Lorna Shore
Psalms
(Workhorse Music / Density Records)
If you’re looking for a fresh and exciting sound to hop on in 2015, deathcore is very far down the list. Sure, Australia has some great exports (Aversions Crown, Make Them Suffer), but the majority of the subgenre’s bands don’t seem to really grasp what it means to be a good band in 2015. Enter in New Jersey’s Lorna Shore who comes in with a head full of steam and quite a bit of buzz for a deathcore band. The group’s most recent EP, Maleficium, showcased the band’s technical brand of metal, one where songs were surprising and engaging. Fast forward a year and a half (and a record deal), and lead single “Grimoire” hinted at a potential problem for these New Jersey gentlemen. No longer were breakdowns interesting and harrowing; they were stock and somewhat expected. “Grimoire” took a masterful technical death/black format and threw in a bunch of underwhelming momentum killers. The question is whether that was a sign of things to come or an outlier.
Unfortunately, this seems like a metastatic problem for Lorna Shore, who have somehow been able to shore up every other aspect of their sound. Riffs are menacing and neck-snapping. Leads are challenging and creepy. The rhythm section is just as adept at pummeling as it is solving complex math equations. Vocalist Tom Barber still sounds like the Cookie Monster possessed by a legion of demons. Hell, there are even some tasty solos, albeit short and too infrequent. It’s just that those damn breakdowns just seem to literally destroy a song’s momentum. Look at album stand-out “White Noise”, which is as far from white noise as humanly possible, jam packed with brutal and blazingly technical music. The breakdowns in this song aren’t quite as problematic, but they still harm an otherwise impressive track. Many times it sounds like two bands are fighting for the same soul. “From the Pale Mist” is a wonderful track that just stops dead in its tracks. The crawling song is mostly saved by a wonderfully cryptic solo and a blast of fun.
That’s how most of these tracks feel. If you took out the breakdowns, or at least minimized their lengths, you would be left with one of, if not the best, deathcore bands around. Lorna Shore isn’t just technically impressive; they try to write good, meaningful songs. However, when you stick in one or more drastic and unfortunate shifts in sound a song (i.e., breakdowns), you aren’t great songwriters. If Lorna Shore can shore up further what makes them great (the horrifying mood, the musical ability), then deathcore could have a new shining star. As it stands, this is either a wonderfully competent breakdown-filled ride or a disappointment for what it could have been.
