16. Lorna Shore - 'Immortal'

Ok! Controversy time! This time last year, disturbing claims emerged about the sexual and emotional abuse that Lorna Shore’s fairly new vocalist CJ McCreery had perpetrated on several former partners. The band acted swiftly and removed him; however, they were left with a quandary. Their third album, “Immortal”, was already in the can. After lots of soul-searching, they decided to still release it, alongside a strong condemnation of their former vocalist’s actions and an equally strong statement of support for and unity with his victims. 

The band have made the decision to wrestle these songs away from their disgraced former member and instead use the anger at the heart of them to channel their collective dismay at him and his actions. The fury contained within is heightened and concentrated by the issues that surround its release. Basically, this is a brutal monster of an album. Massive riffs, massive choruses and fantastic use of orchestral and choral break downs. This is still undoubtedly an extreme Metal album, but it wants to think big. It soars and pushes beyond its musically boundaries. Epic in both its sound and scope.