Lorna Shore Sent New England Metal & Hardcore Festival to Oblivion

I had so much fun last year at New England Metal & Hardcore Festival so I had to come back again this year and it was just as much fun and as a bonus, it didn't rain from start to finish this time. This year's edition featured an incredibly stacked lineup featuring Kublai Khan TX, Despised Icon, Drain, Municipal Waste, The Black Dahlia Murder, a final performance from Massachusetts own; Bury Your Dead and the headliner; Lorna Shore.

I got in early enough to catch one band opening the Nuclear Blast Main Stage that I have been wanting to see for the past year now, Gates To Hell. Gates To Hell is a metal band from Louisville, Kentucky that was formed in 2019. The band is made up of Ryan Storey (vocals), Eli Hansen (guitar), Seth Lewis (guitar), Dustin Cantrell (bass) and Trey Garris (drums) and fuses elements of death metal and hardcore such as fast riffs and heavy breakdowns that you would hear in hardcore or death metal to create an indescribable heavy sound. The band just released their second full-length Death Comes To All back in March and a new single this past Tuesday called "Disfigured" both via Nuclear Blast Records. Gates To Hell delivered bone-crushing riffs and killer breakdowns topped with ferocious vocals from Storey. The band incorporated these elements expecting full crowd participation which is exactly what happened with the pit filled with hardcore dancers and two steppers. A circle pit formed at Storey's command and then morphed into a two stepping dance session. With aggressive 'side-to-side' moshing, two stepping, one massive circle pit and unforgiving riffs and breakdowns, Gates To Hell got the New England crowd's blood pumping which is good because the day just got started.

A few hours later I went back to the Nuclear Blast Main Stage to catch another band I've been dying to see for a minute now and that was the Oklahoma-based slamming death metal band PeelingFlesh. Formed in 2021 in Oklahoma City/Tulsa, Oklahoma, PeelingFlesh have gained instant attraction with their sound that mixes sheer raw brutality with unforgiving beatdown and hip-hop samples which they have dubbed “Slamming Gangster Groove”. The band is signed to Unique Leader Records which they have released their debut full-length on, The G Code in September of 2024. The band is made up of Damonteal Harris (vocals), Jason Parrish (guitar), Mychal Soto (guitar), and Joe Pelletier (drums). The band wasted no time and got right into it, dropping a nasty breakdown after the sample "I don't know who needs to hear this but crash the f*ck out" and the pit did indeed, crashed out. If you thought that was it, you were dead wrong as they dropped another one right after the "Jet 2 Holiday" sample. The whole time, Pelletier delivered machine-gun sounding blast-beats and Harris delivered low gutturals that even left me pissed off for no reason. At Harris command, the pit formed into either a violent war-zone, or a massive circle pit. Either way it was not safe being in, or near the pit. He also commanded for some crowd surfing and one by one, people were surfing over the barrier into security's hands. For the whole 30 minutes it was nothing but slamming breakdowns, speedy riffs, raw vocals, hip-hop/meme samples and rapid fire drumming that was responded with violent moshing and intense crowd-surfing from the crowd. With songs like "Shoot 2 Kill", "Perc 3000", "Concrete Curb Enforcement" as well as some new songs that will be featured on their upcoming EP PF Radio 2 AND their upcoming full-length that will drop next year, PeelingFlesh went all out on their set and I can't wait to see them next month in NYC and be in the pit for them myself.

