Review by Richard Henry for MPM
It is warm as hell outside the venue tonight and it feels like hell inside, this is going to be a sweat dripping off the wall deathcore fest in here tonight!
Lorna Shores first time over here and bringing Ingested from the UK with them on this one, the venue was sold out which I am loving seeing, let’s keep that going and get as many bands over to Northern Ireland as we can!
Ingested
The List – 1st one of the night from the 2020 “Where Only Gods May Tread” album, that’s a sludgy riff to start this one off, nice slow grinding double bass along with that riff, before drummer Lyn hits second gear and the blasts start, this really reminds me of Hate Eternal in parts, vocalist Jason is a god damn animal, vocally unreal, but as a frontman outstanding, stalking the stage, always moving, gesturing, asking more from the crowd, really charismatic from my point of view, loving the different tempo shifts and the riffs are just sick, nice eight string action going on, but not just resting on that bottom string, the shifts really keep the interest where some other bands lose it by staying with one or two things in a song, the crowd are definitely awake as there is a bit of movement already in the pit, loving the breakdown section near the end of this one
Shadows in Time – Straight to 2022 and the new album “Ashes Lie Still”, now that’s how you start a song, like getting hit in the head with a steel bar, double bass flying then into blasts into a more breakdown section, the vocals are high, low in middle, really great range, that slow section for the chorus is just savage, before we hit the tempo for verse two, oh hell yes, that middle section slow then insane double bass, the bodies started to come through the air on this one, security where getting put to work tonight, that’s a proper slab of a riff, right as the song is coming to a close, the pit is getting worked out with these guys!
Impending Dominance – Back to “Where Only Gods May Tread” for this one, Morbid Angel would be pleased to right an intro riff half as banging as that, and to be fair drummer Lyn could give Sandoval a run for his money on this, he is properly flying, loads of blasts, double bass, but if you watch him, lots of little splash cymbal work and other things you could easily miss, love the stop start riff on this next section, before a slow as hell riff comes in and the beatdown starts, the pit really shifting about on this one again, then it builds and the double bass hits in as well, it’s a great build up into a more mid paced tremolo picked riff, then the blast are back but switching up with a half time as well, great dynamic section between the two, love when the acoustic section comes in with the hits from the heavier guitars and drums, again the vocals are immense!
Copremesis – 2016’s “Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering” album is up next with this track, that’s like a real old school death metal riff with the fast double bass, almost reminds me of Cryptopsy or Broken Hope, guitarist Sean in front of me all night just holding it down and staring out at the crowd, this is bar far the most out and out Death Metal track they have played so far and it rips, then into a slow grinding riff and then it breaks right down, pinch harmonics all over the place, love this part, absolutely savage, love the tempo shifts as well in this, it really keeps the intensity and momentum going for the whole song, then into a blast section, half tremolo riff and half slow grindy riff, that slow middle breakdown, what a part, love it!
Echoes of Hate – Last track of tonight from the new album “Ashes Lie Still”, atmospheric octave guitar intro, with a single picked harmony guitar and a very reverb heavy vocal before it drops, another really brutal slow riff on this, the crowd being urged to give everything they have for the last time, there is carnage happening to my left as the pit is going and the bodies start to fly towards the bouncers (who can I mention where excellent and treated everyone really well that crowd surfed, and we all know there have been other places this doesn’t happen so important to say), picked up into a more thrash riff and then the blast beats start, love the intensity of this one, that slower riff following the drums is just class, with Jason looking possessed screaming his way through this section, the section with the blasts and then the stuttered bass drums before the break of the song title is fantastic as Is the riff straight after it, what a track to close!
I was absolutely blown away by these guys, I hadn’t (apologies) heard them before tonight but they were savage, they gave the headliners a hell of a lot to live up to in my opinion and I would love to see these guys back here for a longer set, apologies to the second guitarist, I could not find your name anywhere, also really nice to see something other than black t-shirts at the merch booth, the white and pink was picked up by myself, outstanding band!
Lorna Shore
Sun//Eater – First track and we are straight into the new album “Pain Remains”, the place is absolutely packed and the volume from the crowd goes through the roof as the intro choir from the start of this one comes through the sound system, then on they come, really film score the intro, it could be used on something like a Hans Zimmer film or a video game, and just like this the blast beats and the vocals come in, pretty sure there are tracks supplementing the band as well adding some elements to the sound, Adam was in front of me all night and the guy is an absolute machine, tremolo picking and shredding all night, the second riff in this always reminds me of a Swedish melodic Death riff ala At The Gates or something, only a lot faster, the vocals in the chorus are insane and let’s face it Will really is something else, watch the Charismatic Voice YouTube channel to see the video of Will with the camera down his throat and other tutorials with Chris Lipe, really interesting, then the first break down section hits, with sub hits coming as well just to add to it, that chorus is just uplifting, it’s the only thing is can say, that solo is a real shred fest, matches the song but if you’re a guitarist like myself, this guy has real skill, then it breaks and Will is on his own spitting out the lyrics then the band stutter in before a sludgy slow breakdown with the inhuman vocals, then the atmospherics come in on the orchestra tracks with Adam whammy barring along to it, into that chorus again, I think the one thing I will say is, this is over six minutes but because of all the changes and complexity of the music, it just feels like it flies in!
