You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.
Arguably the biggest deathcore act in the world right now, Lorna Shore have transcended their scene’s core fanbase and divisive reputation. There was always something special about the New Jersey aggressors, even releases such as 2017’s Flesh Coffin showcasing their symphonic scope and unapologetic technicality.
But it was the full-time addition of frontman Will Ramos in 2021, with his ear-splitting roars, squeals and screams upfront, that truly set them on the fast-track to stardom. As it stands, Lorna Shore seem to be on the road to arena-sized success.
After their first song with Will, To The Hellfire, went viral in 2021 – followed up by acclaimed album Pain Remains the following year – they got a support slot with Gojira and Mastodon. So it would be understandable if they took the pedal off the metal and trimmed their tracks to guarantee their ascension.
They’ve not done that. Instead, the five-piece have returned with I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me: the Lorna Shore-iest wallop of maximalism they could have conjured up, every bit as long, dark and melodramatic as its title.
It’s a reach towards extremity in all of its forms, from its 66- minute run-time with just 10 songs to the near-constant speed and its sky-high stack of strings. Opener Prison Of Flesh lays down the over-the-top gauntlet. Its ominous pounding and creeping strings sound like the build-up to a Michael Myers murder, before the band abruptly kick off.
Drummer Austin Archey doesn’t just rampage at borderline inhuman pace, he does so for a Herculean seven minutes, and with each kick and snare landing with the subtlety of a thermonuclear attack. All the while, Will is the same destructive dynamo he’s always been. Even in a mix that bombards with texture after texture of orchestral bluster and disgusting riffs, he more than holds his own.
There are no clean vocals to speak of, either, despite his recent cover of Sleep Token’s The Summoning taking the internet by storm and offering yet another excuse for this band to go softer should they have wanted to.
The eight-minute-plus Oblivion and the uber-bombastic In Darkness continue with barely a second to breathe in between, yet there are still standout moments amid the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it maelstrom. The bridge of Lionheart has a breakdown heavier than a dying neutron star, Death Can Take Me pairs Will with backing choirs to apocalyptic effect and War Machine hits with rapid, start-stop riffs suggesting In Flames if they were on meth.
By the end of Forevermore, a 10-minute giant that’s an operatic movement as much as it is a metal song, I Feel The Everblack… feels worthy of a standing ovation. This is a statement of defiance and individuality at a career crossroads where so many other bands have taken the easy path forward. Big things will almost certainly come on this album cycle – and this lot will have the satisfaction of knowing they achieved them by catering to no one’s expectations but their own.
I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me is out now via Century Media. Lorna Shore are on tour in North America from September 17, and tour the UK and Europe in February 2026. For the full list of dates, visit their official website.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