Keep Up With PeelingFlesh: Facebook | Instagram | X | Spotify

After another hour break where I went to get water and a quick snack, I went back to the main stage for Shadow of Intent. Formed in 2013 by vocalist Ben Duerr and guitarist Chris Wiseman in Hartford, Connecticut, Shadow of Intent has been going at it for over 10 years now and get better and better each time. The band combines deathcore with massive symphonic production to create this massive atmospheric sound that separates them from the common deathcore band. The band has gone through a few lineup changes but as of right late, the band consists of Ben Duerr (vocals), Chris Wiseman (guitar) (Currents), Andrew Monias (bass) and Bryce Butler (drums). Just this past June, the band released their fifth studio album Imperium Delirium and just like their past four releases, the band released it independently. Just like last year, Shadow of Intent put on a monstrous performance. With insanely heavy breakdowns, a massive production and symphonic guitar solos, the band's set was as brutal as it was atmospheric. Butler's drumming was insanely fast and loud too. Loud to the point I felt it in my chest. Duerr proved once again why he is one of the best vocalists in deathcore. He is insanely talented, going from deeply demonic growls to high-pitched shrieks and make it look so easy too. The band's set was mainly songs from their latest release like "Prepare To Die", "Flying the Black Flag", "Mechanical Chaos", "Vehement Draconian Vengeance", "Infinity of Horrors", and "Feeding The Meat Grinder". Two sides collided into each other in the massive Wall of Death which Duerr called for during "Feeding The Meat Grinder". Of course the band had to throw in an old song for the fans and they closed out their set with "The Heretic Prevails".

With that done, I finally got to go to the Armada Merch Stage on the other side to watch the crossover thrash legends, Municipal Waste. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Municipal Waste was formed in 2001 and has brought back to the forefront the 80's thrash metal style and combined it with hardcore crossover which has earned them their identity and reputation. The band is also know for their chaotic live shows with insane moshing and energetic performances. The band is currently signed to Nuclear Blast Records and is made up of Tony Foresta (vocals), Nick "Nikropolis" Poulos (guitar), Ryan Waste (guitar), Philip "Land Phil" Hall (bass) and Dave Witte (drums). From the very first note the band played, the pit opened up into a circle pit instantly and the band jammed for a few minutes before Foresta made his way onstage, which then the band got right into the first song "Breathe Grease" from the 2017 album Slime and Punishment. Being a band that mixes both metal and hardcore and tends to attract fans from both sides, Foresta wanted the hardcore fans to look out for the metalheads and for everyone to have a good time. I was worried how the two sides would be as hardcore tends to be more dangerous than metal but despite the mix of dancing and pushing in the pit, everyone was having a great time. The performance of "Grave Dive" saw the introduction of crowd surfing in Municipal Waste's set and that did not stop till the band stopped and another huge circle pit formed on "You're Cut Off". By the time they played "The Thrashin' of the Christ" the band threw boxes of inflatable pool tubes into the crowd and fans were using it to crowd surf up to the barrier. Other songs the band played included "Sadistic Magician", "Slime and Punishment", Shrednecks", "Wave of Death", "Demoralizer" and "Born To Party". With a few more mosh pit moments, shredding, soloing and more crowd-surfing, Municipal Waste's set came to chaotic end. Honestly I would love to see them tour with Drain, that would be a wild party for sure.

This next one I was really excited for. One band I have been wanting to see live for a very long time; the one and only Despised Icon. One of the pioneers of deathcore, Despised Icon came out of the Montreal, Quebec scene in 2002 and quickly rose to prominence with the release of their debut album Consumed By Your Poison in 2002. Further releases such as The Healing Process (2005), The Ills of Modern Man (2007) and Day of Mourning (2009) helped cement their legacy as kings of deathcore. The band is made up of Steve Marois (vocals), Alex Erian (vocals), Eric Jarrin (guitar), Ben Landreville (guitar), Sebastien Piché (bass) and Alex Pelletier (drums). Despised Icon's set was everything I had hoped it would be and even more. The dynamic between Marois and Erian's vocals live is incredible. The mix of deep gutturals and piercing high screams between the two with the crushing riffs from Jarrin and Landreville make Despised Icon a force to be reckon with live. The mosh pit opened up as soon as the band started and there was nowhere safe to go once it and a circle pit opened up on "The Aftermath". The band played at least one song from all of their standout albums such as "A Fractured Hand", "Snake in the Grass", "Furtive Monologue", "Retina", "MVP" and "Purgatory". The band is set to release their seventh studio album Shadow Work on Halloween and have so far released two tracks off of it, "Over My Dead Body" and "Death Of An Artist" and when the band played "Over My Dead Body", Matt Honeycutt from Kublai Khan TX came out to sing his feature on the song. The fact we are still getting new Despised Icon music in 2025 is insane and I, as well as everyone, am grateful and excited for the upcoming release. Erian called for a wall of death that unleashed into a war-zone right into the start of "Retina" and it was one of the intense wall of deaths I have seen that night. It didn't take too long before it went right back into a violent dancing pit. New England Metal & Hardcore Festival was Despised Icon's first US show in two years and the Massachusetts crowd gave them a nice warm welcome back and I can't wait to see them again in November at Irving Plaza in NYC with Sanguisugabogg.

