Lorna Shore - Pain Remains. (Ltd. Gatefold black-white split 2LP)

For LORNA SHORE, 2020 was nothing short of a reckoning – in a career built on challenges, changes and a single-minded vision. For the New Jersey quintet 2020 signaled the pandemic and cancelled tours. The following year presented the band with a staggering creative challenge in the form of the song, ‘To the Hellfire’ from their hugely well-regarded ‘…And I Return to Nothingness’-EP. Yet, through it all, they upped their sonic ante with ‘Pain Remains’, an album that not only alloys together everything LORNA SHORE has hinted at but it also exceeds that – brutally and magnificently. ‘It feels like a rebirth of everything for us - the energy, the band, the morale,’ says drummer Austin Archey. ‘Pain Remains’ is the sound of a band that has honed their sound and identity. From the opening choral chants and orchestration (composed by guitarist Andrew O’Connor) of ‘Welcome Back, O’ Sleeping Dreamer’ straight into labyrinth of musical twists, turns, technicalities and raw emotion at the core of tracks like ‘Sun Eater’ or ‘Soulless Existence’ and culminating in the ‘Pain Remains’-trilogy, LORNA SHORE has woven together a sprawling document of ambition, soul and ability that few can match. It also is the sound of LORNA SHORE breaking out of any sort of categorization and stepping into their own as a great extreme metal band. With ‘Pain Remains’, LORNA SHORE has truly arrived. ‘That’s been the idea and the vision for the band for years,’ states Adam. ‘We’ve never wanted to be limited or meet someone’s expectations of what we’re supposed to be.’