Though Lorna Shore may not technically be the most popular deathcore act of the modern era— that honour goes, narrowly, to Russian outfit Slaughter to Prevail— they’re probably the first band you think of when blast beats, symphonic swells and pig squeals are the topic of conversation. The five-piece have only been going from strength to strength since star Will Ramos joined in 2020, at least as far as commercial success is concerned: 2022’s ‘Pain Remains’ was lauded by deathcore fans worldwide, even if the album was far too repetitive and monotonous for our tastes. Three years later, Lorna Shore have returned— ‘I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me’ has its fair share of highlights, though the record continues to suffer under the weight of the band’s usual shortcomings.

Opener ‘Prison of Flesh’ makes one thing abundantly clear: Ramos and company are doing many things on ‘I Feel The Everblack…,’ but taking their foot off the gas is not one of them. The ten tracks presented to us here are well in line with Lorna Shore’s modern direction, with the group continuing to supplement their furious deathcore riffs with grandiose orchestral instrumentation. If there’s a symphonic element that could be employed here, you can bet that it’ll be pulled out at some point— efforts are made time and time again to turn this album into the grandest deathcore project of the year, with ten-minute closer ‘Forevermore’ amping itself up to unfathomable levels of choir-fuelled fury. Beneath that grandiose presentation though, this is still a deathcore project, and it’s a genre that Lorna Shore have down to a science at this point: Ramos’ vocals are as inhuman and vicious as ever, feeling equally as arresting as the dazzling guitar solos of Adam De Micco.

Just as ‘Pain Remains’ was though, ‘I Feel The Everblack…’ ends up worth much less than the sum of its parts. Lorna Shore seem compelled to fill the soundscape with about as much noise as they can physically cram in— the chief example, aside from the scores of orchestra and choir at play, is the drumming of Austin Archey, who’s relentless double kick and blast beats are a constant feature of the entire album. What the record is lacking is a single modicum of restraint: when every moment of the album races at 100 miles an hour, it may as well be sitting still. Cuts with more melodic emphasis like ‘Unbreakable’ and ‘Glenwood’ smother their core appeal in wave after wave of bombast and aggression, leaving ‘I Feel The Everblack…’ as yet another monotonous, one-note deathcore record— where Whitechapel had the sense to pare some elements of new release ‘Hymns In Dissonance’ back, Lorna Shore take every opportunity to sideline the heft and power of their sound.

These are criticisms often levied against ‘Pain Remains,’ and it should be noted that ‘I Feel The Everblack…’ does take some admirable steps in the right direction— Ramos himself, for instance, delivers a far more forceful performance this time around, choosing his guttural growls and shrill screams with much more intention. ‘Prison of Flesh’ stands out as something as a highlight, though that may simply come with the territory as the album’s opener: still, the cut’s theatrical piano runs and shockingly brutal breakdown kick off the record with some real power. ‘War Machine’ retains that focus on single-minded savagery, throwing itself through some of the project’s most instantly-gratifying riffs and ideas. ‘I Feel The Everblack…’ does bring with it some strong standout moments, as the Batman-esque themes of ‘A Nameless Hymn’ prove— as you might be expecting though, they are few and far between.

Lorna Shore may have packed some inspiring lyrical motifs into their newest album that turn the likes of ‘Unbreakable’ and ‘Lionheart’ into uplifting declarations of strength and solidarity, but that doesn’t justify the sheer number of ‘heroic’ melodies that crop up across the record. Near-every song centres itself around one of these interchangeable themes, further blending the ten tracks together. Much the same could be said for the breakdowns that Ramos and company insist on stuffing into every tune— they are not the group’s strength, yet consistently bulldoze their way in to destroy any momentum the record manages to create. In truth, the distinct writing choices of ‘In Darkness,’ ‘Death Can Take Me’ and ‘Oblivion’ are hard to parcel out: ‘I Feel The Everblack…,’ frustratingly, has some solid ideas tucked away, but rarely employs them with all too much finesse or creativity.

Given the extreme response that ‘Pain Remains’ earned, it seems inevitable that its follow-up— a much stronger record in most respects— will take the world’s deathcore scene by storm. Looking beneath the hood though, it seems clear that ‘I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me’ hasn’t gone far enough to iron out the multitude of kinks in the Lorna Shore sound. The band are undoubtedly talented, and have all the trappings of genre-defying standouts: we’re just still waiting for them to take full advantage of their technical prowess.