Back to the Armada Stage it was time for the chaos to begin, because Drain was not responsible for what was gonna happen for the next thirty minutes. Drain is a hardcore band from Santa Cruz, California that was formed in 2014 and is known for their wild and energetic performances, with extreme crowd participation commanded by frontman Sammy Ciaramitaro. The band has released two studio albums, California Cursed (2020) and LIVING PROOF (2023) with their upcoming third album ...IS YOUR FRIEND coming out on November 7th via Epitaph Records. The band is made up of Sammy Ciaramitaro (vocals), Cody Chavez (guitar) and Tim Flegal (drums).

In setting the tone for the performance from the get-go, Ciaramitaro warned the crowd that for the next thirty minutes that there are no rules and that the crowd could do whatever they want. He then asked the crowd if they could "Feel The Pressure" which made the circle pit open up wide. Ciaramitaro then proceeded to climb up to the barricade to sing the words with the people up front before throwing his mic into the crowd and dived from the barrier onto the crowd. At his command, everyone was off their feet once the song reached its breakdown. A two-step style circle pit formed on the opening bass-line of "Stealing Happiness From Tomorrow" and then Ciaramitaro threw his mic back into the crowd. Members of the crowd took their turns screaming the words into the mic and later, Ciaramitaro called for a massive push pit and then had it turned into a huge circle pit. After ripping through the Descendants' cover of "Good Good Things" Drain wanted more crowd participation so Ciaramitaro had everyone get on their knees and then had the whole floor off their feet on "Intermission". Drain's set ended on a very intense note with "California Cursed". Ciaramitaro warned security to call for backup because he ordered a sea of crowd surfers that he wanted to see for the whole song. I kid you not, I think Drain holds the record for the most crowd surfers in one song for the whole night. It was just a sea of people surfing and it grew in huge numbers with no signs of slowing down. This is why I can never get tired of seeing Drain live because the energy is always kicked up to 200% from the get-go. Just imagine if this show didn't have a barrier because then that energy would've been doubled, no, tripled. Catch Drain on their tour across North America with Kublai Khan TX, Gideon and Guilt Trip that's happening right now and expect to participate!

Tickets here.

Pre-order/Pre-save ...IS YOUR FRIEND here.

