Lorna Shore Unleash Symphonic Deathcore Hell on Manchester‘s O2 Victoria Warehouse [Photos]

It is impossible to deny that now is very much Lorna Shore’s time in the limelight. You only have to look at their one-way trajectory over the past few years to see that the blackened symphonic deathcore outfit are currently hurtling in one direction and one direction only. With no signs of that slowing down any time soon, it comes as no surprise to find that these three UK shows are currently rammed to capacity as Will Ramos and his bandmates return to the UK in support of their current album, I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me.

They bring with them for this run a top-tier line-up from across the genre, which, due to the early doors, means I’m still travelling through Manchester agonizingly hellish early evening traffic as Humanity‘s Last Breath are mauling their way through their set. Arriving to find Shadow of Intent continuing to maintain the tempo at jackhammer-heavy, there is a bleak, deathly air about the place as the deathcore quartet drill through set closer “The Heretic Prevails”.

Deathcore heavy-hitters Whitechapel are providing main support for this run of shows and, in my opinion, are still one of the finest exponents of the genre, fronted by one of the best vocalists the genre has to offer, Phil Bozeman. Hunched over at the front of the stage, barking out the chorus line to opener “Prisoner 666”, Bozeman is simply a class above the rest of the deathcore scene. As for Whitechapel, they continue to deliver brute force heaviness with the ease of a band that are masters of their craft to an audience who welcome the sinister savagery of staples like “The Somatic Defilement.”

Their name rings around this hollow, soulless room midway through their set and, while Bozeman continues to bark out his lyrics under a sea of red, green, and blue lights, Whitechapel continue to deliver a set that, to coin a cliched phrase, is all killer and no filler. Whitechapel might not be the latest trend in deathcore, they might not get the plaudits that others in the genre do, but by God, once Whitechapel hit the stage, they make damn sure you leave at the end of the night having witnessed the genre at its finest.

Stood on the balcony midway through Lorna Shore‘s eighty-minute symphonic deathcore sermon and, under a haze of smoke, steam, sweat, and blue lights, all you can see from the front to back is a sea of bodies crashing around and crowd-surfing towards the burning gates of hell that is Lorna Shore. It is absolutely mesmerizing to watch, but something that is exactly where Lorna Shore deserve to be right now. Obviously, it helps to have a frontman as charismatic as Will Ramos, but make no mistake, this isn’t the Will Ramos show. As Lorna Shore have proven time and time again, musically, this is an unstoppable machine of such quality that you can pretty much forget about the rest of the genre.

Despite the odd criticism that their new album is simply an extension of their game-changing Pain Remains opus, when you are at the level Lorna Shore are performing at, why fix something that is far from broken when you can simply steroid it the fuck up and watch your reputation fire out of the earth’s orbit? “Oblivion,” “Unbreakable,” “Prison of Flesh,” absolute deathcore bangers delivered with flawless precision. Watching from within the bowels of the chaos, it really is quite frightening experiencing the devastating precision with which Lorna Shore hit the mark over and over again.

When we reach the midpoint of the set and, as the band tears into the spectacular “Glenwood,” you really start to see how much potential this band have yet to tap into. Ramos proves himself to be a man with so much more range, emotion and passion in his vocals than just being the one who can gurgle like a possessed being while the perfection being delivered from the stage leaves you lost for words. They don‘t stop there, though, as the “Pain Remains” trilogy wrings every last emotion out of the band and this audience before a demonic “To The Hellfire” burns the few remaining areas of Victoria Warehouse to the ground with only smoking embers left behind.

In recent weeks, I’ve pondered the question as to where Lorna Shore go from here. Anyone who has seen these shows will testify that this is a band that is not only in unstoppable form but, as the likes of “Glenwood” prove, has so much more to offer. The big question is, where does it stop? Will Lorna Shore be the first deathcore band to headline Wembley Arena? Will we see festival headline slots in 2027? They have the songs, they have the quality, they sure as fuck have the production to do all of those things and so much more.

Our photographer, Graham Finney Photography, entered the gates of hell to bring back this photo gallery and the Lorna Shore set list.

Lorna Shore Setlist:

1. Oblivion
2. Unbreakable
3. War Machine
4. Sun//Eater (with Nick Chance)
5. Cursed to Die
6. In Darkness
7. Glenwood
8. Prison of Flesh
9. Pain Remains I: Dancing Like Flames
10. Pain Remains II: After All I’ve Done, I’ll Disappear
11. Pain Remains III: In a Sea of Fire
12. To the Hellfire