I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me by Lorna Shore
Release date: September 12, 2025Label: Century Media
As a genre, deathcore has its detractors, but that hasn’t stopped it from gaining traction and legions of fans. Seemingly reviled by traditional extreme metal fans, the combination of death/black metal and its requisite breakdowns can be both exhilarating and exhausting. Not so with Lorna Shore who are fast becoming the trailblazers and expanding its horizons.
Where previous album Pain Remains was filled with gothic choral moments infused with full on black metal moments of grandeur, I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me goes one step further in the extreme stakes. Taking that cauldron of gothic deathcore/black metal and ramping it up into a much more expansive sound. Where Pain Remains was insular, this becomes a moment of cathartic release.
Opening with the full on assault that is ‘Prison Of Flesh’, Lorna Shore have never sounded so intense. A flurry of kick drums attack your senses as the music evokes a sense of claustrophobic tension. It’s a statement of intent although by no means representative of the full album. To get an understanding of where the band are now is to sit through the tremendous ‘Oblivion’ which replaces that claustrophobia with a gloriously progressive metal masterpiece. All shackles are off as they prepare to deliver your senses on one hell of a ride.
The majestic ‘In Darkness’ uses the choral synths to great effect, whilst the guitars move from the typical bludgeoning approach of deathcore to a more classical melodic metal approach. It’s this that sets them aside from their peers and makes the album such a satisfying listen. Special mention also needs to given to Will Ramos’ vocals too, with a move from total indecipherable lyrics to moments of almost clean vocals.
‘Unbreakable’ ups the ante for cinematic mayhem as its propulsive sound brings a triumphant edge to it all. Try to listen and not feel like you are at the forefront of some majestic victory. It’s impossible. What’s also interesting is that by moving the boundaries of their music and redefining what a deathcore band can be, they have seemingly opened up a door to accessibility. ‘Glenwood’ is a great example where the combination of melody and brutality wouldn’t sound out of place on daytime Planet Rock. It’s certainly only a matter of time before the start breaking through to the main stages of major festivals such as Download, first as subs and then ultimately headlining.
The take no prisoners approach continues on ‘Lionheart’ which is pretty much what you would get if Peter Jackson had soundtracked the battle of Helms Deep with black metal. ‘Death Can Take Me’ threatens to implode with sheer ferocity, whilst ‘War Machine’ is almost onomatopoeic in its delivery. The final sound of what sounds like a grenade pin dropping is completely unnerving.
‘Forevermore’ finishes the album with a gothic flourish as it hurls its way to its dramatic end. It’s a fitting way to complete what has been a stunning listen. By breaking free of their genre restrictions, Lorna Shore have created a modern metal masterpiece which should see them rapidly on the way to becoming one of the essential bands of the moment within the scene. Having already conquered the deathcore scene, now they have their sights firmly on metal domination.