Going back to the Nuclear Blast Stage, I was looking forward to seeing The Black Dahlia Murder again. The Black Dahlia Murder is a melodic death metal band from Waterford, Michigan that was formed in 2001. The band is signed to Metal Blade Records and consists of Brian Eschbach (vocals), Ryan Knight (guitar), Max Lavelle (bass), and Alan Cassidy (drums) with Wes Hauch filling in for lead guitar live. The band has released a total of ten studio albums with Servitude being their latest release as of September 2024 and are signed to Metal Blade Records. The band opened up with "What a Horrible Night To Have a Curse" from their 2007 album Nocturnal and displayed sheer speed and sharp riffs. A circle pit formed when the song started and Eschbach was making Trevor Strnad proud with his vocals. The fans wasted no time crowd-surfing and started pushing each other in the pit on "Everything Went Black". By the time the band played "Nightbringers", everyone was off their feet and another circle pit formed on "Miasma". The blast beats Cassidy played attracted my attention with how fast they were. Both Hauch and Knight played incredible guitar solos with each one playing their own on different songs. The Black Dahlia Murder did something different with their set on this run and brought out two old songs that they haven't played since pre-pandemic times. Those two songs were "A Vulgar Picture" from Miasma and "Malenchantments of the Necrosphere" from Ritual. The fans were happy to hear these deep cuts again live and moshed the entire time. The band made sure to play what the fans want to hear as well like "Deathmask Divine", "Statutory Ape", "Warborn", "Funeral Thirst" and "Unhallowed" as well as the newer song "Cursed Creator" and the fans were grateful they did. After 45 minutes of soloing, screaming (and growling), blast beating and moshing, and shouting out Jesus crowd surfing, The Black Dahlia Murder closed their set with the staple song "Deathmask Divine" and gave a shoutout to Bury Your Dead.

I had to make it back to the Armada Stage in time because there was no way I wasn't going to say goodbye to one of the most iconic metalcore bands in the early 2000s; Bury Your Dead. Formed right in Massachusetts in 2001, Bury Your Dead became one of the most punishing bands to come out of New England with their mix of hardcore, metalcore and beatdown. With their unforgiving breakdowns and hard-hitting live shows and insane stage presence, Bury Your Dead have made themselves that band you can't miss live. Unfortunately, their set at New England Metal & Hardcore Festival, their home turf, would be their last performance ever and Massachusetts showed up in full force to give the hometown heroes a proper goodbye. The band's lineup changed constantly over the years but the final lineup was made up of Mat Bruso (vocals), Chris Cain (guitar), Aaron "Bubble" Patrick (bass) and Mark Castillo (drums) with returning member Brendan "Slim" MacDonald (guitar) as well as a few special guests.

As soon as the first note hit, the pit opened up and Bruso told the hometown crowd to not disappoint him. They did not, from the very moment the band played the first note of the opening song "House of Straw", the crowd went absolutely insane and the moshers in the pit were making everyone their enemy. The whole band was off their feet and jumping up and down and moving around, letting out all their energy for the last time. Bruso climbed up to the barrier and everyone rushed to the front to scream the words out with him as he passed his mic to the fans. At Bruso's command, everyone was off their feet only to then get back to violence again on the breakdown. Bury Your Dead played songs from almost every album they put out with their 2003 and 2004 landmark albums, You Had Me at Hello and Cover Your Tracks getting the most songs played. Bruso's sister came out and shared vocals with her brother on "33 RPM" and she was just as good as he was. She even commanded the crowd to bring the place to its knees which the crowd did. It was nice that Matt got to share a moment in this farewell with his family. Things got way more hectic on "Top Gun" and "The Outsiders" as two more mosh pits opened up on both sides of the floor in addition to the big one that already formed in the middle. Trying to navigate through that pit was difficult because everyone was targeting each other but I made it through. The pit got very intense on the breakdown of "Top Gun" because as Matt said, "you will never hear this f*cking part again", windmills, spin kicks, cartwheels, flat out punches, the floor was NOT a safe place to be at when that sonic breakdown dropped. Just when I thought I finally made it to a safe spot, I was proven wrong very quickly. Because during "The Outsiders", Bruso ordered the pit to push the people on the sides and in the back, all the way back, making the pit 10x bigger and more dangerous.

