Riccardo and the Just One Fix boys are back with Thorns, the third single from EP Submit Or Death. This track is as hard, nasty and right in your face as any JOF song you care to think of, but it’s also an example of how good these guys are as performers and writers.

While retaining all the Thrash Metal audio accoutrements Just One Fix has provided a quite varied composition. We have guitars hitting more temperate pace – albeit still wonderfully snarly and dangerous – and some great tempo variation, played around not by changing the actual speed but by a deep understanding of orchestration that gives a level of atmospheric rise and fall that feels like a series of tempo shifts. Not jarring, but a journey.

I’ve said before that these guys know their tools of trade well. It shows again. The guitars are ballsy and quite middle-set in tone. Still layered to the Nth degree in distortion, just as they should be, but noticeably un-bass led in tone. It really works too. It adds a sharpness to the rhythm guitar… for a song named?…. See? Genius.

The lead guitar is a highlight for me on this track. Sonics are used and the wailing feel to the instrument is eerie. It’s clever to have dropped the rhythm guitar for the solo segment too. I liked the dramatic effect it gave.

As always, the bass and drums are freakily in sync. Not just performance, as that can be helped (although I happen to know that these fellas don’t need help) but also in fervour and velocity. You can feel them playing as a unit. It’s great to listen to a rhythm section as cohesive as this – and you can then get why Just One Fix has been a staple for New Zealand Thrash Metal for as long as they have.

Then we come to the man with the mic. I have to admit that Riccardo is a buddy, but I do not do nepotism. His performance for Thorns is, to me, very Slayer-like. A lot of direction towards how Tom Araya would approach such a composition. It’s crystal clear though, unlike some Slayer stuff (to my sensitive Welsh lugholes anyway) which is a great trick Riccardo manages to do time and time again while still delivering the trade-mark Metal Roar vocal. How, I don’t know, but you get every word. I like that bigly much.

As to the context, from the write up in the (rather good but slightly disturbing) lyric video on the You Tubes: “the idea for the song was born from the pages of Mark Lawrence’s Broken Empire trilogy. “Thorns” deals with the reality that we are all broken, twisted and shaped by our worst experiences and become who we are because or maybe in spite of them. As a result, people tend to mask themselves to who they think the world wants them to be.”

“’I’ve learned to appreciate thorns … the thorns taught me the game’. – Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns”

This track is out now on the Spotify. It’s getting air on radio and I’d like to see that mad lyric vid on the telly too. I think it would be great on repeat in Winston Peters‘ office. See how he likes his Chumbawamba then eh? I know I’ve gushed about this one, but deal with it. It’s damn well spiffing!

Massive song. Strong as hell yet again from Just One Fix.