Lorna Shore + The Black Dahlia Murder + Shadow of Intent @ Place Bell▪

It’s wild how quickly Lorna Shore have gone from cult favourites to full-blown arena headliners. Just two years ago, they were opening for Gojira and Mastodon in this very venue. Now the New Jersey deathcore heavyweights have returned to Place Bell in Laval as the main attraction, bringing The Black Dahlia Murder and Shadow of Intent for one of the heaviest nights Montreal’s suburbs have seen.

The atmosphere ignited before a single note hit the stage. Fans in battle jackets and hoodies filled most of the arena. From that point on, vision would be a luxury. All three bands performed almost entirely in silhouette, their bodies swallowed by thick fog and strobing lights that made them look more like summoned entities than musicians.

Connecticut’s Shadow of Intent opened with their usual precision. Their sound was massive but not always kind to the acoustics of an ice hockey arena. The low end swelled into molten soup, and while their set hit hard, some of the nuance that defines their studio recordings got lost. Still, they played like men on a mission, barrelling through songs that mixed symphonic flair with blast-beat brutality. Even from the stands, you could spot pockets of fans screaming along word for word, their necks snapping in time with every breakdown.

Adam Mercer, filling in on vocals for Ben Duerr, held his own with growls that could summon avalanches. Between songs, there wasn’t much banter, just quick gulps of water before the next song detonated. By the time they closed with “The Heretic Prevails,” the pit had transformed into a black-clad washing machine of bodies and sweat.

Then came The Black Dahlia Murder, and with them, a wave of reverence. For many in the room, this was the band that got them into death metal in the first place. After the tragic passing of Trevor Strnad, the band’s decision to carry on (with guitarist Brian Eschbach stepping up to the mic) was met with both heartbreak and hope. Tonight, that hope felt fully realized.

They opened with “What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse,” and the reaction was immediate. The pit exploded, but now it was joyful chaos. A celebration rather than destruction. Eschbach doesn’t mimic Trevor; he channels him. There’s grit in his delivery, but also warmth, the kind that comes from knowing the crowd isn’t just watching a show but paying respect. Guitarists Ryan Knight and Wes Hauch sliced through the darkness with twin solos that shimmered briefly before vanishing back into the strobe haze.

By “Statutory Ape,” the floor had turned feral. A giant inflatable banana bounced through the air, a long-running in-joke that somehow survived the genre’s usual self-seriousness. The Black Dahlia Murder’s set balanced both beautifully: brutality with a wink.

Then the lights fell once more. A curtain rippled across the stage, backlit by the band’s sigil. When it dropped, Lorna Shore emerged to the opening notes of “Oblivion,” and the entire arena erupted. The sound was colossal: thunderous drums from Austin Archey, guitars slicing through the air like sawblades, and Will Ramos summoning every demonic frequency the human throat can produce.

Visually, it was breathtaking. The band’s lighting design bordered on cinematic (massive bursts of white light synced perfectly to blast beats, screens behind them flickering with apocalyptic imagery). During “Sun//Eater,” the fog thickened until Ramos was just a shadow convulsing in rhythm, his voice cutting through the chaos like a siren from some infernal cathedral.

The songs “Cursed to Die” and “Into the Earth” demonstrated how far Lorna Shore has evolved from their early deathcore roots. There’s melody now, emotion, and a sense of scale that borders on operatic. When the crowd started chanting “LOR-NA SHORE! LOR-NA SHORE!” between songs, it felt like witnessing a coronation.

“Glenwood,” provided a rare moment of vulnerability amid the carnage. The sea of horns lowered, replaced by phones glowing softly like votive candles. Then came “Prison of Flesh” and “To the Hellfire,” the latter causing what might politely be described as absolute anarchy. Security guards lined the barricade like soldiers bracing against a flood, hauling one crowd surfer after another over the rail while still managing to grin.

Just when it seemed over, the band returned for the encore everyone knew was coming: the full “Pain Remains” trilogy. Each part built on the last (melodic, mournful, then all-consuming). “Dancing Like Flames” had fans swaying, “After All I’ve Done, I’ll Disappear” left them breathless, and “In a Sea of Fire” finished the night in a blaze of red light and cathartic screams.

Lorna Shore’s rise has been astonishing. In an era where metal’s mainstream visibility has faded, they’ve somehow pulled the genre back into arenas without compromise. Their blend of orchestral drama, technical mastery, and raw emotional intensity hits a nerve with fans who want more than just heaviness. They want transcendence.

If there’s one complaint, it’s that the visuals occasionally overshadowed the musicians themselves. For much of the night, the band were little more than silhouettes bathed in strobes. But maybe that’s the point. Lorna Shore aren’t interested in individual spotlights; they’re creating an experience, a storm you step into willingly.