In celebrating the legacy of Bury Your Dead, Bruso stepped to the side for a few songs and had his replacement from when he left the band in 2007, Myke Terry (Volumes) take the stage. The band played three songs from the Myke Terry era of Bury Your Dead and those songs were "Fever Dream" and "Sympathy Orchestra" from their 2008 self-titled Bury Your Dead, and "Hurting Not Helping" from their 2009 album It's Nothing Personal. I thought I got to another safe-ish spot but then Terry goes to say "If you ain't scared open this motherf*cker up" and immediately, the two pits mixed into the big one in the middle and became this one gigantic hardcore dancing pit and all I saw were fists and kicks being thrown everywhere. I knew there were gonna be some returning members for this show but it didn't come across my mind that Terry was gonna be one of them and he was giving it everything he had. I could tell he was happy he got to sing these songs one last time. Terry gave a quick speech thanking the fans for their support as well as the current and previous members of the band and how proud he was to be a part of the legacy. Bury Your Dead then closed the Myke Terry-era portion of the set with "Fever Dream" with Bruso hopping back on for "Eyes Wide Shut". Even though no one was showing it, it was a very emotional night, one of Massachusetts biggest hardcore bands was gonna be put to rest and for many, it was their last chance to see their favorite band and for some, me included, it was their first and only time seeing Bury Your Dead live. I passed up on the opportunity to see them in Brooklyn two years ago and now I regret doing that. I am glad I was able to get this chance to see them on their sendoff.

Myke Terry wasn't the only special guest the band brought out. Bruso shared vocals duties with one more surprise guest, the original Bury Your Dead vocalist Joe Krewko on the You Had Me At Hello track, "Cammo Is My Favorite Color". Krewko dedicated the song to the hardcore kids and gave it all he had. All the hardcore kids were taking it out on the pit for the whole song. Krewko did not stay on stage long and climbed up to the barrier and then jumped into the crowd and was crowd surfing and screaming the whole time. While we were all dreading it, Bury Your Dead's final show was coming to a close and before getting into the last two songs, Bruso said he was going to spend those two songs up at barrier, vowing to never return to the stage. So everyone that wanted to see him, rushed right up to the front. Bruso gave one last speech explaining how Bury Your Dead's performance at Furnace Festival last year was supposed to be his final show with the band. However, not only did it not feel right not having the final show be on the band's home turf, but it wouldn't have been fair to the other members, especially founding drummer Mark Castillo who was being an absolute powerhouse on the drums the whole night, and founding guitarist Brendan "Slim" MacDonald. Bruso felt it wasn't right not giving the two founders the send off they deserved and this show changed that, giving them the closure they deserved. The other reason for having one more show, was because of the fans who have changed Bruso's life and allowed him to live the life he lived. So to say 'thank you' and to give back to the fans, he spent the last two songs, "Magnolia" and "The Color of Money" up on the barricade with the fans. It was nothing but crowd-surfing and pile-ons to get to Bruso. It wasn't over yet, because Bruso threw his mic into the massive pile on that was on top of him as everyone screamed their hearts out the closing breakdown of "Mosh n' Roll", "BURY YOUR FUCKING DEAD!", bringing a 24-year career to a close and saying goodbye to Bury Your Dead.

Bury Your Dead Music: Spotify

The night was almost over but we still had a little bit to go and it was time for Kublai Khan TX to take the Nuclear Blast Stage. Kublai Khan TX is a hardcore/metalcore band from Sherman, Texas that was formed in 2009. The band consists of Matthew Honeycutt (vocals), Nicholas Adams (guitar), Eric English (bass) and Isaac Lamb (drums), and their sound is often classified as a combination of heavy hardcore mixed with old school 90s metalcore and is known lyrically for touching on social issues such as racism, anxiety, police brutality and domestic abuse. The band released their latest album, Exhibition of Prowess last year via Rise Records.

