Dire is an American

metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

band from

Quitman, Georgia Quitman is a city in and the county seat of Brooks County, Georgia, Brooks County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The population was 4,064 in 2020. The Quitman Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places ...

History

The band began in 2010 with Joran Messer (vocals, lead guitars) and Brandon Wade (bass) and Kyle Robinson (rhythm guitars). The band recorded their self-titled debut EP in 2013, independently. After releasing the EP, the band began writing on their debut album, ''Volume 1''. In 2015, the band went to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

to begin recording their album with Jeremiah Scott ( Demon Hunter,

Living Sacrifice Living Sacrifice is an American Christian metal band formed in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1989. The band has released eight studio albums, out of which the first three were recorded under R.E.X. Records with their original vocalist Darren John ...

). The next year, the once again went to finish the album with Lee Dyess (In Due Time) at EarthSound Studios. The album was finally released in late 2016, but before its release, rhythm guitarist Kyle Robinson departed from the band. After the release, the band signed to Sancrosanct Records and released their debut lyric video for "Watch it Burn". In 2017, they announced their sophomore EP, ''Depths''. They released their debut single, "Put It To Death", in November 2017, which featured Ryan Kirby of

Fit for a King ''Fit for a King'' is a 1937 American comedy film starring Joe E. Brown and directed by Edward Sedgwick. Plot Newspaper reporter "Scoop (term), Scoops" is sent out on assignment, to investigate the failed assassination attempts on Archduke Jul ...

. Soon thereafter, the band released "Only Soul", the second single from the EP. Two days before the release of the EP, they released their final single, "Beyond Reach", and also that former guitarist Kyle Robinson had rejoined the band. In 2018, Nick McLendon joined the band on drums and Victoria Messer joined the band temporarily to perform Rhythm Guitars. Wade departed from the project around late 2018 or early 2019, with Messer putting out an announcement looking for new members shortly after.

Influences and style

The band states their influences as Demon Hunter,

Killswitch Engage Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, bassist Mike D'Antonio, and drummer Justin ...

, Sleeping Giant,

Disciple A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...

Project 86 Project 86 is an American rock band from Orange County, California, formed in 1996. The band has released twelve albums, which have collectively sold nearly 500,000 units worldwide, two EPs, two DVDs, and one live album. In 1998, BEC Recordings ...

The O.C. Supertones The Orange County Supertones (a.k.a. The O.C. Supertones, or simply The Supertones) were a Christian ska band from Orange County, California. The band was signed to Tooth & Nail Records and its imprint, BEC Recordings, before becoming an indepe ...

Lecrae Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979) is an American Christian rapper, singer-songwriter, actor, and Record producer, recording producer and Music executive, executive. Since having begun his career in 2004, he has released ten studio alb ...

and

War of Ages War of Ages (sometimes abbreviated WoA; formerly known as Point Zero) is an American Christian metal band formed in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 2002. The group consists of vocalist Leroy Hamp, lead guitarist Steve Brown, rhythm guitarist Jack Danie ...

. The band, however, has been compared to many bands, including

12 Stones 12 Stones is an American hard rock band, formed in 2000 in Mandeville, Louisiana, consisting of Paul McCoy, Richard Labranche, Sean Dunaway, David Troia and Jon Rodriguez. History The band members met in Mandeville, Louisiana, a small city no ...

As I Lay Dying ''As I Lay Dying'' is a 1930 Southern Gothic novel by American author William Faulkner. Faulkner's fifth novel, it is consistently ranked among the best novels of the 20th century.The New Lifetime Reading Plan: The Classical Guide to World Lit ...

Five Finger Death Punch Five Finger Death Punch, also abbreviated as 5FDP or FFDP, is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2005. The band originally consisted of vocalist Ivan Moody, rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, lead g ...

, Killswitch Engage ( Howard Jones era),

Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, lead gui ...

, Demon Hunter, Living Sacrifice, Convictions,

Three Days Grace Three Days Grace is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in Asphodel–Norwood, Norwood, Ontario, in 1992 originally as Groundswell. Groundswell played in various local Norwood backyard parties and area establishments before disbanding in 1 ...

, Alove for Enemies and The Showdown. Dire describes their genre simply as

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

and heavy metal, however, many reviewers have called them

groove metal Groove metal, sometimes also called neo-thrash or post-thrash, is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre is primarily derived from thrash metal, but played in slower tempos, and making use of rhythmic guitar pa ...

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

and

deathcore Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore Breakdown (music)#Heavy metal and punk rock, breakdowns. While there are some precursors ...

Members

Current *Joran Messer – vocals, lead guitar (2010–present), guitar (2015–2018) * Trey Hutchinson –rhythm guitar(2020–present) * Caleb Barnes – bass (2020–present), drums (live) * Nick McLendon – drums (2018–present) Former * Victoria Messer - rhythm guitar (2018-2020) * Brandon Wade – bass guitar (2010–2019) * Kyle Robison – rhythm guitar (2010–2015, 2017–2018) Timeline

Discography

EPs *''Dire EP'' (2013; Independent) *''Depths'' (2017; Sancrosanct) *''Crush The Head'' (2023; Independent) Studio albums *''Volume 1'' (2016; Independent) Singles *"Put It To Death" (2017; Sancrosanct) *"Only Soul" (2017; Sancrosanct) *"Beyond Reach" (2017; Sancrosanct) *"Jingle Bells" (2020; Independent) *"Oblivion God" (2021; Independent) *"Holding On" (2022; Independent) *"Enemy" (2024; Independent) *"Frosty The Snowman" (2024; Independent) *"Break The Skin (Havaq Remix)" (2025; Independent) Compilation appearances *''Metal from the Dragon (Vol. 2)'' (2017; The Bearded Dragon Productions)

References

External links

*{{cite web, url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bq7QyPuB6U, title=Dire Band Interview, publisher=The Crushing Truth, first=Jessica, last=Spencer, date=December 13, 2014, accessdate=November 8, 2017 2010 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) American Christian metal musical groups Metalcore musical groups from Georgia (U.S. state) Musical groups established in 2010 Musical quartets from Georgia (U.S. state)