The World Is a Thorn (also stylized The World Is Λ Thorn) is the fifth studio album by American Christian metal band Demon Hunter, which was released March 9, 2010.[6] The album is described by the band as their "heaviest but most melodic" album yet.[7] The first single, "Collapsing", which features Björn "Speed" Strid of Soilwork,[8] and the title track were approved for sales on Rock Band's Rock Band Network.[9] It is Demon Hunter's only album with rhythm guitarist Ryan Helm.
| The World Is a Thorn | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 9, 2010 | |||
| Recorded | October 5 – December 2009 | |||
| Studio | The Compound, Seattle, Washington | |||
| Genre | Metalcore,[1][2][3] groove metal[3][4] | |||
| Length | 41:34 | |||
| Label | Solid State | |||
| Producer | Aaron Sprinkle | |||
| Demon Hunter chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from The World Is a Thorn | ||||
| ||||
Track listing
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [1] |
| Alternative Press | [2] |
| Cross Rhythms | [10] |
| Jesus Freak Hideout | Timothy Estabrooks: [11] Scott Fryberger: [11] |
| Metal Storm | Staff pick[12] |
| Melodic.net | [4] |
| New Release Tuesday | [13] |
| PopMatters | [3] |
| Seattle Weekly | Very highly favorable[14] |
| Sputnikmusic | 2/5[15] |
All tracks are written by Demon Hunter
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Descending Upon Us" | 5:30 |
| 2. | "LifeWar" | 1:52 |
| 3. | "Collapsing" (featuring Björn Strid of Soilwork) | 3:38 |
| 4. | "This Is the Line" | 3:59 |
| 5. | "Driving Nails" | 4:06 |
| 6. | "The World Is a Thorn" | 2:35 |
| 7. | "Tie This Around Your Neck" | 3:29 |
| 8. | "Just Breathe" (featuring Christian Älvestam of Solution .45) | 3:55 |
| 9. | "Shallow Water" | 3:44 |
| 10. | "Feel as Though You Could" (featuring Dave Peters of Throwdown) | 3:53 |
| 11. | "Blood in the Tears[a]" | 4:49 |
| Total length: | 41:34 | |
- a Re-recorded for Songs of Death and Resurrection (2021)
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Desire the Pain" | 3:57 |
| 13. | "Driving Nails" (String Mix) | 4:07 |
| Total length: | 49:34 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "My Throat Is an Open Grave" (Live Acoustic) | 3:58 |
| 15. | "Driving Nails" (Live Acoustic) | 3:48 |
| 16. | "Blood in the Tears" (Live Acoustic) | 4:29 |
| 17. | "Down in a Hole" (Live Acoustic Alice in Chains cover) | 6:20 |
| Total length: | 68:02 | |
"Collapsing", "Driving Nails", "Blood In the Tears" and "LifeWar" were released as singles for the album.
Chart performance
editThe album debuted at No. 39 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 14,000.[16]
Weekly charts
edit| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 | 39 |
| US Rock Albums | 6 |
| US Hard Rock Albums | 2 |
| US Christian Albums | 2 |
Year-end charts
edit| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Christian Albums | 49 |
Awards
editThe album was nominated for a Dove Award for Rock Album of the Year, while its deluxe version was nominated for Recorded Music Packaging of the Year at the 42nd GMA Dove Awards.[17]
Personnel
editMembers
- Ryan Clark – lead vocals
- Patrick Judge – lead & rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Ryan Helm – rhythm & lead guitar
- Jon Dunn – bass guitar
- Timothy "Yogi" Watts – drums
Production
- Aaron Sprinkle – producer
- Jason Suecof – mixing
- Dan Seagrave – artwork
- Chris Carmichael — strings
Additional musicians
- Christian Älvestam - guest vocals on Just Breathe
- Björn Strid - guest vocals on Collapsing
- Dave Peters - guest vocals on Feel as Though You Could
- Aaron Sprinkle - keyboards, programming
- Elliott Sprinkle - keyboards
- Randy Torres - additional backing vocals
Appearances
edit- "Collapsing" was featured on the Killing Floor 2 soundtrack in 2015.[18]
References
edit- ^ a b "Allmusic review".
- ^ a b Freeman, Phil (March 9, 2010). "FILE UNDER: Jesuscore". Alternative Press. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
- ^ a b c Colgan, Chris (March 16, 2010). "Demon Hunter: The World is a Thorn". PopMatters. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
- ^ a b Holmgren, Henrik. "Melodic Net - Demon Hunter - The World is a Thorn". Melodic.net. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
- ^ "Collapsing - Demon Hunter". Last.fm. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
- ^ a b "Demon Hunter | The World Is A Thorn". Solid State Records. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
- ^ "Demon Hunter - "The World Is A Thorn" (Two Different Covers) - BANDSONFIRE | Christ-centered Hardcore/Metal/Emo/Punk/Alternative/Rock/Indie/HipHop & more". Bandsonfire. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
- ^ Collapsing Songfacts
- ^ ""Collapsing" - Demon Hunter // Rock Band". Rockband.com. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
- ^ Young, Tom (January 18, 2011). "Demon Hunter - The World Is A Thorn". Cross Rhythms. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
- ^ a b "Jesus Freak Hideout review".
- ^ Train, Dane (January 23, 2011). "Demon Hunter - The World Is A Thorn". Metal Storm. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
- ^ piano89 (March 8, 2010). "The World Is A Thorn". New Release Tuesday. NRT Media. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Williams, Joe (December 9, 2011). "You May Not Like The World is a Thorn, But I Bet Mozart or Bach Would". Seattle Weekly. Village Voice Media. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
- ^ "Sputnikmusic Review".
- ^ "Bits // News // Lambgoat". Lambgoat.com. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
- ^ 42nd Annual GMA Dove Awards Nominees Archived July 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine on DoveAwards.com
- ^ "Killing Floor 2 Original Video Game Soundtrack". allmusic.com. Retrieved June 1, 2023.