isn't happening – it truly is balls to the wall.
Prior to the beginning of 'To The Hellfire', their seventh song of the evening, Ramos thanked the crowd for their patronage and support, wishing the fans a safe evening, announcing this will be their final song of the evening. No one's buying it Mr. Ramos, you've left a couple of the hits unplayed still.
Regardless, the room burst forth full of energy at the climactic introduction to the band's iconic hit. Similarly to each other respective instrument of the evening, a pitch-perfect performance was delivered by deathcore's golden child of beast noises, Ramos.
The shrill and scrawling high range serve in juxtaposition to the disgustingly gurgling lows fans are treated to with but a moment's notice. It's understandable why modern technologies are interested in understanding exactly how this is done, as the screams and sounds produced are truly otherworldly.
With the arrival of the infamous Goblin Scream – an undeniable highlight of the evening for many fans alike – the room exploded with cheers and screams. While this band's set list and back-catalogue are equally packed with highlights, this one particularly, evidently holds a special place in many of our collective hearts. It would be a truly fitting end to the evening if we weren't in fact being misled.
Lorna Shore - image © Clea-marie Thorne
After several minutes of a darkened stage and a stagnant venue, Ramos and team reemerge and to absolute uproar of fans, announce they have three more tracks for the evening: 'Pain Remains' parts 1, 2 and 3.
Even an eagle-eared enthusiast would have noticed the shocking exclusion of at least one of these trio of songs, so the inclusion of one of these as an encore came as no shock. However, all three – what an absolute treat (although I'm sure a set list construction nightmare with a run time of 20 minutes combined).
In what is an intense and emotional composition, the 'Pain Remains' trilogy is a journey through grief and sorrow. While as extreme, technical and dynamic as the majority of their catalogue, the themes and literation of these three tracks have been touted as some of the most powerful displays of sorrow within this huge genre.
Penned by De Micco and (obviously) delivered by Ramos, there is an underlying personal affliction attached in its delivery, as I'm sure is amongst the masses as they share this catharsis. With that, the huge evening of some of the heaviest music in circulation in a venue like the Music Hall comes to a close – what's not to love besides the house lights rolling on and the overflow into the Valley!?
More photos from the concert.
