No pain remaining, but I think I feel the Everblack is festering within me now after seeing these guys again…
Deathcore’s having a moment. A big, sweaty, breakdown-laden moment. But with every new band that pops up sounding like a carbon copy of the last, it’s starting to feel like we’re trapped in a never-ending riff loop. If this keeps up, the genre might just collapse under the weight of its own chug.
Still, a few brave souls are clawing their way out of the sonic sludge, trying to sound like themselves instead of someone else’s demo tape. Those are the ones that’ll survive when the great deathcore extinction event hits.
And speaking of survivors—tonight in Vancouver, we witness the apex predator: Lorna Shore. They’re the only deathcore act right now who can headline an arena without needing to bribe the crowd with free merch and Monster Energy. Joining them are Shadow of Intent and The Black Dahlia Murder, who are here to make sure your neck doesn’t survive the night.
Sadly, PeelingFlesh didn’t make it past the Canadian border. No word yet on why at the time of writing this. Oklahoma’s finest slam merchants will be missed, but the rest of the lineup is ready to crush skulls and melt faces.
No personnel shakeups to report—Lorna Shore’s lineup is still locked in: Michael Yager on bass, Andrew O’Connor holding down rhythm guitar, Austin Archey behind the kit, Adam De Micco shredding lead, and Will Ramos up front with the banshee wails. This crew’s been airtight through the Pain Remains cycle, and there’s zero reason to mess with the chemistry.
That said, it’s wild to think Lorna Shore were tearing up the Commodore Ballroom just last year—1,000-cap room, packed wall to wall—and now they’re headlining a full-blown arena tour. Vancouver gets the upgrade tonight, and they’re rolling in with a fresh release: I Feel the Everblack Is Festering Within Me. It’s their third studio outing with Will Ramos at the helm (fifth overall in the discography), and if you’re wondering how they could possibly follow Pain Remains… well, let the record speak for itself. Sonically, it’s every bit as punishing, maybe even more refined. If Pain Remains was the emotional exorcism, this one’s the descent into something darker—and it slaps. As I look around the rink, no, the place is not even close to selling out, maybe a few thousand in attendance, which is still a solid showing for extreme metal in Vancouver.
The house lights drop, the stage shrouded in smoke and suspense—Lorna Shore kicks off the night with “Oblivion,” the opening salvo from their new album I Feel the Everblack Is Festering Within Me. Midway through the tour and deep into the Vancouver leg, the band’s tight as ever, and Will Ramos? Absolutely feral. His vocal delivery—those guttural growls and banshee screams—hits like a freight train. Say what you will, but Ramos is arguably the most dynamic voice in deathcore right now. He penned most of the lyrics on this record, and it shows—raw emotion, and a ton of grit.
Bonus trivia for the nerds in the pit: “Oblivion” was inspired by movie Interstellar. So if you felt like you were being sucked into a black hole of blast beats and despair… you weren’t wrong.
They continue the festering with “Unbreakable” and thereafter with “Of the Abyss” from the EP …And I Return to Nothingness. Both of those featured Ramos on those recordings, in fact, they will concentrate on that EP, Pain Remains and I Feel the Everblack Is Festering Within Me
A personal favorite of mine, “Sun/Eater” from Pain Remains is at the 4th song, with a twist. The “twist” is a duet with Angel Maker vocalist Casey Tyson-Pearce who is based out of Vancouver. Another thing to note about this show is that is Lorna Shore’s largest stage production, so they take advantage of that with a plethora of lights and plenty of visual screens. The visuals were quite impressive, from the Grim Reaper, to organic with fall leaves, trees, and the eclipse of the sun.
As for the rest of the band, they were as tight as you could imagine. I will go out on a Limb here and say there are really no guitar heroes in deathcore, but after watching Adam’s scorching leads and intricate finger work, I would have no qualms about him as one of the best in the genre. Especially in 9 minute epic “Glenwood” from the new album, love that opening riff and he sears through that one beautifully live. They don’t move around a lot, actually, they stay on their prospective sides from start to finish. Only bassist Michael Yager likes to putter around the stage. I think these guys are so uptight to get the music down (which they do amazing at) and don’t really connect to the audience. That will come in time I am sure. After 9 minutes, the fans and mosh pit did not fail to lose interest!
One thing that stood out at this show? The crowd had noticeably more women than your typical extreme metal gig—and honestly, it was refreshing. Let’s be real: if Tiger Beat were still kicking around, Will Ramos would’ve been plastered across the centerfold, wedged between “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Your Crush” and a fold-out poster of Shaun Cassidy (gen X will know who he is). Will has got serious vocal chops—pure emotion, razor-sharp technique—and according to more than a few fans I chatted with, he’s not exactly hard on the eyes either.
“To the Hellfire” was song 9 and the last song of the set. This song deep into the setlist makes me wonder if Ramos can pull off that crazy growly, monster talk stuff at the end the song. Well, guess what, he does, and I am totally impressed.
Well after all the teasing and so on from Ramos, they do a further 3 more that were penned on the Pain Remains opus. Those are “Pain Remains I: Dancing Like Flames”, “Pain Remains II: After All I’ve Done, I’ll Disappear”, and of course, “Pain Remains III:In a Sea of Fire”. They did a happy birthday for a roadie named Colin at the end, how nice!
Earlier this month, I caught Korn in Vancouver—still an absolute powerhouse, packing out 20,000-seat arenas like it’s 2003. Just a few years back, I saw Lorna Shore at El Corazon in Seattle during the Pain Remains tour, crammed into a room that barely held 300. Fast forward to now, and they’re headlining major venues with full production and a rabid fanbase. Could they be this generation’s Korn? Too early to call, but the trajectory’s there.
Watching them rip through all 12 songs in the set with surgical precision and raw intensity, it’s clear they’re not just riding hype—they’re building something real. If they’re rolling through your city, don’t sleep on it. Go. And grab that new album while you’re at it—it’s a “everblack festering“monster.
Setlist:
1.Oblivion
2.Unbreakable
3.Of the Abyss
4.Sun//Eater
5.Cursed to Die
6.Into the Earth
7.Glenwood
8.Prison of Flesh
9.To the Hellfire
Encore:
10.Pain Remains I: Dancing Like Flames
11.Pain Remains II: After All I’ve Done, I’ll Disappear
12.Pain Remains III: In a Sea of Fire
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