Kublai Khan TX started their set by making everyone shout "KHAN IS KING" on "Supreme Ruler" and instigated a two-stepping fiasco on "Darwinism". Honeycutt dedicated the next song "Swan Song" to all the ladies in the crowd and had the pit turn into a war-zone on the signature song "Antpile". The band then got the crowd singing the opening hook of the trending "Theory of Mind" and dedicated the live debut of "X" to all the straight-edge kids in the pit. Kublai Khan TX's set also included "Low Tech", "Cannibal", "Boomslang" and "Loyal To None". Honeycutt gave a shoutout to Cannibal Corpse and Lorna Shore as well as his touring mates and then proceeded to recite the "11th Commandment of the Bible"; 'Thou shall not let, that motherf*cker close up' and made sure the pit stayed wide open for "Low Tech". Just two weeks ago, the band put out a new single called "The Mountain of Coriscana" and it was well received by the New England crowd. The fans were crowd surfing and singing the words the whole time. It did not take them long to learn the words either. The crowd then gathered together for one huge head-banging session on "Cannibal". Honeycutt had the crowd join them on their #1 most streamed Spotify song, "Self-Destruct" and it's no wonder why it's the most streamed song with over 30 million streams. Because everyone sang every single word and was two stepping.

The energy didn't stop there as a wall of death formed on "Loyal To None" and then went back into a two-stepping session. Matthew Honeycutt is one of the best vocalists in metalcore/hardcore with his aggressively raw vocals and powerful stage presence. He was great at commanding the crowd to do what he wanted them to do and was always inciting the violence in them by barking before a ruthless breakdown. If you thought you had seen the last of Bury Your Dead, well to your surprise, and New England's, and mine as well, we got just one more left from them when Mat Bruso hopped on stage one last time to take over vocal duties for the old school 2015 New Strength opening track, "Life for a Life". Bruso crushed it and all the old school Kublai Khan fans were happy as well as the Bury Your Dead fans that were still coming to terms with the band's end. Honeycutt said himself that there wouldn't be a Kublai Khan TX if there wasn't a Bury Your Dead so this was his way of paying homage to the band that inspired Kublai Khan TX. Bruso said himself he is honored to pass the torch to Kublai Khan TX and had the crowd make some noise for the band. He did vow that he would never return to the Armada Stage, but he never said anything about appearing on the Nuclear Blast Stage. The crowd gave Kublai Khan TX all gas and no brakes on "The Hammer" and took out all of their frustrations in the pit and that continued into the last song, "Antpile 2". All Matt had to say was "TWO!" and that was enough for the moshers to beat each other up to the crushing breakdown and wrap up Kublai Khan TX's unforgiving set.

Keep Up With Kublai Khan TX: Website | Facebook | Instagram | X | Spotify

I went back to the Armada Stage one last time to see the headliners of that stage, Cannibal Corpse. One of the most notable death metal bands ever, if not the most, Cannibal Corpse have been pushing the boundaries of metal with their insanely heavy sound, gore-centered themes and consistent style since forming in Buffalo, New York in 1988. The band consists of George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher (vocals), Rob Barrett (guitar), Erik Rutan (guitar), Alex Webster (bass), and Paul Mazurkiewicz (drums) with Brandon Ellis (ex. The Black Dahlia Murder) filling in for Barrett on guitar.

Cannibal Corpse kicked off their bloody set with "Blood Blind" from their 2023 album Chaos Horrific. Corpsegrinder showed off ferocious vocals backed up by filthy riffs from Ellis and Rutan. Mazurkiewicz is an incredible drummer, hitting those drums ferociously and with insane speed. Brandon Ellis did a great job filling in for Barrett and nailed his solos perfectly. I knew he would be a good fill-in for Barrett after seeing his work with The Black Dahlia Murder last November. The breakdowns came in on the next song "Scourge of Iron" and the band picked up the speed on "Inhumane Harvest". Corpsegrinder didn't move around much but he was head-banging and spinning his hair around like crazy. Whenever a song picked up the tempo, I would just see hair spinning around in a twirl like a helicopter and fly up and down whenever the band played a slow breakdown. Other songs from Cannibal Corpse's set included "Evisceration Plague" , "Death Walking Terror" and "Unleashing the Bloodthirsty". For 45 minutes, Cannibal Corpse brought blood, brutality and lyrics I can't say out loud because they aren't PG and show the Worcester crowd that they are NOT family friendly. Not like the crowd cared because they were moshing and circle pitting aggressively in response to the band as well as crowd surfing.

