Hidden Gems & Guilty Pleasures: Hellish Crossfire (Germany)

Hellish Crossfire (Blackened Thrash/Speed Metal // Germany)

Formed in 2002, Hellish Crossfire is a blackened thrash/speed metal band from Nuremberg, Germany.

Hellish Crossfire has always been more than ‘just’ a band. Think of them as a gathering of like-minded maniacs, driven by their endless passion for 80’s metal and bands like Kreator, Bathory, Venom and so on. Those Germans may have not been very prolific over the years but every single release of theirs, especially their two, pedal-to-the-max albums from 2006 and 2010, all had that special spark, the blazing fire burning inside only true dedicated warriors could provide. A true band of brothers, united ‘til the very end, even when one of them alas falls by the wayside…

In 2022, Hellish Crossfire four-stringer and founding member Sigi (aka ‘Sick’) passed away, leaving the black/thrash scene stunned and in disarray. After few months away from the public eye licking their collective wounds, not only has the band vowed to carry on but they’ve also decided to celebrate their fallen brother memory with a very special event. In December 2023, a 2-day festival, dubbed “Nights Of The Possessed” featuring bands like Old, Witching Hour, Fatal Embrace or Desaster was held to pay homage to Sick.

In order to make that event even more special, in cooperation with Doomentia Records, Hellish Crossfire have agreed to reissue for the very first time on vinyl their first official rehearsal tape from 2004, »Unholy Tyranny« plus the hardly distributed »Demo II« recorded the following year under the same conditions. Featuring a mix of later re-recorded songs for their debut »Slaves Of The Burning Pentagram« plus unreleased tracks, including a raging cover of the Kat classic »Metal And Hell«. Needless to say those versions are raw-as-fuck and not for the faint of heart but for the true metal fans!

Courtesy of Doomentia Records

Discography:
• »Unholy Tyranny« Demo (2004)
• »Slaves Of The Burning Pentagram« Demo (2005)
• »Slaves Of The Burning Pentagram« LP (I Hate Records, 2006)
• »The Demos« Split (Proselytism, 2008)
• »Bloodrust Scythe« LP (I Hate Records, 2010)
• »Unholy Tyranny (The Early Recordings)« Compilation (Doomentia Records, 2023)

Hellish Crossfire is:
Thomas “Iron Tyrant” Werner – Vocals
Christian “Iron Incubus” Wachter – Guitars
D. Roy – Bass
Andrey “Catacombs” Iliev – Drums

FFO: Sodom, Kreator, Destruction, Bathory, Deathrow, Living Death, Desaster, Deathhammer, Vendetta, Slaughter Lord

Links:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well