A sweaty crowd suitably warmed up by our local Gravemind and Brisbane\u2019s legendary death metal stalwarts Disentomb packed into 170 Russell when right on cue, the band everyone was here to see \u2013 New Jersey\u2019s Lorna Shore \u2013 hit the stage. They launched into \u2018Oblivion\u2019 from their two-month old album \u2018I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me\u2019 and it was on.<\/p>\n
80 minutes or so of face-ripping sonic armageddon lifted entirely from their last two albums and the \u2018\u2026And I Return To Nothingness\u2019 EP that debuted current singer Will Ramos to the fans in 2021 was to follow.<\/p>\n
\u2018Unbreakable\u2019 saw fists in the air to the life-affirming chorus, and \u2018Sun\/\/Eater\u2019 took us back to their 2022 album \u2018Pain Remains\u2019 helped along by Disentomb growler-in-chief Jordan James Phillip trading lines with Ramos while the machine precision of the band drills wave after wave of pure brutal energy into the fixated crowd.<\/p>\n
A pseudo-encore takes place as the band step off stage for barely a minute after the closest thing these guys have to a power ballad (\u2018Glenwood\u2019) gives us all some semblance of a breather, before the first single from the last album \u2018Prison of Flesh\u2019 took us from savage verses to melodic choruses (\u201cI am fading\u2026 faster\u2026 searching for answers in the dark\u2026 until I depaaaaaaaaaaaart!\u201d) to the heaviest breakdown you\u2019ll ever hear.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s worth pausing here to reflect on \u2018Prison of Flesh\u2019. It\u2019s not news that drummer Austin Archey is a powerhouse. The jaw-dropping speed at which his limbs blur around the kit is unparalleled, but his sense of melody is rarely mentioned. Go and listen back to the chorus of \u2018Prison of Flesh\u2019 as he switches blast beat to a half time groove littered with fills constantly driving the song in a way that reminds me of Terry Bozzio playing in The Mothers of Invention generations before and a musical world away. To pull it off live night after night and not miss a beat is crazy.<\/p>\n
Into \u2018To The Hellfire\u2019. Blast beats, heavy breakdowns that see the five members change tempo and time signatures in the blink of an eye and that voice and a fan favourite that couldn\u2019t be omitted.<\/p>\n
A lot is said of Ramos\u2019 vocals and Archey\u2019s drums \u2013 and with good reason \u2013 but they\u2019re not alone on stage. A shout-out to lead guitarist Adam De Micco\u2019s thrash-inspired shredding on his fluorescent sunburst axe, Andrew O\u2019Connor keeping him in check with impeccable rhythm guitar and Michael Yager crushing that bass with arpeggios that would be impressive on a guitar.<\/p>\n
The band leaves only to come back for their three-piece metal-opera: parts one, two and three of \u2018Pain Remains\u2019 from the album of the same name and like that, it was over.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m old enough to have seen a lot of bands that influenced Lorna Shore in their prime, and even old enough to have seen some of the bands that influenced them. A lot of people my age hang shit on deathcore and the genre\u2019s poster-boys who we saw tonight, but not me. Lorna Shore wear their influences on their sleeve and build on them. They have created something new and they\u2019re damn good at doing it. I\u2019ll be going to their gigs long into senility if I have anything to do with it.<\/p>\n
The full set list for Lorna Shore at 170 Russell, Melbourne on December 3, 2025 was:<\/p>\n
Oblivion
Unbreakable
Sun\/\/Eater
Cursed to Die\u2028Into The Earth
Glenwood
Prison of Flesh
To the Hellfire<\/p>\n
Pain Remains I: Dancing Like Flames\u2028Pain Remains II: After All I\u2019ve Done, I\u2019ll Disappear
Pain Remains III: In a Sea of Fire<\/p>\n
Lorna Shore will also perform at Good Things this Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.<\/a><\/p>\n Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here<\/a><\/p>\n Be the first to see NOISE11.com\u2019s newest interviews and special features on YouTube. See things first\u2014Subscribe to Noise11 on YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n Visit Noise11.com<\/a><\/p>\n Follow Noise11.com on social media: Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n Facebook \u2013 Comment on the news of the day<\/a><\/p>\n X (Twitter)<\/a><\/p>\n Like this:<\/p>\n Like Loading…<\/p>\n
Bluesky<\/a><\/p>\n