Live Review: Lorna Shore – O2 Academy, Birmingham
28th November 2023
Support: Rivers of Nihil, Ingested, Distant
Words: Matt Noble
Photos: Bill Mawdsley
As the lights dim for the first time, the SpongeBob SquarePants theme tune blares over the PA as the Netherlands' Distant take to the stage to open the night. Though starting at half past six, they gather a good, energetic, and engaged crowd. Putting on a tight, downtempo deathcore performance, they navigate changes in rhythm well and work the crowd nicely into a pit early on. Their use of blastbeats and some cool whammy effects on the guitar really add a tinge of ugliness to what they do. Frontman Alan has a wild presence at stage centre and there's some nice instrumental work over 'Heritage'. In the studio, that song was recorded with Lorna Shore's Will Ramos on guest vocals, who is of course headlining tonight. So it's nice surprise, met with a hell of a reaction, when he comes out to scream a bit of 'Heirs of Torment' with them.
Ingested follow, opening with a brand new song, presumably played for the first time in the UK tonight, that goes down a treat. They're polished, heavy and tight, and the intensity in the room seems to go up a notch, as they're regularly on tour throughout the UK and plenty of their faithful are wearing their merch in the audience. Jason is a fun frontman, looking the part and speaking to the crowd assuredly and even getting a metal conga line going, which turns into pure chaos in the middle of the Academy floor. Live classics 'Invidious' and 'Skinned and Fucked' really go down well tonight, and a storming rendition of 'Echoes of Hate' from last year's 'Ashes Lies Still' ends proceedings with a bang. As much as the pits ramp up and it feels the beers are starting to flow, in terms of the night, things are only just getting going...
Next up are Rivers of Nihil, who get going with 'The Silent Life' from the legendary 'Where Owls Know My Name' record. From seeing them for the first time around five years ago, playing first on a four-band bill in the much-smaller Mama Roux's, to performing tonight as main support in a completely packed out Academy, their ascent is on full display, and is evidently huge. There's a case to be made, though, that their intelligently-styled techdeath doesn't fit tonight's bill quite as well as the other two bands who've played. Still, it doesn't stop them from rising to the occasion. Their newest song, 'Hellbirds', gets an airing with its grooves washing over the crowd nicely. The old-school 'Soil & Seed' is well-selected to Lorna Shore's crowd. And the mass sing-along to 'Where Owls Know My Name' is nothing short of glorious.
3,000 tickets for a deathcore show on a freezing cold Tuesday night in Birmingham is no mean feat. Enter Lorna Shore! They sound and look huge, making the most of the stage with pyro, smoke and lights, and a slightly raised drum kit. Lorna Shore's rapid ascent has so much to do with Will Ramos and his inhuman vocals, and they confidently play a setlist that only takes from his era in the band. That, in a sold-out academy show, speaks volumes. His vocals are pristine and crisp tonight, showing off his impressive range. He's not just a vocalist though, fronting the band with bags of confidence and swagger.
I see some bands in the deathcore genre that seem to play breakdowns for an hour, but Lorna Shore are clearly very impressive songwriters. With elements of melodeath, black metal and symphonic metal in there it's a very varied sound that's done so well for them, rather than gutturals and one-dimensional extremity. It's proof as to why they've connected with so many in the last few years. There's some seriously tight lead guitar and drum work - Lorna Shore are a unit, not just one person standing out above all - causing the pits to turn into a sea of squashed bodies that even a few seasoned moshers can be seen bowing out of at an early stage.
The iconic 'To The Hellfire' sets the Academy feral. Will's screams sound just as they do on record, with no sign of fatigue or tiredness a few weeks into their tour. It's hard to look beyond this as a set highlight, the vocal performance at the end is nothing short of spectacular. But they keep the energy levels up for their encore, playing the truly epic 'Pain Remains' trilogy in full. Super melodic, super heavy, it's a fitting close to an incredible evening.
I'll be honest and say that for the last few years, I've observed the hype around Lorna Shore and not really been a part of it. You couldn't avoid 'To The Hellfire' if you were on metal TikTok during Covid, but apart from seeing a very short amount of their set at last year's Bloodstock, I didn't fully understand why they're doing as well as they are. Tonight showed me, with flying colours, that the hype around them is true. If they're headlining Academies this time round, god knows where they'll be next. But it's a real victory for deathcore and extreme metal, regardless, to see how well Lorna Shore are doing.
Photo credits: Bill Mawdsley
