The World Is a Thorn

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 Demon Hunter
Released	March 9, 2010 (2010-03-09)
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
Live in Nashville (2009) The World Is a Thorn (2010) True Defiance (2012)
Singles from The World Is a Thorn
"Collapsing" Released: February 16, 2010[5]

Track listing

Professional ratings

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)

Deluxe Edition Bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Desire the Pain"	3:57
13.	"Driving Nails" (String Mix)	4:07
Total length:		49:34

Digital Deluxe Edition Bonus tracks

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

^[6]

"Collapsing", "Driving Nails", "Blood In the Tears" and "LifeWar" were released as singles for the album.

Chart performance

The album debuted at No. 39 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 14,000.^[16]

Weekly charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
US Billboard 200	39
US Rock Albums	6
US Hard Rock Albums	2
US Christian Albums	2

Year-end charts

Chart (2010)	Position
US Christian Albums	49

Awards

The 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

Members

• 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

• "Collapsing" was featured on the Killing Floor 2 soundtrack in 2015.^[18]