Words by: JD Punisher
Pictures by: JD Punisher
You want metal? Ill give you fucking metal! Walking into the Forty’ on a night like this, you’ll soon realise that the Valley is a sea of black, and it’s all due to one band. Lorna Shore. Now, I know what you’re saying, “there’s other bands on the bill”. Yeah, I know. And they are fucking incredible. I’ll get to them soon.
Walking into the Forty tonight for the final show of a sold-out tour, the anticipation to see one of metal’s finest is massive. With some of the most incredible merch I’ve seen, the punters are definitely getting value for money for every aspect of tonight’s event.
Local lads To The Grave kick things off and as frontman Dane Evans hits the stage with a prop knife and a pig mask, things are about to get heavy. Tearing through a half hour set with incredible ease, they get everyone in the venue thrashing about and the start of probably the most people I’ve ever seen come over the barrier. With one poor fella hitting the ground like a sack of shit, Evans calls out for security to do a better job at catching people, but not without asking the fans to assist in not dropping people on their head as they pass them over the barrier. Fucking intense. (Might i add, the guy in question was a little shaken, but he did try to run back into the pit straight afterwards. Metal endures once again).
Bodysnatcher take the stage to render us all completely awestruck with some of the most powerful, bone grinding riffs imaginable. Seeing these guys absolutely devour the Forty’ atmosphere sets everyone in very high spirits for our upcoming descent into metal madness. When you have a 5 piece outfit the likes of Bodysnatcher gracing one of the biggest stages our great state has to offer, it’s hard to know where to place your gaze.
Front man Kyle Medina delivers brutal vocals, laid over the top of Kyle Carter’s insanely intricate riff work. When you match this all together with a rhythm section that hits you straight in your core, it’s no wonder this band was placed as support for Lorna Shore. If you’re looking for something to do on a Sunday night, the Brightside is hosting their headline show. Get to that shit, you will NOT be disappointed. Outstanding show lads, see you in the pit next time you grace our shores.
Lorna….fucking…..Shore. If you don’t know these heavy hitters, then I hope it was comfortable under that rock you decided to dwell under, because these guys deserve every bit of adoration for the music that they have produced for this genre. As the lights extinguish, the crowd erupts and the backing track rings through the PA system. It is time.
Will Ramos is a force of an unstoppable nature and his vocal stylings are iconic within the metal realm. To witness this live is simply incredible. “Of The Abyss” sets everyone into overdrive and Ramos’ lyrics are complimented by some of the most insanely heavy riffs, neck snapping percussion and bass lines that just hit your core with such ferocity, that it feels like you’re straddling a subwoofer.
Every single part of this setlist just gives the fans everything that they could want from a Lorna show. Couple this with some incredible pyro and CO2 work and you have the perfect recipe for brutality. I can tell you now, the atmosphere in the photo pit was crushing when the pyro set off. And once I got out of there after “…And I Return To Nothingness”, that same atmosphere was still dominating throughout the whole venue.
Making sure to close out the final night with one of the best encores I’ve been privileged to witness in recent times, all three parts of “Pain Remains” back to back just brings the crowd to absolute fever pitch. If you haven’t heard these songs before, not only do they offer some of the greatest musicianship in modern heavy metal, but the lyrical content is something that has been met with critical acclaim. Seriously, if you think metal is all devil worshipping and no real emotion, I dare you to read these lyrics and not feel something. And when you get to see Will absolutely destroy the mic while spitting this, you won’t be the same ever again. His skills are next level and the gutturals he produces are definitely not of this world.
I went into this show as a casual fan of all 3 bands, which has now been swayed into full blown fangirl shit, because I want to witness this over and over again. As the merch stand is swarmed post show, I depart with the satisfaction of seeing one of the greatest metal shows I’ve seen in many years. Come back again soon Lorna Shore, Australia needs more metal shows of this magnitude.
