Dawnbreaker interview - American black metal (part 5)

Dawnbreaker (U.S. black metal) has released six albums since 2018, including the most recent one titled Pactum Sanguine Novo, released on January 2, 2026. Dawnbreaker has a unique history reaching back to 2004, not just 2018. Before Dawnbreaker, there was Angelcide, which was vile black metal of horrendous blasphemy. Then, Angelcide died—or as The Metal Archives observes, Dawnbreaker “Famously converted to Christianity after over a decade in New Jersey's underground black metal scene, abandoning all projects and forming Dawnbreaker to reflect his new spiritual views.” In this fifth installment of our interview series with Dawnbreaker, we pick up the story in 2021 with the fourth album, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, released on October 31, 2021.

Let's continue the journey of Dawnbreaker! In 2021, people were adjusting to life after the COVID lockdowns. If the album came out in 2021, when did the process of writing those songs begin? So far, up until 2021, there was a new Dawnbreaker album every single year!

Greetings! Yes, that was always the plan to do an album each year – I probably could have gotten even more out around this time but did not want to oversaturate! During the COVID lockdown I had the opportunity to record a lot of albums I always wanted to do, stuff I had written or conceptualized I had finally been able to put the time into the necessary tools of completion. For example, I always wanted to do a symphonic album but never took the time to fully get the hang of composing keyboards and orchestrations, but all the time at home left me with an ample opportunity to experiment. I always wanted to do a death metal album but finally had the time to turn loose riffs into full living breathing compositions. So, during this time I recorded Vanquished Horrible Night, the Wailing album Orcales of Devastation, the most recent Dawnbreaker album Pactum Sanguine Novo, two yet unreleased Dawnbreaker albums (one still unfinished), and the three Hosts of Lord albums.

I had decided I would move to the Netherlands in April 2021, so I decided to complete as much material as I could in case my PC did not survive the move as it was already about 7 years old now. After completing the vocals for Pactum Sanguine Novo, the last of the batch, I was thinking about some other songs I had that were also in the symphonic black metal style. My original plan was to only do one symphonic black metal album and move on. But I had some really good material leftover that didn't make the cut for “Vanquished Horrible Night.” And I really enjoyed making a keyboard driven album, it was new and different than everything else I had done. So, I started brainstorming how to make a quality follow-up to Vanquished Horrible Night that would take that sound to the next level, something even more advanced and more daring! So, over a very short period of time, I managed to catch the inspiration that hit like a lightning bolt and compose some new stuff around the one or two tracks I had already. Almost the whole album were completely new songs, unlike the other albums which were a lot of songs I had written a long time ago.

This is the album that is all purple, with a castle, that doesn’t look too friendly! Is the artwork created specifically for this album?

The inspiration for the artwork comes from “The Soul Cairn,” a foreboding and mysterious place from the RPG game Skyrim. In a way it's sort of a purgatory. I originally was thinking about using the artwork for the Wailing album Oracles of Devastation, but it looked like it would much better fit a symphonic black metal album! I always try to use a new color scheme for each album, so each one feels like its own exciting adventure some place new. The castles, fortresses, and structures that frequent the Dawnbreaker covers represent a confrontation with sin and hell that happens in all of our lives — both within and without.

Where does the album sit, in terms of sound, style, and overall feel, in your full discography?!

I think this is the most ambitious, bombastic, and original work out of everything I've ever done, with the exception of one other album (a side project I did in 2016 called “Wall of Water”). But aside from that one, this is the most technical, most progressive, and most innovative stuff I've come up with. This is probably my best work objectively speaking, but it's not for everyone.

For you personally, how do you feel about the album from today's perspective?

I'm very happy with how this one came out. While Vanquished Horrible Night was symphonic black metal by the numbers, this was a symphonic album that was much more creative and ambitious. Deathcore breakdowns, a song with clean vocals only, really technical riffing, I really had fun with this one and managed to try a lot of new things.

From the very beginning of the album, the keyboards come forward, and just like that, we are on our way with the song “For the Greater Glory of God.” It's quite a melodic song for an opening track. How many guitar parts are there on this song?

On all of the albums I usually only do two guitar tracks — one left and one right. I add others for solos, acoustic or clean guitars, obviously, but there's usually only two guitar tracks. They're usually playing different things. But yeah, only two guitars on here.

