Live Review: Lorna Shore - Victoria Warehouse, Manchester
10th February 2026
Words: Dan Barnes
Photos: Tim Finch
It feels as though there’s an obvious point of comparison with this show and the Slaughter to Prevail gig at this very venue, barely three-week since. Both headlining deathcore bands have been sending serious waves through the genre for some time now and have garnered themselves a fanatical fanbase. Of course, both released killer new records in 2025 and arrive in Manchester as part of a three-show stop in England, sporting a mouth-watering supporting cast of new and established bands.
As with the Slaughter show the other week, it’s an early evening start for Swedish scene veterans, Humanity’s Last Breath who show no regard for youth as they make an audacious attempt to steal the show from under every one’s noses. An atmospheric opening, including a klaxon, gives way to the fat and fuzzy riffs of 2021 album, Väldet’s title tune. It’s big, heavy and primal, and sounds like demons are coming out to play; Abyssal Mouth comes with an invitation for an early circle pit, while Human Swarm arrives with an eye-searing lightshow and an industrial vibe. Frontman, Filip Danielsson hardly gives the early crowd a moment’s respite, as he cajoles much movement out of the fresh bodies. The drums land like artillery shells and the guitars weave dissonance amid the slamming breakdowns, making this show short on time but huge on crushing delivery.
Connecticut quartet, Shadow of Intent take the deathcore genre and mix in symphonic, melodic and technical elements to give something of a unique sound to their – so-far – five album discography. Focusing almost exclusively on last year’s Imperium Delirium full-length, and the multiple singles releases, Shadow kick things off with the immediately present They Murdered Sheep and the rapid-fire riffing of Flying the Black Flag, which comes complete with the most Metal soloing of the evening and retina-scorching illuminations; Infinity of Horror is dedicated to anyone new to the band, as the vision of main-stay vocalist, Ben Duerr, and multi-instrumentalist, Chris Wiseman, load the set with angular dissonances which only add to the chaos of the performance. Closing with the only pre-2025 song of the evening, 2017’s The Heretic Prevails from the Reclaimer album, Shadow up the ante further for the top two bands.
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the formation of Knoxville’s Whitechapel who, unbeknown to me, along with Despised Icon, are my go-to Deathcore bands. When that happened, I’m unsure, but seeing the Tennessee titans on a poster is always the sign of feisty musical treat. That the band have largely been together since their inception back in 2006 have given them a consistency in their development from the youthful upstarts of The Somatic Defilement debut to the more measured aggression of Kin and last year’s Hymns in Dissonance.
Tonight’s set is built around that very concept, with the first half being given over to tracks from the new album. Prisoner 666 prove the band are comfortable in front of sizable crowds, Hymns In Dissonance itself is a whirling blitzkrieg of a track, with Phil Bozeman’s earthy growls competing with the expansive guitars of Ben Savage and Zack Householder. A Visceral Retch comes with a huge breakdown, as does Bedlam, with Hate Cult Ritual’s otherworldliness unsettling the venue.
An instrumental, Necrotizing, opens the second half of the set, with Phil announcing the band were going back to the beginning of their careers – intimating that some people in the audience might not have even been born when the debut hit the shelves. There is a direct comparison with the crafted maturity of the newer material with the raging bile-spitting of the early songs. Somatic’s title track, the imaginatively named Devirgination Studies, This is Exile and a closing Prostatic Fluid Asphyxiation remind all the raw energy of the first records still has the ability to punch you in the gut.
To call Lorna Shore a new band is to do a disservice to their history pre-Will Ramos; formed in New Jersey in 2009 – and named, apparently after a minor character in the Batman universe, Lorna’s discography stretched back to the Psalms album of 2015. But it was the recruitment of Mr Ramos, then of A Wake in Providence, that seemed to have catapulted the band into the post-pandemic stratosphere.
Of the dozen tracks aired tonight, none predate Will’s tenure in the band, but when you have such an asset it would be foolish not to make full use of it. Half of tonight’s set comes from last year’s I Feel the Everblack Festering Within Me’s mammoth symphonic statement, and the band hit the stage with the one-two of pre-release singles, Oblivion and Unbreakable. The former has fast become a fan-favourite and is greeted like an old friend as the stage curtain drops to reveal Lorna’s impressive show. There are pyrotechnics aplenty, with flame pots shooting fire into the air from the outset. Unbreakable comes with a challenge for all the Lorna Shore fans in the venue, before sinking into its hypnotic breakdown.
War Machine gives drummer Austin Archie the opportunity to lay down some solid military beats, inspired even more by the band were recording for a music video. Classic Sun//Eater brings out photographer Nick Chance for a ripping run through that takes me back to a scorching day at Catton Park, when the song had an altogether different meaning. The interaction between guitarists Adam De Micco and Andrew O’Connor damn near blow the roof off the place throughout the evening, but especially on this one.
Pain Remains’ Cursed to Die shows some restraint in reining in the progressive elements and focusing on a blistering breakdown; In Darkness and Glenwood break hearts with the emotive guitar mid-sections and proves it’s not just about the rambunctiousness for the lads. Prison of Flesh is as over-blown as you would expect, leading into the set’s closing epic Pain Remains triptych.
The way all aspects of this composition fit perfectly together suggests a songwriting maturity beyond the band’s collective years. On the album it is a beguiling journey, but in a live setting, surrounded by a sell-out crowd of devoted fans, it’s an entirely other experience altogether. There will be more than a few teary eyes in the Victoria after that, but to be moved in someway is what we come to shows for.
There’s only the single encore of To the Hellfire from the short but perfectly formed …And I Return to Nothing EP, and the faithful file out of the venue sad that it’s done but exhilarated by what we’ve just witnessed.
Lorna Shore is off back to Europe to complete the rest of the tour, but I’d wager it won’t be long before they have a high-billed mainstage appearance at Download in their future.
Photo Credits: Tim Finch Photography
