Lorna Shore Scorches the Wellmont Theater on Final Night of Tour
The Friday night kicking off Memorial Day weekend, I walked into the Wellmont Theater for the first time. A beautiful venue with vaulted ceilings, the kind you find at places like the Brooklyn Paramount, I'm sure this room has seen its fair share of incredible performances. And tonight would be no different. Lorna Shore was closing out not only their North American run, but doing it in their home state of New Jersey.
SIGNS OF THE SWARM
Pittsburgh deathcore band Signs of the Swarm opened the night at the Wellmont. The crowd surfers started almost immediately, the bass and drums shaking the walls. You have to absolutely love when an opener commands attention and respect this early, because the energy only continues to build toward the headliner.
Typically after a long tour, it's not too uncommon to have tourmates step onto stage to fill in on guitar or lend a hand with vocals. But Signs of the Swarm's connection with Lorna Shore's Will Ramos runs a bit deeper, having collaborated with him on the song “Clouded Retinas" last year.
It still pumped up the crowd to have Ramos walk out mid-set to join them on stage. The room lost its mind. When the set finally closed, frontman David Simonich gave the crowd his approval: “And that's how you end a tour!”
PALEFACE SWISS
Zurich deathcore heavyweights Paleface Swiss took the stage next and wasted no time projecting their energy onto the crowd. Bandmates worked the entire length of the stage, prowling the risers, interchanging spots, and seamlessly interacting with each other. Scene veterans have a way of making it all look effortless, and Paleface Swiss were locked in.
For a moment the crowd seemed a bit fixed in place, almost like deer in headlights, not wanting to look away and miss a moment. It took frontman Marc Zellweger to stop and remind the crowd they were at a metal show, encouraging people to push forward toward the barricade and joking that those on the balcony were welcome to jump down and join the crowd below.
It would later be confirmed by a show of hands from the crowd, that most of the room had not seen Paleface Swiss live before. Despite a slow start from the crowd, Paleface Swiss turned in a set that was a clear notch up in energy and successfully readied the room for New Jersey's own Lorna Shore.
LORNA SHORE
Home state shows hit different. It was standing room only for Lorna Shore. Fans lined the walls and stairs, or anywhere else they could take it in without being ushered off by security attempting to keep everyone safe.
The massive video display behind the band transported fans to another dimension, guided by their intense, large-than-life deathcore sound.
At one point a burning sun swirled on the screen. Deep oranges and reds flooded the stage as the bodies and arms of crowd surfers reached upward from the pit, an image pulled straight from Dante's Inferno.
Check out the images yourself in the gallery below. It literally looks like souls clawing their way up from the depths of hell. And above it all was the shadow of Will Ramos, backlit by the raging star.
Alex, who many of you may have spotted adorned with green lights near the barricade, shared her thoughts with RØKKR: "The show was electric and the openers did a perfect job of hyping the crowd. The room was alive with action. All three bands put on a performance that you do not want to miss."
Alive described it perfectly. This was my fourth show of the week and I had been running on fumes by the time I made it through the doors for Lorna Shore. By the time I left, I had caught my second wind and was ready for the next run of shows already on the calendar.
LORNA SHORE SETLIST
The Wellmont Theater, Montclair, New Jersey (5/22/2026)
Oblivion
Unbreakable
War Machine
Sun//Eater
Cursed to Die
In Darkness
Glenwood
Prison of Flesh
Pain Remains I: Dancing Like Flames
Pain Remains II: After All I've Done, I'll Disappear
Pain Remains III: In a Sea of Fire
To the Hellfire (encore)
