Into The Festering Everblack With Lorna Shore

The streets of Las Vegas were in a downpour as the desert monsoon season was fully underway and rain clouds filled the night sky. However this storm wasn’t enough to keep fans of the extreme metal act Lorna Shore away. Gathering inside the Palms Resort & Casino, shaking off the rain, people began to shuffle inside the Pearl Theater for a night of extreme metal music.

Touring in support of their new album I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me, Lorna Shore also brought out on the road with them The Black Dahlia Murder, Shadow Of Intent, and Peeling Flesh. First up on the roster was Peeling Flesh. Now unfortunately, due to some insane traffic caused by the storm, I arrived a few minutes late to the venue and missed out on the first couple songs. However, I was still able to capture a few shots from the crowd. The mosh pit was already moving and Peeling Flesh grooving. Despite their short time onstage, they didn’t waste a single second, playing a constant barrage of low crushing guitar chugs that you just can’t help to bang your head along with.

Afterwards came Shadow Of Intent. About a week prior, their vocalist Ben Duerr had to drop out of the tour momentarily due to his wife expecting the birth of their son. The band brought in Adam Mercer, the ex-vocalist for a band named A Wake in Providence, to handle vocals in the meantime, alongside their bassist Andrew Monias who was also providing back up vocals. I can’t imagine the challenge of being called on such short notice to replace a vocalist, having to learn their songs lyrics with minimal rehearsals with the band, but Adam Mercer was a perfect fit. His vocal range really fit with their songs without sounding too different. Their setlist was composed almost entirely of new songs off their latest album, Imperium Delirium, with the final song, “The Heretic Prevails,” being the only exception.

The Black Dahlia Murder *(Alberto Villalobos)*

Following them were the death metal band, The Black Dahlia Murder. Having been around since 2001, I’ve been fortunate to have seen them play a couple times before. However this was the first time I would be seeing them with their new vocalist Brian Eschbach since the unfortunate passing of co-founder and frontman Trevor Strnad. From the moment they came onstage it was a constant barrage heavy, fast, and melodic of guitar riffs. The band brought a high infectious energy, and the crowd matched in turn. Despite having gone through a devastating loss, the Black Dahlia Murder shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

And finally it was time for the main event, Lorna Shore. Ever since Will Ramos officially joined the band as their new vocalist in 2021, this band has quickly gained a massive following. This was on full display as the entire packed out theater was buzzing and eagerly awaiting in anticipation for the band to take to the stage. A few moments later, the stage curtain dropped, revealing the band members onstage as well as a two story backdrop of LED panels brightly illuminating the stage and venue. They immediately launched into two brand new songs from their latest album, “Oblivion” and “Unbreakable.”

Will Ramos’s absolutely insane vocal range was the main highlight of the performance, effortlessly going from deep gutturals to high shrieks, and even some animalistic, almost inhuman noises. Blending their style of heavy deathcore with prominent symphonic elements, alongside some lyrics discussing dark subject matters such as loss, grief, and mental health issues, their music has a way of packing a heavy punch, both sonically and emotionally. One of the more emotional moments of the show was during their performance of “Glenwood,” which talks about Will Ramos’s estranged relationship with his own father. A personal favorite of mine from their new record, it’s songs like that, which despite being about a personal matter, can still be relatable to an audience and bring everyone closer in that moment, that hit the hardest.

The entire band had a towering presence onstage, playing their instruments with the tightest precision. Guitarist Adam De Micco was also a stand out on stage, flawlessly delivering a masterful performance of their songs technical guitar solos and lead melodies. Their “last” song was “To The Hellfire,” which quickly became a viral sensation upon its initial release, and was definitely a crowd favorite. After a few moments, the band came back onstage announcing that instead of just playing one more song as an encore, they would be playing three more songs. This was referencing the three part song entitled the “Pain Remains Trilogy,” the closing tracks of their album Pain Remains.

As the show ended, Will Ramos thanked the crowd for being a part of one their biggest tours yet, having their biggest stage production so far. And he also called upon their bassist Michael Yager to remain on stage. Will announced that it was Michael’s birthday and the entire band and audience began to sing “Happy Birthday.” A small cake was brought out from backstage and Michael blow out his candles and then jokingly pretends to throw it at the audience. However, the crowd quickly began to cheer for the cake to be thrown and so Michael throw it into the crowd, to everyone’s uproar and laughter. Bringing to a close a night full of some of the best modern death metal and deathcore has to offer. Lorna Shore had left everything onstage and put on a performance that only left everyone waiting for them to come back soon.