heavy-metal-darkness: Deathhammer | Crimson Dawn

Monday, September 8, 2025

Deathhammer | Crimson Dawn | Hells Headbangers

For two decades, Deathhammer have stood as one of the most dangerous forces in extreme metal. Formed in Norway by the duo Sadomancer and Sergeant Salsten, the band helped bring the blackthrash movement into the modern underground with their wild and uncompromising sound. Since their cult debut “Phantom Knights” in 2010, the pair have carved their name into the scene with a string of releases that balance the chaos of thrash, the darkness of black metal, and the steel heart of traditional heavy metal. Classics like “Onward To The Pits” (2012) and “Evil Power” (2015) turned them into a leading name for fans who want their metal fast, raw, and merciless. Later albums such as “Chained To Hell” (2018) and “Electric Warfare” (2022) proved that Deathhammer were not slowing down, but instead charging even harder into their own wicked path.

Now, in 2025, they return with their sixth full-length, “Crimson Dawn”. True to its blood-soaked title, this album is violent, furious, and proudly larger-than-life. From the opening track “Abyssic Thunder” to the towering closer “Into The Blackness Of Hell,” the album feels like an unrelenting storm. Sadomancer and Salsten recorded with new equipment this time, even switching roles on each other’s songs, which gives the album a more dynamic strike without losing the raw spirit Deathhammer is known for. The guitars cut like jagged blades, the drumming is the most powerful they’ve captured so far, and the overall sound is thick with venom and fire.

There are moments of pure speed-driven savagery—like “Satan’s Sword” and “Die Eternal”—that hit with reckless force, while tracks such as “Stygian Lust” and the title cut “Crimson Dawn” bring out darker atmospheres with riffs that could level mountains. Guest solos from Bowel Ripper of Impugner and Arild M. Torp add extra chaos, and longtime fans will notice how some riffs dig back nearly 20 years into the duo’s arsenal. Still, the biggest strike comes with “Into The Blackness Of Hell,” a near eight-minute epic that closes the album with grandeur and total infernal destruction.

“Crimson Dawn” is proof that Deathhammer remain untamed after 20 years of raising hell. It’s everything their followers crave. Raw aggression, evil energy, and songs that sound written to ignite a battlefield. Deathhammer have never played metal for the faint of heart, and this album keeps them firmly on their throne.

Score: 8.0