Hearts on Fire, the only single from Crimson Thunder, became HammerFall's best-known song and a fixture of their live shows. The Swedish power metal band's fourth studio album was originally released in October 2002 through Nuclear Blast, reached number 3 in the Swedish album chart and went platinum there. Joacim Cans and Oscar Dronjak deliver fast, melodic heavy metal with twin guitar lines and singalong choruses, with Riders of the Storm, On the Edge of Honour and the title track alongside the single. For the 20 Year Anniversary Edition from 2023, Fredrik Nordström remixed and remastered the album; it adds previously unreleased pre-production recordings, a Crimson Thunder medley and a twenty-page comic book.

This edition is a 2-LP on silver vinyl in a trifold sleeve, the Platinum Edition limited to 2,100 copies.