New Band of the Week: Dire Thorns

In our near-seven years of running this blog, we’ve encountered a new first – a band offering up dual language Russian and English vocals. This intriguing proposition is courtesy of Lincolnshire newcomers Dire Thorns, a young, masked band offering up an old-school death metal meets nu-metal sound that they describe as “heavy, bilingual and poorly-produced.”

Dire Thorns is the creation of frontman Jake, who’s been trying to get the band off the ground since he was in year five of school. After countless attempts, the current lineup came together in early 2022 with drummer Joe, who joined via the drummer of local cover band Phantom Lords, and bassist Autumn, who initially came on board as a second guitarist.

And on the sound they’ve crafted since, Jake tells us: “So you get the old death metal sound of Cannibal Corpse etc… and get a kid who only listens to Slipknot and Korn to play them, as well as a black metal bassist and a prog rock drummer. Oh, and make half of it in Russian. Yeah, we’re pretty epic. But I made it, so I may be biased.”

And on that use of Russian vocals, he added: “I got into the Russian language in April 2021, originally due to a relationship but I only doubled down on my studying after we broke up. I started accumulating enough of a vocabulary after a few months to start thinking of lines in the language, which eventually grew into a habit of writing between two different languages in my lyrics. I have been dabbling in German, Arabic and a few other languages and hope to continue to expand my music across these cultures in the future.”

Our latest taste of how this sounds is the band’s debut EP State of Sikosis, which was released last month. We chatted to the band around the release of the single Flesh (Hit The Panic), which is the fourth track on the EP and came out in April. It opens up with intense drums and stabbing guitars that continue after a growled cry before wild vocals take over and are joined by the stabbing guitars. Echoey, eerie vocals take over before dropping back into the stabbing guitars and creepy, almost crying vocals feed into vicious cries before the clean vocals return. A fun diving riff takes over before a heavy outro.

On the track, Jake told us: “The feedback from our fanbase has been overwhelmingly positive. I made a stop motion music video for it that I had redone about 4 different times and it definitely took people by surprise with its jaunty, unique nature. In spite of this positive reception, the song hasn’t been doing the best on streaming numbers or YouTube views, but I had worked a long time to stop caring about those arbitrary numbers and I am elated with what people have been saying about the release. If you haven’t yet listened, expect a bouncy, disjointed metal song with influences from Cannibal Corpse, Slipknot and a heavy Korn essence. The lyrics are horny and dumb and I love it. Enjoy if possible.” Check it out in the video below:

The EP opens up with Sikosis, which launches into life with vicious vocals and heavy low-tuned guitars. Gruff call-and-answer vocals take over alongside moody guitars and huge roars in the background. It eventually drops into a cool section of stabbing guitars and drums supporting vocals that build in intensity. And the track builds towards a huge conclusion.

That’s followed by Nasha Strana, which opens with drum rolls, a cheeky bassline and Slipknot-esque chugging guitars. Wild vocals jump in and end on a huge roar, before hugely enjoyable rhythmic Russian cries. More Russian vocals continue and feed into another fun chorus, before heavy vocals give way to chugging guitars supporting heavy vocals. The chugging chords return and feed into another chorus. Check it out in the video here:

Next up is the intriguingly named Feed Me To The Inferno, which starts with light drums and guitars before a big scream drops into slightly more melodic guitars than we’ve become accustomed to. Almost whispered vocals are supported by darting guitars, before gruff shouts take over. It descends into an almost trance-like section of unusual melodic vocals then a light guitar lick eventually gives way to heavier chords and screamed Russian vocals. And this slightly sombre track concludes with a cool little laid-back guitar solo.

The EP concludes with Paracyte, which starts out with chunky guitars, crashing cymbals and a laid-back lick. It drops into vocals that gradually increase in heaviness, before being joined by low-tuned guitars and develop into an intense chorus and slightly unnerving clean vocals. The heaviness ramps up a notch with wild vocals and vicious chugging guitars and cymbals, before a huge atmospheric conclusion. Check it out in the video below:

On the EP as a whole, Jake said: “I am incredibly eager to finally release some new material after all this time. Most of the songs we put out before this were written when I was in year 7 or 8, which is evident from the sheer disparity in writing quality and the acquisition of a whole new language.

“Track one is similar to our older material, simple, catchy and heavy. Track two is a bilingual political anthem with a monster breakdown to finish it off. Track three is our most unique song to date, bringing in our bassist’s melodic abilities and black metal influences, as well as featuring both our first guitar solo AND bass solo. Track four is Flesh (Hit The Panic), and track five is a song about the relationship I had previously mentioned, detailing a one-sided battle in which I attempted to hold onto the first person who I had experienced mutual feelings for, and my eventual decision to bring it to an end: ‘Better to be alone, than be with someone who makes you feel alone.’ It’s a pretty good EP, but I made it so I may be biased.”

The Dire Thorns sound has been heavily shaped by bands like Slipknot and Korn. As Jake explains: “It’s basic but I barely listen to music, ironically so, unless something interests me structurally / production wise. Our bassist’s tastes are wild, hyper pop to black metal. I don’t know an extensive amount about my drummer’s influences, but definitely a lot of mainstream metal and prog rock.”

And on what inspires them to write music, Jake says: “Any sort of personal turmoil, the more distressing the better. Relationships, politics, people I dislike, anything that gives me some cool lines. I use it as a method of converting negative emotions into achievement. I’m nothing special as a lyricist (other than the language thingy), but I tend to think of myself as a good lyricist, although I may be biased.”

There’s plenty more to come from Dire Thorns, including plenty of gigs. Jake’s also been hard at work reworking his recording setup to hone his skills, and he hopes to release a full-length album by the end of next year.

And he adds: “We really really rule. We’re like your favourite band but loads better. You should look at our YouTube or Instagram or something or drop us a message because it’d be really super epic, thanks.”

You can follow Dire Thorns on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.