ALBUM REVIEW: Immortal – Lorna Shore

Not long before the release of their latest album, LORNA SHORE found themselves in a difficult situation. Circumstances saw them part ways with their newly recruited vocalist with some questioning whether they should release an album with his contributions on it. Scrapping the album at that stage would have surely resulted in this entire album cycle being a loss for the band so it is totally understandable that LORNA SHORE would want to push ahead with the release of Immortal.

The album itself sees LORNA SHORE step further away from their deathcore roots and really stretch the symphonic elements of their sound as well as drawing more from black metal. The album begins with a swelling orchestra and choir before the band come tearing in. From the start it shows the increased scope of the album and the symphonic moments sit very nicely alongside the savage deathcore. It adds a touch of class to things as making the album often sound more sophisticated than a lot of bands in their genre. There is far more on display than knuckle dragging brutality.

Take tracks like Hollow Sentence and Warpath Of Disease. These songs brilliantly mash up the choirs with the screamed vocals, at times almost feeling like there’s a vocal trade off going on. They are hugely dramatic songs but never fall into silly theatrics as the band manage to always keep things menacing. There’s some impressive riffing guitar work on these songs too. It’s not just constant beatdowns, even if there are plenty of those and they always come in like a sledgehammer.

LORNA SHORE try their hardest to keep things as varied as they can whilst still loosely staying within deathcore and this is largely due to the musicianship throughout. The guitars on Obsession for example have a far more glacial and ethereal sound meaning that it is entirely the drums in that song that bring the brutality. Some will still probably find the album a little repetitive, particularly when it comes to the vocals. The constant savagery might get a little numbing for some but this is just something that comes with the genre. There’s still more creativity on display here than you’ll find from a lot of similar bands.

As for the vocals themselves. They are impressive but nothing that can’t really be replicated by any number of vocalists within deathcore. Even the moments where it literally sounds like he is just vomiting onto the mic like in King Ov Deception. So the loss of a vocalist here is certainly not the end of the world for the band and it is the musical canvas they create here that is the real standout. The only other slight problem this album could run into is that with so many symphonic bells and whistles involved, it’ll be a real shame that these will likely just be relegated to a backing track when these songs are played live. There is so much ambition to these songs and it’s unlikely this will be able to be completely replicated live.

So despite LORNA SHORE finding themselves in a somewhat tricky situation prior to the release of Immortal, due to the alleged actions of their now ex-vocalist, it feels like going ahead with this album was the correct decision for the band. Deathcore fans will find a lot to love here and with a new vocalist surely on the way, the band will no doubt be able to make the most of this chapter in their career.

Rating: 7/10

Immortal is set for release on January 31st via Century Media Records.

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