Italian black metal band Lorn has gone through an interesting transformation since their founding in 1999, as their earlier efforts explored more of a traditional second-wave sound but by 2013’s Subconscious Metamorphosis things had shifted to a denser and dissonant sound. 2017’s Arrayed Claws was my proper introduction, and I found the material to be some of the most entrancing and twisted takes on the genre at the time that pushed Lorn towards a unique space. The band was quiet in the years that followed, with only a very limited EP Circles of the Usurpers surfacing in 2023, but they’ve now returned with Searing Blood which once again shifts the approach significantly. Pivoting towards melodic and atmospheric black metal, the material emphasizes immense peaks and layered guitar and synth work while retaining the elements that made the group stand out in the past.
Upon pressing play listeners are greeted with very low tonality and dense riffing and drums that feel like the rumblings of a volcano, and when the guitar leads take over they have a jagged and abrasive tone that gives off a noticeably more violent and roaring sound. It’s clear Lorn’s influences from 90s melodic black metal are skewed towards those that used the melodies and atmosphere as a way to enhance the sense of darkness and nightmarish qualities, and the way the synths overlay the eerier guitars is entrancing. Searing Blood finds a sweet spot between faster blasts where the layers of sound all build up to powerful, immense peaks and slower numbers where the melodies and tension build methodically. You get a good sense of this early on, as “Haderburg” is a quick burst of speed and fury with soaring guitar leads while “Leuchtenburg” slows things down considerably in favor of notes that seem to twist and reshape over its longer run. The latter may just be one of the best black metal songs I’ve heard so far this year, as it creates a sense of dread and unease that is enhanced by the unexpected flourishes of acoustic guitar. Around the halfway point it shifts to a moodier ambient melody that gets under your skin, before heading back into black metal territory with hints of dissonance. Lorn hasn’t lost its flair for experimentation either, as even when things start to head into more traditional territory there are unexpected synth melodies or other transitions that shake things up. “Gallows” goes for the throat initially but ups the synths significantly and offers a respite where things sound a bit more like Goblin, while “Ordo Draconis” even has some symphonic flair. Each track on Searing Blood has its own identity, and there are standout moments from beginning to end.
Lorn has gone through some lineup shifts over time, and these days the band is the work of founder Radok and session drummer Gianni Pitzalis. Radok’s been behind the mic since Subconscious Metamorphosis, so if you’ve heard anything from that point onwards the performance on Searing Blood should feel familiar. His screams are on the raspier side, and they come through with quite a bit of distortion and grit, which works well with the denser layers of sound created by all the different instrumental elements. Despite the intensity of the pitch, especially on tracks like “Threshold’s Tragedy”, the vocals have been mixed in a way that they become an extension of the churning, violent layers of sound rather than completely overwhelming them. While the approach doesn’t change much over the course of the album, the verses are spaced out well so that each one comes through with just as much power as the last.
On their fourth full length, Lorn explores more of the melodic and atmospheric oriented black metal styles from the 90s while retaining some of the dissonance and experimentation that were prominent on the last two releases. At times it gives off a feel somewhere between early Gehenna and Blut Aus Nord’s Memoria Vetusta trilogy, but Radok has woven in some of the grandeur and eeriness Italian black metal is known for. The songs find a way to get under your skin whether they’re offering raging peaks or slower, tense build-ups, and this makes it one of the better black metal albums I’ve listened to so far this year. Searing Blood is available from I, Voidhanger Records and Dolomia Nera.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg