Pain Remains

Photos by Jason Goodrich

There is nothing subtle about Lorna Shore’s latest release, “Pain Remains.” If the title didn’t enlighten you, the album cover’s close-up photo of a man about to open his own jugular with a menacing blade affirms just what is in store—a punishing album featuring some of the band’s strongest material to date.

“Pain Remains” is the follow-up to 2021’s “…And I Return to Nothingness” EP, vocalist Will Ramos’ first foray with the group. Lorna Shore barely let the EP breathe before getting back into the studio to record “Pain Remains,” a grueling race against the clock that stressed everyone out. The experience created an album where Lorna Shore is at their absolute extreme.

We spoke with Ramos and drummer Austin Archey about the creation of “Pain Remains,” how their songwriting process has changed as they’ve become bigger, and how their moms want to have input on their tattoo collections.

Let’s start with the simplest, yet toughest question—can you sum up “Pain Remains,” your latest album, in 30 seconds?

Will Ramos: All right. The album is a 10-song adventure-slash-journey through fucking pain, grief and dreams. Honestly, it’s like a story, and it gets really emotional at certain parts and really freaking sad and really angry. So it’s a little bit of a freaking roller coaster, to say the least.

Austin Archey: Musically I’d say it matches that perfectly. It goes through many different styles, stretching the thresholds and boundaries of what the band’s done. We’re kind of doing what we’ve always done, but just to the extreme at all times. If it’s gonna be emotional, it’s gonna be the most emotional it’s ever been. If it’s heavy, it’s gonna be the heaviest thing we’ve done. We’re creating more of a journey, more for people to latch on to.

You’ve mentioned how the album lines up together, both musically and lyrically. Can you tell us a little about the songwriting process for this album?

Ramos: This one was a little bit strange. We usually have a better idea before we go in, but this was very much something that was written while we were there. We all got put into our own freaking corners of the studio and we’re just like, “All right, you do this, Austin and Hugo blast away for however long you need to blast. And then, Adam, you go write some riffs over here…” I’m not gonna lie, we were expecting to be together a lot more throughout the whole thing. But then we were like, shit, we got a lot of songs and don’t have a lot of time. We’re just gonna do what we have to do. At the end of the night, we would go back to the AirBnB and I would hear freaking Austin blasting the songs ’til four in the morning so everybody could hear it and have an idea of what the hell’s going on. That was our chance to actually brainstorm and come together.

Archey: Usually there are songs written when we get to the studio. We didn’t have anything. So as one song’s being finished musically, it’s getting finished lyrically. Then as it’s getting finished lyrically, I’m recording, Adam’s recording. We recorded each song one by one. It was a six-week race to get this album done because we had no time. We didn’t even process the EP, it was only out for three months before we went to go do the record. So we didn’t know what people liked, we didn’t really know what we wanted to do. There wasn’t much time to think, so it all came together naturally and very quickly.

While recording previous records, did you have a full thematic idea of what it was going to be before you entered the studio?

Archey: Even if we didn’t have a full album, we’d have at least 50 percent of it done, while being open to suggestions and changing. But this time, we had bits. I mean one-minute bits, little things. We had to pick apart these little bits and then add more to them and throw them together. It was a lot of quick thinking. It was like a dartboard—let’s do this, let’s do that. I think we’re all surprised by how great it all came out. There’s nothing to not be proud of; if anything, we’re more proud that we made it happen because there were moments where we thought we didn’t have an album.

It was that chaotic?

Archey: Early on in the studio we had two or three songs done and we didn’t have the single, we didn’t have the song. And then I think in a big moment we all talked and then we wrote two of our favorite songs in the same day. Then that gave us the motivation to push to do the rest of the record. We had some really fresh, fun ideas to bounce off of. That day was the turning point for us. Then we literally worked until the moment we had to leave. It was down to the wire.

Do you think working with that ticking clock over your heads inspired you to get it done? And if so, is that a thing you would ever revisit?

Ramos: Naaaaaaaaah.

Archey: I never want to do this again. If we could control that environment and add the pressure without it feeling like life or death, because that’s how it felt at the time, sure. Like, if we were all in a cabin for a week and the goal was to leave with five songs, a controlled version of this, sure, there’s things to learn from this as far as leading with emotion throughout the writing process.

Having the pressure be controlled without the consequence if it doesn’t come together.

Ramos: Exactly. I’m a big fan of working down to the wire, like, last-minute as fuck. But this was just crazy, dude. It was like when you show up to hand in your school project and it’s due and they’re literally collecting the papers and you’re in the back just, like, trying to do the last couple of fucking answers real quick. And you’re like, this is fine.

Archey: Diamonds are made under pressure. That’s a classic line, I know, but I think we all are procrastinators. We all love that pressure in a sadistic way to see what we have and what we’re going to do. It’s rewarding and a bit validating when you’re like, “I accomplished the impossible.” And you say you don’t want to do it again, but you’re probably going to do the same shit again.

Ramos: I feel like if there’s anything I ever learned from being in this band is that shit happens, but you make it work anyway.

Will, this was your first full-length with Lorna Shore. How did the crunch of recording affect your mindset?

Ramos: I hate it! It makes me stressed. I write best when I have all the time in the world. Ideas come to me like Nicolas Cage in “National Treasure.” I’ll be like, “Holy shit, cereal. Cereal starts with a C. Chaos starts with a C. Wait! I need to go write something!” Then I’ll run somewhere and I’ll pull out my notepad and I’ll start writing lyrics. That’s how I like writing. And that’s how I’m used to writing.

One of the tracks that really stands out is the opening track, “Welcome Back, O’ Sleeping Dreamer.” It has a gradual buildup as a choir chants along before all hell breaks loose.

Ramos: That was something we really wanted. We needed something that literally just kicks you in the fucking head. It’s an ass-beater right there.

Archey: It’s something where we can walk on stage and just leave after the first track, thinking that the crowd is ours from this moment on. Even with the end of the track where it feels like a wartime march, you’re ready for what’s about to come. And if you aren’t, it’s probably time to just turn off the record and go somewhere else.

As we talk about the track setting the tone for the record, this is as good a time as any to bring up how this album is written to be a cohesive album, something bands are getting away from doing. Why do you think it’s important to craft a record in this manner?

Archey: The way we think when it comes to writing a record, it has to be a journey. I think we were showing Bodysnatcher some songs and they’re like, “Man, I love sitting down and listening to a Lorna Shore song because I have to sit there and listen to nothing else. And you guys don’t even write songs, you write experiences.” I think that really stuck with me. For us, we’re all very emotional people who take this very seriously. At times it feels like we are writing and fighting for our lives on these songs. This is the truest and most extreme expression of all of our emotions. We give our all and I think that shows in every song.

Have you gotten a chance to play any of the new material live yet?

Ramos: We’ve played “Sun//Eater,” “Cursed to Die” and “Into the Earth” so far.

And how were they received?

Archey: I was so excited to play “Cursed to Die” at a festival because that’s the biggest stage you can choose to premiere a song. When you play in the practice room you’re under the microscope, we’re all in this tiny little space playing it and we were like, this is probably one of the funnest songs we have to play. So to hit a stage and have that level of fun, obviously it fires you up.

As the band has become more successful and you’re playing more festivals and less clubs, has your songwriting changed?

Archey: We’re no longer writing to impress a small room of kids who wanna beat each other up. We wanna impress a crowd of people who have a beer in their hand and might just want to enjoy the show. And I think that’s what a lot of these songs looked like and felt like at these festivals, people were really enjoying just watching the band do our thing on stage. Then they gauge the crowd and headbang with us and crowd surf, scream these lyrics in our face. Cause not everyone wants to just beat the living crap out of each other, even though that’s where we came from. That’s our roots. We’re just on a different trajectory now.

We are Inked, so we do have to talk about tattoos a little. What was that very first one for you?

Ramos: I remember when I was turning 17 I was like, “I want to get a tattoo,” and my mom was like, “Absolutely the fuck no, you cannot.” And I was just like, “All right, well, I’m gonna be 18.” She was like, “Well, you gotta wait till you’re 18.” So when I was, like, 17 and three quarters, I went to the tattoo place and I was like, “Listen, in one quarter of a year, I’m gonna be 18.” And because I wanted to play it safe with the ’rents I got my dad’s family crest tattooed on my back. I was like, “Listen, you may hate tattoos, but you can’t hate on family.”

Did it work and help you avoid getting in trouble?

Ramos: Nooooo! Absolutely not, they still fucking hated it [laughs]. What’s funny is I got my mom’s family crest on the other side a couple of years later. Then I was talking to my mom the other day and she was like, “Will, when are you going to get a tattoo of my face?” I’m like, “Mom, you don’t even like tattoos. You still hate tattoos.” But she’s like, “Yeah, but if you’re going to do them you may as well get my face.” Mom, I’m not getting your face tattooed on me. “Are you going to wait until I’m dead?!” Mom, Jesus Christ…

Archey: My mom says the same thing. She told me I can only get another face tattoo when she’s dead. I’m like, “Mom, I don’t even want to think about that.” It’s not an incentive. It’s not like I can’t wait until my mom dies so I can tattoo my entire face, that’s not a fun thing to think about. I’d rather you live forever, I’d rather get every tattoo on my body lasered off than to have you not be here to answer my phone calls when I need you.