Rome-based Melodic Death/Doom Metal outfit Shores Of Null return with their fifth studio full-length, Homesick. As a big fan of their two most recent releases in particular, I was very keen to see what Homesick had to offer, given that it marks a new chapter in their creativity.
Shores Of Null – Homesick
Release Date: 16 October 2026
Word: Jools Green
Sound-wise, it has a slightly more gothic feel than the doom-leaning sound of its two predecessors but still carries the instantly recognisable signature sound that is Shores Of Null.
The album features guest contributions from Natalie Koskinen from Shape Of Despair and Shaun MacGowan from My Dying Bride and explores nostalgia, absence, and the complex meaning of home.
Vocalist Davide Straccione explains that “Homesick is meant to be experienced as a whole… a record that moves through longing, loss, anger, vulnerability, and the need to find a place to belong to. At its core lies the idea of home as something deeply ambiguous: a place of comfort and belonging, but also of fear, pain, and memories we can never fully leave behind.”
The album opens on the beautifully haunting melodies of Allies Before Defeat. The mix of predominantly clean vocal layering with a hint of deep growls alongside the more gothic style deep cleans adds atmosphere and texture to the piece. With the melodies expanding, developing and flowing across the piece, this gives it an engaging core, making a piece that establishes the powerful emotional path of the album.
Next is Two Mountains, which is the third of four pre-released singles featured on this album. The lyrics are inspired by the Legend Of Maja “a story about a mother’s love and the unbearable pain of loss alongside memories, belonging and the invisible bond we carry with the places that shaped us, telling the ancient Abruzzese myth of Maja and her son Hermes, whose deaths became immortalised in the very mountains of the region of Gran Sasso and Majella.”
Musically, it is an upbeat but reflective piece where the cleans soar and are contrasted superbly by bursts of unnerving raw deep growls, alongside a hugely engaging gothic-tinged melody that ebbs and builds reflecting the mood of the lyrics.
The next piece, Bleed To Life, was the first single released from the album and revolves around “the idea that pain, sacrifice and suffering are not only things we endure, but are also experiences that shape who we become and ultimately bring us closer to life itself.”
This delivers a balanced contrast between the clean and growled vocals as well as balancing the punchy edge of the riffs against the soaring melody and clean reflective swathes, again oozing atmosphere and emotion.
Fourth single and title track Homesick was, Davide explains, ”the very first song written for the album, and in many ways, it set the emotional direction for everything that followed.” Lyrically, it “explores the idea of home as something deeply ambiguous: a place of comfort and belonging, but also of fear, pain, and memories we can never fully leave behind.”
Initially, it is quite dark and reflective to open, elevating from a doomy pace to a more elevated tempo gothic mood, with the clean vocals dominating much of the lyrical content. The growls emerge ominously and unnervingly midway through for dark impact, making it a piece that has a beautiful flow and a haunting lyrical repeat of “home is dangerous”.
Son Of The Tide was the second single released and explores themes of “solitude, destiny and belonging through imagery connected to the sea, which becomes a metaphor for the forces that shape our lives and the paths we inherit rather than choose.” Musically, it is a powerful, punchy offering with growled verses and soaring, clean choruses, which I feel really reflects the tumultuous and varied nature of the sea.
Even though it is punchier and more crushing than many of the other previous pieces, it still holds that strong emotive feel. A dark, haunting and beautiful piece.
Dreaming Of A Scar features Shaun MacGowan of My Dying Bride on violin. He brings a beautifully melancholic and reflective atmosphere to the piece, particularly where he is accompanied by piano. The harsh vocals make a starkly superb contrast when they arrive, along with an intensifying of musical pace and content, which has a noticeable melodic Death Metal influence.
Lyrically, it is a “dialogue between childhood and adulthood, reflecting on the passing of time and the desire to hold on to the wonder and dreams of our younger selves, even as life slowly changes us, a profound thought that no doubt many of us have reflected on with the passing of time.”
Society Is The Murderer lyrically deals with “our relationship with failure and the pressure of living in a society that glorifies success while often condemning those who fall short of it. But it is an invitation not to fear failure and accept it as an inevitable and valuable part of our journey.”
This is a very positive and philosophical attitude to take. Musically, it is upbeat, and the clean vocal delivery is strong, positive and commanding. You cannot help but feel inspired by this piece.
Shaun MacGowan returns with more violin on The Numbing Void, along with Natalie Koskinen from Shape Of Despair providing additional vocals. Both add a very haunting, reflective atmosphere to the piece. I love the contrast between Davide’s raw and deathly delivery in the musically bleak swathes of this piece and his haunting cleans in the reflective melodic choruses.
It also gives a backwards glance and nod to Beyond The Shores with its Death/Doom sound and lyrical reflection as it contemplates further on “grief, mortality and the helplessness that often follows the loss of someone close to us, along with the regret that so often comes with realising there was never as much time as we thought there would be.”
I do love a good slab of Death/Doom, and this is a powerful, introspective and beautiful listen.
Next, in complete contrast, is Another Breath, which is a frantic, driving beast awash with blast beats and raw energy, yet still rich in melody. Vocally, it is superb. The power and emotion in the cleans are moving and impacted by the bursts of raw vocals that further emphasise the emotional content of the lyrics that look at “the anxiety, loneliness and relentless repetition that often define modern life.” This is a superbly intense listen.
Final offering Disappear deals with themes of loss, surrender and acceptance. I do love the emotive extremes reflected here as it moves musically between reflective passages that are sparse and doomy and intense but melodic swathes as well as the contrast between the deathly raw vocals and the soaring emotive cleans.
Overall, it is an unnervingly good listen that is emotionally impactful and a superb finale.
Homesick, like all Shores Of Null releases, is packed with atmosphere, emotion and passion and is a superbly emotive and contemplative listen.
There is a subtle but defined Paradise Lost influence in the sound on many of the pieces, particularly on the title track. But overall, the influences range broader than previous albums.
Shores Of Null have pushed their capabilities well with this album. Released on 16 October 2026 via Dusktone, it will be available in vinyl, CD and digital format from: https://www.dusktone.org and https://dusktone.bandcamp.com/album/homesick.
