By cohort and label leader Ceschi Ramos’ own statement, it’s an album that at times didn’t feel like it would see fruition. In fact, the road to get here is something worth its own documenting. Arriving just two months into the year following what for many has been the darkest of their lives, Lore punctuates a period of personal struggle for Ozzborn especially, a struggle that shows its marks in different places throughout Lore‘s eleven tracks. In contrast, there are other places where Onry and Zavala deliver genuine celebrations of life. Many times it happens on the same song. When these sides of the pendulum meet in the middle, the record encapsulates both the extreme downs these last few years have seen for us all and the optimism that many are hanging onto coming into 2021. In this aspect of turmoil sitting opposite growth, the frame Lore sits in is felt by every ear it comes across.
Ozzborn sets the tone on the title track which opens the odyssey. Zavala pits dueling snare hits against a 70s crime flick-like synth looming ominously in the backdrop while Onry unleashes his trademark spitfire cadence that belts out syllables like your pops did beatdowns. His declaration is one that shouts through all the bullshit, love will triumph and Ramos closes the statement with an exclamation point. It’s an auditory thesis statement, an introduction to the scenes that are about to play out.
Lore serves as therapy with themes of self-doubt and anxiety making way for redemption and perseverance over its course. Both sides get detailed attention and there’s ample fodder for both sides of the battle. Lines like this on “The Rite Kids” when R.A.P. Ferriera says “I write this for the chosen few/ Who were told as children to speak when they were spoken to/ and then were never spoken to” hit you with a gut punch. Onry adds to that feeling with a matter-of-fact eloquence in his self-analysis, like on “Ritalin” when he laments: