Very few albums come out swinging as hard as Lorna Shore’s latest release Immortal. Lorna Shore has been in a rebuilding phase since the loss of vocalist Tom Barber and guitarist Connor Deffley. The band has replaced these members with vocalist CJ McCreery and guitarist Andrew O’Connor. Immortal ushers in a new phase for Lorna Shore, the music seams darker and more aggressive than their previous efforts. Guitarist Adam De Micco has taken his playing to another level, while working with extremely talented drummer Austin Archeyto put together a very well-respected record.
The first track Immortal puts the hammer down within the first minute of the track, that Lorna Shore are back and going to make a statement. Filled with synths, keys, and a chorus its is a grandiose entrance to the record. The guitar work is fast and very technical, pair this with the blistering drumming, and the hellish vocals of McCreery, this song is a reckoning. The band takes no time in dropping the hammer and being very in your face with blazing speed and aggression.
One of my favorite tracks has to be Warpath of Disease, another cacophonic masterpiece. A blend of technical death metal with a blacken feel to it, added with synths gives the song a huge symphonic wave to crash upon its listeners. The breakdown in this song is brutal and McCreery’s vocals are straight filthy. This song has everything you could ask for, a tasteful technical solo, grinding guitars, heavy drums, a nasty breakdown and vocals ranging from low growls to high screams and everything in between.
Another stand out track is King Ov Deception, the song sounds like a continuation from the Flesh Coffin album. The guitar riffs come out the gate a blazing speed giving that signature blacken feel to the track. McCreery’s vocals have a low snarl throughout the track till dropping the lows over a hellish breakdown. Archey’s drumming is so heavy accenting every guitar chug, while playing the whole kit. The icing on the cake has to be the guitar solo at the end, it reminds me a bit of the solo from the River Dragon has Come by Nevermore with its quick paced repeating legato patterns.
Lorna Shore have put out an album that will make a statement, putting them as one of the top dogs in the metal community. The band has masterfully blended several subgenres of metal, from death, black, speed, and symphonic, while adding bits of core to create a record of depth and dimension. After one listen through if your reaction isn’t to say, ‘Fuck’ then you have no clue what heavy is. Immortal is a benchmark to the next evolution of Lorna Shore. The only elephant in the room is unfortunately the band has parted ways with vocalist CJ McCreery at the beginning of the year. Lorna Shore has been working on a replacement vocalist and intend on honoring their European tour slated to kick off this Spring. Immortal releases on January 31st and will be available on all streaming platforms.
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