# In Sorte Diaboli — Dimmu Borgir Drum Setup (Hellhammer, 2007)

> Hellhammer's drum setup on Dimmu Borgir's first full concept album: Pearl Reference Series double-bass kit, Sabian HHX cymbals, Axis Longboard pedals, Vater Hellhammer signature sticks. The record that hit #43 Billboard 200 and marked Hellhammer's first Dimmu studio recording as primary drummer.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Hellhammer](/llms/drummers/hellhammer.md)
**Band / Album:** Dimmu Borgir — *In Sorte Diaboli* (2007)
**Genre:** Symphonic Black Metal

## Overview

*In Sorte Diaboli* (April 24, 2007) is Dimmu Borgir's first full-length concept album — a narrative-driven record set in medieval Europe that follows a priest's internal conflict between Christian doctrine and the temptations of pre-Christian paganism. Released through Nuclear Blast Records, it debuted at #43 on the Billboard 200, the highest US chart position any Norwegian black metal record had ever achieved at that time, and confirmed Dimmu Borgir's position as the most commercially successful act the genre had ever produced.

The album was recorded at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden — the legendary facility owned and operated by producer Fredrik Nordström, whose discography includes In Flames, At the Gates, Arch Enemy, Opeth, and dozens of other defining extreme metal records. Production credits were shared between Nordström and Dimmu Borgir themselves, with the band exercising greater hands-on control over the final sonic architecture than on prior records.

For drummer Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg), *In Sorte Diaboli* was a milestone of a different kind: it was his first Dimmu Borgir studio album as the primary drummer. He had been the band's live drummer since 1999, but the prior studio records — *Spiritual Black Dimensions* (1999), *Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia* (2001), and *Death Cult Armageddon* (2003) — were tracked by Nicholas Barker, while live touring duties at various points had been handled by Reno Killerich. *In Sorte Diaboli* formalized Hellhammer's role at the center of Dimmu Borgir's studio architecture.

This article breaks down every piece of gear that defined the *In Sorte Diaboli* drum production, the recording approach at Studio Fredman that captured it, and how the gear served the conceptual-album architecture that made the record a defining moment in Dimmu Borgir's catalog.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Pearl Reference Series (black finish, hybrid maple/birch/maple shells)
- **Configuration:** Double 22" × 18" bass drums, 10"/12"/14" rack toms, 16"/18" floor toms
- **Snare:** Pearl Free-Floating Brass Snare, 14" × 6.5"
- **Cymbals:** Sabian HHX series (Hellhammer's endorsement line)
- **Pedals:** Axis A Longboard Double Pedal
- **Sticks:** Vater Hellhammer Signature
- **Heads:** Aquarian or Remo Coated (snare/tom batters), Remo Ambassador (resonants), Aquarian Super Kick or Remo Powerstroke P3 (kick batter)

### Pearl Reference Series: Hellhammer's Long-Running Studio Platform

The Pearl Reference Series is Hellhammer's long-documented studio kit and the foundation of his Pearl endorsement, which has spanned the bulk of his career across Mayhem, Dimmu Borgir, Arcturus, and Shining. The Reference Series construction uses Pearl's hybrid-shell technology — maple plies on the outer layers paired with birch plies in the center — producing a focused fundamental with the projecting attack character that extreme metal drumming requires.

The expanded tom configuration — three rack toms (10", 12", 14") plus two floor toms (16", 18") — gave Hellhammer the full melodic palette his Dimmu Borgir work required. *In Sorte Diaboli*'s conceptual architecture meant fills did not merely punctuate blast beat passages: they functioned as transitional phrases between narrative sections, marking shifts in the medieval-set story arc.

The double 22" × 18" kick configuration was non-negotiable for the album's extreme metal foundation. Tracks like "The Sinister Awakening" and "The Conspiracy Unfolds" required sustained double-bass patterns at extreme-metal tempos anchoring dense symphonic arrangements without losing definition under the keyboard and choir weight.

### Snare: Pearl Free-Floating Brass for Symphonic Crack

The Pearl Free-Floating 14" × 6.5" brass snare answered the album's projection requirement through the inherent acoustic properties of its shell material. The Free-Floating Series construction isolates the snare shell from the lugs and hoops — the hardware mounts to a separate metal frame rather than directly to the shell — allowing the shell to vibrate freely with maximum resonance.

For a brass shell at 14" × 6.5", this produces a snare with a bright, cutting upper-mid frequency fundamental with focused crack and the projecting authority *In Sorte Diaboli*'s symphonic arrangements demanded. The 6.5" depth provides additional body compared to a standard 5" shell, giving each hit musical weight beyond the surface crack.

### Sabian HHX: Hellhammer's Endorsement Cymbal Line

Hellhammer's Sabian endorsement is one of the most consistently documented constants of his recording career. The HHX series is Sabian's hand-hammered professional line, engineered for the bright, cutting projection that black metal's dense guitar and keyboard environments demand. The setup on *In Sorte Diaboli* included 14" HHX Hi-Hats, 16"/18"/19" HHX Evolution Crashes, a 21" HHX Raw Bell Dry Ride, and a 19" HHX Chinese — providing dynamic scalability across the album's conceptual structure from atmospheric narrative passages to climactic arrival points.

### Axis Longboards: Direct-Drive for Sustained Extreme-Tempo Double-Bass

Hellhammer is among the most documented Axis Longboard users in extreme metal drumming. The Axis A Longboard double pedal provided the mechanical foundation for *In Sorte Diaboli*'s sustained double-bass passages. The extended footboard length provides a broader sweet spot for heel-toe technique, and the direct-drive linkage transmits force from footboard to beater with minimal mechanical lag — the difference between a controlled, articulate double-bass attack and one that loses definition under physical fatigue.

## Key Facts

- #43 Billboard 200 — highest US chart position for a Norwegian black metal record at the time
- Hellhammer's first Dimmu Borgir studio album as primary drummer
- Replaced Nicholas Barker (prior studio records) and Reno Killerich (live touring)
- Dimmu Borgir's first full-length concept album — medieval-set narrative
- Recorded at Studio Fredman, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Co-produced by Fredrik Nordström and Dimmu Borgir
- Pearl Reference Series — Hellhammer's long-running Pearl endorsement kit
- Sabian HHX — Hellhammer's documented cymbal endorsement series
- Axis A Longboard double pedal for sustained extreme-tempo footwork
- Vater Hellhammer signature sticks — artist-spec model
- Released April 24, 2007 through Nuclear Blast Records
- Estimated kit value: $3,200–5,000 (Pearl Reference Series, 2007 retail)
- Estimated snare value: $400–650 (Pearl Free-Floating Brass)
- Estimated cymbal value: $2,000–3,200 (Sabian HHX full setup)
- Total estimated setup: $6,500–10,000 at 2007 retail

## Internal Links

- [Hellhammer drummer profile](/drummer/hellhammer)
- [Hellhammer full drum setup guide](/articles/hellhammer-drum-setup)
- [Death Cult Armageddon drum setup (Dimmu Borgir, 2003)](/articles/death-cult-armageddon-drum-setup)
- [Daray drum setup (Hellhammer's successor in Dimmu Borgir)](/articles/daray-drum-setup)
- [Symphonic black metal genre guide](/genre/symphonic-black-metal)

**Source:** https://metalforge.io/articles/in-sorte-diaboli-drum-setup

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*Last updated: 2026-06-26 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*