Live review: Lorna Shore, London Alexandra Palace

Today is a really good day for those who love pig squeals and gutturals, but it’s also so much more than that. There’s a new frontier being laid for fans of heavy music – not just any heavy music, but some of the heaviest. Metal and hardcore are blossoming to awe-inspiring proportions, of course, but a band of this extremity filling a room as vast as Alexandra Palace would seem an absurd concept even just five years ago. Now, anything is possible. As Will Ramos belches his lines amid plumes of flame and enigmatic visuals, there’s no questioning that Lorna Shore are the true torchbearers.

Their three support acts conquer the stage with that same determined mindset. Humanity’s Last Breath practically build a fortress of futuristic riffs and clattering percussion, the Swedes thrashing their bodies forward in unison under the lurid lights behind them. Shadow Of Intent operate more as a blunt force instrument, blasting their songs with brute force and lighting virtuosity, not to mention a plethora of disgusting plughole noises.

It’s deathcore legends Whitechapel who are unsurprisingly received with the most reverence. As ever, they bring a sound of tectonic proportions that feels doubly as intense as the bands before, as befits their status (even if some of their older stuff hasn’t aged too well – seriously, don’t Google the lyrics of The Somatic Defilement).

That thorough warm-up means that not only will these punters be hearing triggered drums in their ears as they try to get to sleep tonight, but Lorna Shore themselves receive “one of the warmest welcomes we have ever had”. Making good on this momentum, the New Jersey bruisers dive straight into the abyss with the smoke and fire-filled sonic cataclysm of Into Oblivion and a triumphant hail storm of riffs in the form of Unbreakable, backlit by dramatic visuals of crashing waves and blazing close-ups of the sun.

Even someone who merely appreciates heavy music without knowing their catalogue in-depth would enjoy this just for the spectacle, particularly the wicked contortions of Will’s vocal cords. He arches his back, squealing, bellowing, utterly inhuman at all times – and for all this eye-watering virtuosity, this is him on an off day.

“This was supposed to be my redemption,” he admits. Last time he played London he had food poisoning; this time, he has the flu. Still, he can do more than most of us when full of phlegm. For 80 minutes, the frontman works relentlessly, his words glinting with charisma as he announces “I wanna see you on your baddest behaviour!” for a bulldozing, gurn-worthy Prison Of Flesh.

By contrast, their armour-piercing moments gain a new weight live. War Machine is a spiralling thing of beauty, but a heart-tearing rendition of Glenwood is the real emotional nadir, dedicated to anyone who “left home looking for some kind of fucking peace” in which he is movingly caught alone in a spotlight as he howls, ‘Take me home.’ This is truly epic stuff realised in multiple dimensions, from the soaring emotion of the Pain Remains trilogy to a throat-tearing send off in To The Hellfire in which Will still faultlessly pulls off the iconic finale like he’s gargling glass.

Most bands never get here, especially not of Lorna Shore’s ilk. This is what happens, however, when artists dare to twist and rip conventions as they see fit and innovate rather than imitate. As unconventional as this style of music might be in such a huge space, there’s never a doubt it doesn’t belong. This was their destiny all along, to become torchbearers, and to make mainstream metal feel extreme again.

Read this next:

• Lorna Shore: “The band’s growing so fast that it’s hard to keep your hands on the wheel. Sometimes you’ve got to let it drag you around”
  
• On the ground at Lorna Shore’s Louder Than Life triumph
• Lorna Shore: “Things are unbelievable right now… we’re excited to see how far we can take this”