Album Review: Deathhammer - Crimson Dawn
Album Review
Artist: Deathhammer
Release Date: August, 29, 2025
Score 7/10
Review by Rick Eaglestone
Sometimes the underground delivers exactly what you need when you least expect it. Norway's Deathhammer have been quietly perfecting their brand of blackened thrash brutality for the better part of two decades, and with their sixth full-length "Crimson Dawn," they've crafted what might just be their most ferocious statement yet. This is the kind of album that reminds you why the extreme metal underground exists – raw, uncompromising, and utterly devastating.
From the moment those eerie synths creep in during the opening moments, you know you're in for something special. There's a distinctly 80s horror film quality to the atmosphere that Sergeant Salsten and his cohorts conjure here, building tension like a master class in anticipation before the inevitable volcanic eruption of blackened fury begins. When those militant drums kick in and the whole thing explodes into life, it's genuinely breathtaking in its savagery.
The production on "Crimson Dawn" strikes that perfect balance between clarity and filth that so many bands struggle to achieve. Every riff cuts through like broken glass, every blast beat feels like artillery fire, and Sergeant Salsten's maniacal vocals sit perfectly in the mix – close enough to feel threatening, distant enough to maintain that otherworldly quality that makes the best black metal feel genuinely unsettling. The guitar tone is absolutely vicious, with a serrated edge that brings to mind the glory days of early Kreator while maintaining a distinctly Norwegian blackened character.
What sets Deathhammer apart from the countless other blackened thrash acts cluttering the underground is their understanding of dynamics and pacing. Songs like "Legacy of Pain" showcase this perfectly – building from ominous beginnings into absolute chaos, with tempo changes that feel natural rather than forced. The riffing here is genuinely inspired, drawing from the classic Teutonic thrash playbook while adding layers of Nordic frost and underground malevolence that elevate the material beyond mere worship.
The title track "Crimson Dawn" itself is a masterpiece of controlled violence. The primitive drumming pounds like an ancient war march while the guitar work weaves between melodic passages and outright assault. There's something genuinely cinematic about how the song develops, painting vivid pictures of blood-soaked battlefields and apocalyptic dawns without ever resorting to overwrought conceptual pretensions.
Throughout the album's runtime, Deathhammer demonstrate why consistency isn't boring when executed with this level of conviction. Every track feels essential, every moment purposeful. The band's two-man core has developed an almost telepathic understanding over their twenty-year partnership, and it shows in every perfectly timed tempo shift and every seamlessly executed transition between crushing passages.
The influence of classic bands like Kreator, Sodom, and early Bathory is worn proudly but never slavishly. Instead, Deathhammer have absorbed these influences and filtered them through their own vision of what extreme metal should be – unrelenting, atmospheric, and genuinely threatening. The result is an album that feels both timeless and utterly contemporary, speaking to longtime veterans of the underground while potentially serving as a perfect entry point for newcomers seeking authentic extremity.
What impresses most about "Crimson Dawn" is how it manages to be thoroughly modern without sacrificing any of the raw power that made 1980s extreme metal so compelling. The songwriting is tight without being clinical, the production is powerful without being sanitized, and the performances are precise without losing their feral edge. This is extreme metal as it should be – uncompromising, atmospheric, and genuinely dangerous.
The album's greatest strength lies in its ability to create genuine atmosphere while never sacrificing the visceral impact that makes great thrash metal so addictive. Whether you're headbanging to the more straightforward thrash sections or getting lost in the more atmospheric blackened passages, "Crimson Dawn" maintains its grip throughout its runtime, never letting you get comfortable but never exhausting you with pointless brutality.
For fans of the underground extreme metal scene, "Crimson Dawn" represents everything right about the current state of the genre. It's uncompromising without being inaccessible, atmospheric without being pretentious, and thoroughly modern while respecting its classic influences. Deathhammer have created something genuinely special here – an album that stands as both a love letter to the golden age of extreme metal and a statement of intent for where the genre can go next.
"Crimson Dawn" is essential listening for anyone who believes that extreme metal still has something vital to say. In a world full of calculated brutality and manufactured extremity, Deathhammer offer something increasingly rare – authenticity, passion, and the kind of genuine menace that can only come from years of dedication to the craft. This is their finest hour, and it's absolutely devastating.
Standout Tracks: "Crimson Dawn," "Legacy of Pain"
For Fans Of: Kreator, Sodom, early Bathory, Aura Noir
Label: Hells Headbangers Records
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