Corpsegrinder stopped for a bit and spoke to the crowd, telling them he wants to see them head-banging on the next song, even welcoming them to try and keep up with him but that they would fail miserably (they did). We can all agree that Corpsegrinder is the best headbanger in metal, he even said it himself jokingly. I don't know how he doesn't get a headache from all that head-banging, I get one just by turning my head. Everyone knew what the next song was and Corpsegrinder knew as well, he was excited to even say it himself, as it was a song about "shooting blood from your cock!" The whole floor was head-banging to "I Cum Blood" but they could not, by any means, keep up with Corpsegrinder. He was already going at 2x the speed the crowd was going at. Did you know that not only is he the best headbanger in metal, but that he was a claw machine master? He would save up coins for claw machines, win the toys somehow and donate them to charities and children's hospitals. And they say metal heads are scary. Saving the best songs for last, they wrapped their gore-infested set with "Stripped, R*pped and Strangled" and the landmark song, "Hammer Smashed Face".

The whole day was stacked with incredible bands from start to finish but there was one more band left that everyone was excited for and that was the headliners of New England Metal & Hardcore Festival, the kings of New Jersey deathcore, Lorna Shore. For 16 years, 16 years the band has been climbing up the mountain, delivering feral blackened deathcore, technical solos, demonic breakdowns and symphonic productions to create music that is punishing and otherworldly. This has put Lorna Shore at the forefront for modern metal. Formed in 2009 in Warren County, New Jersey by the now Chelsea Grin vocalist Tom Barber, Lorna Shore went through so many changes, lineup wise and sound wise but what kept Lorna Shore, Lorna Shore, was their distinct style of bone-shattering deathcore that started pretty much from the release of their debut EP Triumph in 2010. In total, Lorna Shore has released five studio albums; Psalms (2015), Flesh Coffin (2017), Immortal (2020), Pain Remains (2022) and the latest I Feel the Everblack Festering Within Me (2025). The band has gone from playing bars, basements and VFW Halls throughout the country for twelve years, to selling out arenas in Europe and headlining massive festivals following the release of their 2021 EP, As I Return To Nothingness and the massive success of their single, "To The Hellfire" which has over 74 million streams on Spotify. With the many lineup changes the band has went through, Lorna Shore is now made up of Will Ramos (vocals), Adam De Micco (guitar),Andrew O'Connor (guitar), Michael Yager (bass) and Austin Archey (drums).

The lights went out and symphonic tracks played to amp the crowd up and after a few moments, the band made their way onto the stage which was greeted by the roar of the crowd. Ramos welcomed the crowd and then led into the opening song "Oblivion", the lead single off of the latest release. Whether it was deep gutturals or piercing highs, Ramos went back and forth in between them with no effort and sheer skill. He displayed this the entire night on every single song. All topped with his powerful stage presence and charisma. I've seen Will perform live multiple times, even in his previous bands A Wake In Providence and Monument of a Memory at local New York and New Jersey shows and he always crushed it live. Seeing him on the big stage and with a bigger production is insane and only amplified what he can do and gave him room to do even more. Will then dedicated the next song "Unbreakable" to the fans and he had the crowd scream back to him, "WE ARE UNBREAKABLE!". The band then went back to their 2021 EP, And I Return To Nothingness with "Of the Abyss". I love "Unbreakable's" breakdown because of Archey's machine-gun drumming and the heavily-layered down tempo chugs from De Micco and O'Connor. Everyone was head-banging so hard, they practically broke their necks and then formed a circle pit.

