Album Review: Dire Thorns – The Happy Man (Metal Vision Records)

Dire Thorns are a young, masked, Russo-English nu-death metal band from Grimsby in the UK. On July 9th they will release their debut album, ‘The Happy Man’ via Metal Vision Records.

Showcasing a really visceral and raw sound that combines death metal and nu-metal, is potently experimental, and utilises multilingual lyricism, Dire Thorns really stand out from the heavy pack. They’re a fascinating bunch, ugly and harsh, but with undeniable anthemic ways. That’s the nu-metal side of them, and while there are many retro aspects, it should be noted that they’ve made a hardy attempt to drag it into the modern era.

Featuring 13 tracks, it’s a hefty release that begins in noisy fashion with UDAR. An energetic track with plenty of weird touches and a dirty thickness that is easy to like. Listen to this opener and you’ll get a rough idea of the chaos the album has in store for you.

Things get a bit psychedelic with Dragged Through Glass, but it’s also a track with some heavy groove and some notable late 90s Korn vibes. Followed then by a trippy slice of short madness called Mould that has these pained, distant vocals. Before How Could You Me delivers groovy intensity and Validate Me gets right up in your face. The vocals on the latter are particularly snarky sounding, whereas the former has this Alice in Chains like riff, which sounds super cool.

It’s such a varied album and as it goes on, Dire Thorns continue to surprise in a mostly positive way. I’m not going to promise you that you’ll love everything they have to offer, but you will pay attention. Especially when they deliver another snarky effort like Beliritzar. A track with some big riffs and a short and sharp approach, As well as a track like These Words. Which has a meaty and chaotic vibe, alongside infused weirdness, that puts a nice gurn on the face. A bit of a common theme for the record.

Then, along comes Sickened is the Mind to change the formula up a bit with notable melody. Sure, it’s still a harsh and hellacious effort, but the melody does stick in the mind.

My favourite track though? It’s freaking Gaslight, a groovy and pointed listen that has so many unique twists and turns. The chorus just needs to be heard. I love it.

World Of Plastic then gives us beastly drumming, alongside some more progressive sounds. Followed by Swine, an aggressive and stompy blast that has an infusion of hardcore. Before the album wraps up with Kartina and the title track. The former has lovely, moody and psych-infused melody at the start that gives it a post vibe. It does ‘heavy’ up nicely, but we get interesting clean vocals that keep it sounding suitably sullen throughout. Whereas the latter is a big, and weird, finish with dark and heavy peaks and valleys.

A fascinating way to wrap things up, but par for the course with this record. Dire Thorns have pushed themselves to the limits to deliver something that can be called unique, even while drawing from familiar genres that don’t always sit comfortably together. It’s a potent album that has the power to knock anyone on their ass.

Dire Thorns – The Happy Man Track Listing:

1. UDAR
2. Dragged Through Glass
3. Mould
4. How Could You Me
5. Validate Me
6. Beliritzar
7. These Words
8. Sickened is the Mind
9. Gaslight
10. World Of Plastic
11. Swine
12. Kartina
13. The Happy Man

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