Cursed to Die – Straight into the next song on the album, again that backing orchestral with the rest of the band just is to die for live, the riff is nuts but really melodic when you listen to it in isolation, there is so much going on with drummer Austin in this, I mean the pre requisites are there, the double bass going with the double stroke rolls for foot speed, the blasts, but go listen to the studio version, the amount of rolls, splash work going on in between parts are really easy to miss, but I watched him on this song and he is catching it all, again when the chorus comes in and you go from thrash to blasts, the orchestrals are like a blanket soothing over the sound, and by the way, the pit is absolutely nuts, it is going for the whole set, after the Cursed to Die vocal, then the breakdown with the stuttering riff and then there is that sub bass drop as we hit the slow breakdown, before we are led back into that chorus again, it’s a great transition between the two parts of the song, really melodic solo then we have a mountain of sweep picking and legato licks peppered with whammy bar and fast picking, honestly if you’re a guitar player go check this guy out, out of the solo and the double bass onslaught resumes, right to the final floor tom hit of the song!
Hellfire – Now some would say ballsy move putting this as third song as it’s the one most people would have as a favorite, not these guys, from the “And I Return to Nothingness” Ep from 2021, the acoustic part comes on and the places goes nuts, I mean nuts, I haven’t seen this many crowd surfers in a long time, that vocal part is insane, then its full on blast beat madness, there is however amongst all this insanity, one thing, and that’s melody, the guitars hold so much of that, it takes it away from just being another brutal band to a band with lots of texture, don’t get me wrong, this song is as brutal as it gets, its over six minutes long but it never loses its intensity or melodicism, that chorus is just something else though isn’t it, as is the riff straight after it, now how drummer Austin is coping up there is beyond me in this furnace but he doesn’t let up, breakdown again then back into blast beat onslaught, then into that huge chorus again, before it breaks down to that acoustic start before Adam sweep taps his way into another technical solo, but still holds a ton of melody and then adds the technique into it as well, then we have that slow but fast break down with the double bass flying, then the pig vocals come in, more breakdowns then just like the album….
Of the Abyss – Choir vocals to start this, with a military drum part, before we get a part that reminds me so much of Flesh god Apocalypse inn approach, again the mix in the venue is really good, my only complaint would be the snare drum for both bands could do with a bit more high end, very hard to hear with the blast if it was a triggering issue on the fast parts, slower parts where fine, this one for the most part is a brutal fast one that just flows with that choir, another highly technical counter point riff in the verse, the chorus has the layers of orchestra coming into it, that thrash beat with the double bass that then goes blast, yet again Adam just pulls out another amazing solo, if he gets overlooked in readers polls in the guitar magazines there really is an issue, those vocals are insane after the solo, the whole place is getting moved around on this as the pit is just spilling out everywhere, before back into that monumental chorus section, into an almost black metal style drum beat before the double bass section with the massive choirs before the song comes to an end!
The crowd started chanting Lorna Shore and I genuinely think the band are taken back by the reaction they are getting from us, it’s the loudest I have heard this place in quite a long time!
Welcome Back – Something I hope we will be saying again to these guys, however this is the first track from the new album “Pain Remains”, you forget this is a seven-minute-long song, that’s for sure, again the intro starts to drone over the crowd, giving the guys a momentary breather, then bang, blast beats and screams and it’s a massive blanket of sound hits on this one, the vocals are seriously harsh on this one, that riff with the drums, poor Austin, that’s a nightmare and then like that its slowed right down and then again and there is a sea of bodies hitting the bouncers, before a real black metal riff hits and just when you get that then we hit the chorus and the tempos shift and the orchestra comes back in again, that riff after it is again like a real technical death metal riff crossed with a Swedish death melodic riff, then another breakdown, it’s on tonight sweat running off people in there, ah the solo, yeah I am gushing a bit but the guy is just class, he probably felt me staring at him all night, just top class, bar dive and into yet another breakdown, where the vocals definitely come down several octaves to the absolute depths, then it just builds back up and into the blast beats that hurtle us towards the end of a seven minute masterpiece!