Ramos took a moment to thank the crowd and told them this show was the band's biggest production they had ever had. Despite having leg surgery like 4 weeks before and couldn't move as much, he still had energy and still kept a powerful stage presence. Going back a record to Pain Remain, Lorna Shore played the album's lead track Sun//Eater and ordered the two small pits to form into one big pit. The band's photographer/videographer, and former Distinguisher vocalist, Nick Chance came on stage to scream the song's breakdown. He still got those insane gutturals too, it makes me miss Distinguisher. Crowd surfers were warming up on the last few songs but they then increased in numbers at Will's command on "Cursed To Die". Security could not catch a break but they caught every crowd surfer that came over the barrier. As a drummer myself (even though I'm insanely out of practice), I absolutely admire Austin Archey's work. Not many drummers can hit their drums as fast and as hard as Austin can. His blast beats and chops are so fast and so precise, it's like he is a robot. Another person in the band who deserves his flowers is the guitarist Adam De Micco. The sound and production you hear from Lorna Shore, comes from this man, especially the guitar work. He takes great care in crafting every riff and every solo to make it stand out. His solos are so intricate and very detailed while also sounding huge. Will is the band's voice for sure, but Adam, and even Austin are the band's backbone. Some of my favorite solos and leads he has made are off songs like "...And I Return To Nothingness", "Flesh Coffin", "FVNERAL MOON", "Immortal", and "Sun//Eater". Lorna Shore played songs that were mostly from their last album Pain Remains. With "Sun//Eater" and "Cursed to Die", they also played "Into The Earth" which a massive wall of death formed on, and the three part "Pain Remains" song but they also included two new songs from the latest release; "Prison of Flesh" and "Glenwood".

Getting into the newer songs, the next song, "Glenwood", was a more personal one for Will as it was written about his reconnection with his father. Just by hearing the words, "Can we go back?" and "This pain is all I know", it's enough to show how much emotion this song has. There was a very emotional vibe for the whole performance and it was visible on Will. Even Adam's leads were melancholic. Having enough of this "sentimental shit" as Will said, the band picked things back up with another heavy new song, "Prison of Flesh". It wasn't a true Lorna Shore show if they didn't play the song that skyrocketed them into the big leagues. I'm talking about the trending song and the first one the band released with Will on vocals, "To The Hellfire". Fans cheered in excitement as soon as they heard the opening acoustic line to the song and sang every single word. That hook in the chorus is so addicting and it's even better hearing it live. Of course, Will did his signature snarls in the song's pre-closing breakdown that got the pit riled up and the fans up front excited. Will said it before at the beginning but this was indeed Lorna Shore's biggest production to date. Austin's kit sat on-top of a platform and on that platform, as well as behind him, were two LED screens that showed multiple visuals like fire and demonic figures, depending on what the song called for. Multiple lights were going on and off with different colors for different songs too. "To The Hellfire" saw purple and red lights going off, "Oblivion" had dark blue and purple lights and "Unbreakable" had red lights. These lights made for a stunning visual performance from the band and the fog made it look stronger. I remember the first time I saw Lorna Shore in 2019 at The Kingsland in Brooklyn and they had their own mini light setup but it didn't come close to what they had here. From watching them play a dive bar in Brooklyn while also dodging spin kicks to seeing them play a sold out Hammerstein Ballroom and headline the biggest metal and hardcore festival on the East Coast is something I cannot explain but its a big win for the New Jersey boys and the East Coast metal scene and the East Coast crowd showed the hell up for them. As Will said, no one goes harder than the Northeast and we showed any newcomers how we do it. Lorna Shore is on tour right now across North America with The Black Dahlia Murder, Shadow of Intent and PeelingFlesh in support of their latest album I Feel the Everblack Festering Within Me and tickets have been flying out the door. If this tour is coming near you, I would not wait to get my tickets, get them now before your city is next to sell out!

Purchase tickets here.

This year as another successful year for New England Metal & Hardcore Festival with another stacked lineup of bands. Shoutout to Scott Lee and The Palladium for always hosting the best events and making Worcester the Northeast capital of metal and hardcore. I wish I lived closer to The Palladium but the shows and memories I make here make the drive worth it. I can't wait to come back to The Palladium sooner than later and hope to come back to New England Metal & Hardcore Festival again next year.