Album Review: Lorna Shore is Omnipotent on ‘Pain Remains’

The rising deathcore stars’ first full-length album with vocalist Will Ramos is brutally triumphant, especially at its most extreme.

Written by Audrey Vieira

Photo courtesy of Mike Elliot

Lorna Shore may be known for epic songs about descending into the depths of hell, but their stardom only rises with each new release. Last year’s single “To The Hellfire” went viral, and Loudwire named it the best metal song of 2021. Since then, the deathcore band has played several sold-out shows, including a London headliner that had to be upgraded to larger venues three times to accommodate their rapidly growing fanbase. They even performed at this year’s Lollapalooza festival as one of the heaviest acts on the lineup.

“To The Hellfire” wasn’t just a breakout success for Lorna Shore as a band. It also marked the debut of their latest vocalist Will Ramos, who joined the band following the departure of original vocalist Tom Barber, who left to join fellow deathcore band Chelsea Grin in 2018, and the firing of CJ McCreery, who was ousted in early 2020 after sexual misconduct allegations. Ramos is Lorna Shore’s third frontman in five years and by far their best. Granted, the bar was on the floor after McCreery’s firing, but Ramos is an incredible vocalist whose violent pig squeals will live in listeners’ minds for years to come.

Pain Remains, Lorna Shore’s fourth studio album was announced back in May with beautifully disgusting lead single “Sun//Eater.” The song is exactly what its title implies: an extreme, epic fantasy about one’s burning desire for power sung (or more accurately, screamed) by a protagonist who not only wants to fly closer to the sun, but believes he is capable of consuming its power. “I’ll eat the sun” sounds like a ridiculous lyric out of context, but Ramos delivers it with so much rage and intensity that it works. The balance between guitarist Adam De Micco’s glorious riffs, drummer Austin Archey’s furious fills, and Ramos’ demonic screams makes for a triumphantly brutal introduction to the sound of Pain Remains. 

Fellow singles “Into The Earth” and “Cursed To Die” build hype for Pain Remains with several blast beats at a time — just the way fans of extreme metal like it. “Into The Earth,” the album’s second single and second track, pummels listeners with violent percussion and symphonic influences, while “Cursed To Die” is a dark continuation of “Sun//Eater,” picking up right where the lead single left off with a similar riff. However, “Cursed To Die” doesn’t live in its predecessor's shadow. It’s fantastic in its own right, and feels even more glorious in the context of the album’s relentless three-track run following “Into the Earth” and “Sun//Eater.”

Image courtesy of Century Media Records

Pain Remains is a lengthy listen, consisting of ten tracks over the course of an hour, but it’s well worth the time. The pacing of the album makes the tracks feel much shorter than their actual runtimes. There are many brutal moments throughout the album — “Apotheosis” features some of the gnarliest metal vocals since “To The Hellfire,” while “Wrath” has gloomy guitar swells and impressively long gutturals that don’t dull with time. The album often sounds like an intense boss fight, especially on tracks like seven-minute album opener “Welcome Back, O’ Sleeping Dreamer” which features a grand orchestra in addition to the usual blast beats and breakdowns.

Also, Ramos’ vocal performances on this album are sickeningly great. A good pop singer needs to have control over their voice to hold out a note. Ramos’ ability to do the same thing with his brutal gutturals demonstrates excellent vocal control. His enunciation is clear as he screams, making Lorna Shore’s lyrics surprisingly easy to understand considering the band’s extreme sound. But screaming isn’t his only talent — a brief moment on “Pain Remains I: Dancing Like Flames,” features heartwrenching clean vocals from Ramos.

The “Pain Remains” trilogy is the best run of the album by far, though it’s technically one 20-minute deathcore ballad, not three separate songs. Each part stands out on its own: “Pain Remains I: Dancing Like Flames” has the aforementioned clean whispers, “Pain Remains II: After All I’ve Done, I’ll Disappear” features a glorious guitar solo, and “Pain Remains III: In A Sea Of Fire” concludes the trilogy with an ethereal symphony and the gentle crackle of the Dark Souls bonfire. However, the seamless transitions between each part make these tracks feel most cohesive and complete as a trilogy. All three parts are perfect, but together they form something truly epic.

Pain Remains is an extreme triumph for Lorna Shore. The album is as beautiful as it is brutal, and even the most disgusting moments are delightfully impressive to hear. If Lorna Shore’s next album is even half as good as Pain Remains, it will still be one of the best deathcore releases around.