Soulless Existence – Staying with the new album, in fact we hear nearly all the new album with the exception of tracks 6 and 7, Apotheosis and Wrath, this one is a bit more direct of a start with minor chords and the vocals before and almost tribal drum part comes in over it, then into a riff and double bass part with Will screaming over the breaks of it, again it’s a wall of sound but there is melody, then into another melodic but technical riff, before a really black metal part, with the atmosphere and the guitar melody, almost like an Emperor vibe, maybe that’s just me, not the vocals but the rest of the instrumentation, even Dimmu like in that middle part, the chorus is to die for again, such a blanket of sound, then it slows down for another solo, ill spare you the gushing, just listen to it, amazing, again how is that song seven minutes, it flies in!
Into the Earth – We are on the new album for the rest of the set, choir intro to this one, then it just slaps you in the face with the blast beats and riffs and the vocals, well they are just insane, Will prowling the stage all the time, smiling and gesturing to the crowd, great frontman, but just listen to the section where it stops bar the choir and the vocals before they all kick in again, it’s that contrast makes this band, then the heaviest breakdown hits, before a really fast string skipping riff hits in and the tempo cranks way up again, then the choir joins us again over the double bass blasts before the real blasts come in again for that chorus, it’s like a movie score if you sit back and listen to it, just a really epic quality, solo time, sweeping, tapping, fast scales, yeah it’s all there, and then another orchestral break down before we have a key change back into the chorus, might be easy to miss but yeah it goes up to lift that last chorus!
There was a lot of boos when Will announced this was the last three songs, he also gave out a shout to the bouncers for saving your lives and as I said earlier, they were fantastic, treating everyone well, even a few high fives and hugs as people walked away from them so I will again say, huge shoutout to the bouncers on tonight! So here we go, the last three songs are the trilogy at the end of the album!
Pain Remains – Parts 1-3
The rain comes in with a heavy droning synth intro, almost uplifting in the way it starts, almost like a synthwave vibe to it, then the guitar melody comes in, then it drops in with drum and guitar stabs, then an aggressive as hell riff with the blast beats raining down on the crowd, much like the crowd surfers raining down on the security, I love the way it breaks bar the backing a Will singing, that is an almost Scar Symmetry style chorus part, then back into the blasts with a more hardcore style delivery in the verse, all the time that synth line playing in the background, that riff following the blasts is nuts, and there we go, another shred fest of a solo, but it’s really melodic as well, something Adam handles so well, if that part after the solo doesn’t give you goosebumps then I don’t know, it’s so heartfelt in a song so brutal!
Straight into part two with the static power chords opening it, different in style where its more direct at the start with the riff and the drums, there are masses of orchestra going along with this, then a dizzying riff in the blast parts also changing and dancing around tempos, again drummer Austin is just flying but playing all over the place, then the first breakdown of the piece, it’s actually a welcome break before we hurtle back into the chorus again, we go verse chorus again, and then into a medium paced breakdown with plenty of double bass chops on show, the tempo is nuts on this, but what a chorus, again every chorus is uplifting from my point of view, I love the break with the synths and the melody lead guitar playing, before Adam yet again sweeps and taps his way around the solo, it’s just a beautifully thought out solo yet again, and maybe hard to spot it another key change for this chorus which shifts the song yet again, it’s at this point you realize it’s been over ten minutes and you still have the near ten min part three of this track to go!
Part three, ominous orchestra and violin part slides the song in then the orchestral element starts to pick up in intensity, straight into a technical riff and blasts, vocal delivery changing all the time, as are the drums, dancing around that riff, all the time the orchestral elements are flowing about, then it just stops into a vocal part with the choir to highlight it before the band kicks back in again, super technical in nature but again enough melody to just be bludgeoning all the time, another amazing solo, Adam is a monster in the Jason Richardson, Jeff Loomis style and should be recognized as such as far as I am concerned, then a break with a military style drum part and the vocals and orchestra, into a breakdown that still follows the melody of the synths with the chords changing to match it, then it slooows way down, now that’s when it went off, then it ends with the synth part slowly playing us out!
That was an insane gig, I didn’t know much of either band, Lorna Shore I had heard Hellfire, but that was it, Ingested I didn’t know.
Ingested blew me away, intense and from the off super fun to watch, great with the crowd as well. Lorna Shore, I found so uplifting despite limited knowledge of the songs, and as a guitarist, Adam blew me away, I sincerely hope these guys come back to Belfast as they looked like they were genuinely shocked by the fans, an unreal gig, if you get the chance, go see them!
Photography by MPM