The second song, “Shadow of Thy Wings,” is an all-out speed attack. The lyrics read like a psalm. It's got quite a bit of shredding, too. By the time you reached this album, were you thinking that you wanted to add more shredding, more soloing, and more melody?

The lyrics are in fact a psalm, Psalm 17. This was an ultra-technical song I wrote with my drummer friend Shawn Eldridge. Originally it was going to be completely linear, with no riffs repeating, but I reframed it to have some verses. This was originally part of the “Wall of Water” side project Shawn and I had done, but didn't make the cut for that album. But it fits nicely into Dawnbreaker.

In many of my albums, the first few songs are usually very straightforward, and the second half of the album is looser and more experimental. This was common in classic heavy metal albums. But this album flips reverses that concept completely, where the first few songs are the more daring and ambitious ones!

Of course, one of the standout tracks on the album is “Art That Depicts the End of the World” because it stands out due to the melodic guest vocals. Besides it being a good song, you are giving ideas to other musicians about the concept of symphonic black metal music with melodic singing as a real thing!

Yes, that was the idea! I wanted to do an all-clean vocal song that still had the feel of a good symphonic black metal song. That was the plan for this one and my friend Brian “Ciemnosć” Gawaski did an excellent job putting together a fantastic and memorable vocal performance.

By the time we reach the middle of the album, I get the sense that there is something happening that might get lost in the turbulent chaos of extreme metal music: You have stepped up the melodies and the symphonic aspects, compared to the first Dawnbreaker album, Deus Vult, in 2018.

Yes, this is a much different album, but the ultimate fulfillment and progression of what began in Deus Vult. Most of the stuff on Deus Vult I had written in my formative years as a guitar player and songwriter. But this material was written by the same person, just many years later. And Deus Vult had some songs with a good amount of keyboards, like the title track or “To Jerusalem.” I think some of the melodies are similar but it's just the keyboards doing more of the legwork instead of the guitars.

The song “Holy Grail” is immediately easy to get into, given the upfront, direct feel of the track. On this album, considering you are responsible for just about everything, how do you feel about your drum programming abilities? I imagine that as you work on drum programming, you must be an admirer of certain drummers!

Yes, I have my favorite drummers, such as Hellhammer of Mayhem or Flo of Cryptopsy. I understand the concept of drumming completely, however I never developed the mechanical skills to do it myself. But I understand the fills, different blastbeat techniques, etc. People have complained about Dawnbreaker having programmed drums, but to be completely honest, this is exactly how I would be playing the drum parts if I had the ability to physically play them. I wrote the drums exactly how I would play them if I were a capable drummer. So, it wouldn't sound much different if I was really playing them and few would really notice the difference if it was really me playing them.

The lyrics on the album often read like biblical battles: an ongoing conflict between what the flesh wants and what the Bible says you should do. One of the lyrics from “War Across the Ages” reads, “I have put to death myself.” This line reminds me of Romans 6:6-7 and 6:11: “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be enslaved to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin... In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Do you remember what you were thinking of at the time you wrote “War Across the Ages”?

Absolutely! War Across the Ages is a meditation on the war between good and evil that precedes humanity itself. Across the generations, thousands of years, we're caught up in the middle of this ongoing spiritual conflict that we barely comprehend. We all have to do our best with the time we have, and we all do our part serving one side or the other.

The last song, “I Never Knew You,” is a doom song with slow melodies. You also quoted Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” What were your thoughts at that time?

That's to me probably the scariest part of the entire Bible, that many think they are living righteously and going to heaven, only to be surprised at the end of their life “I never even knew you.” How terrifying! The song itself is a great warning to all the listeners. It's one of my oldest songs, I recorded the original in a project I was doing in 2005 with Brian (the vocalist on “Art that Depicts the End of the World”) and Shawn (who co-wrote the music of “Shadow of Thy Wings” and did some backing vocals on “Art that Depicts the End of the World”). Since they were both involved in the album it was cool to get this song on it, which was the last time we all worked on something together. I thought having a slow, crushing conclusion would be a good climax to a wild and unpredictable journey! Ok, well, let's stop here. We'll continue next time with the next album, Banisher of Unlight (2024).

Looking forward to it!

Ad Majorem Dei Glorium by Dawnbreaker

Pactum Sanguine Novo by Dawnbreaker

https://www.facebook.com/dawnbreakerworship/

Interview with DAWNBREAKER, American black metal (Part 4) - What is the depravity of the human soul?

https://metalbulletin.blogspot.com/2026/01/dawnbreaker.html