Artist: Ancient Entity
Country: Sweden
Label: Self-Released
Formats: Digital Demo
Year: 2026
With Ancient Entity, Oskar Brahn his fifth band, but this time he’s doing it all by himself. But although all those other bands also fall within the Death Metal spectrum, with Ancient Entity, this lad is clearly focusing on the Death Metal sound of his Swedish forefathers. So, fans of the HM2 sound had better be warned.
‘The Final Dawn’ is the debut for this solo project and gives us just over ten minutes of music. Honestly, for me that is about the perfect length for a demo tape (although it has not given a physical release as of yet), but the most important thing is: it gives you more than enough of an idea of what Ancient Entity is about.
The infamous HM2-sound is present but not as prominent as a lot of other bands of today doing the Dismember-thing. In fact, the three tracks Brahn is presenting us here are more in line with Entombed’s iconic debut album and especially Grave’s early work. With enough variation in tempo and a solid enough vocal delivery, this short demo offers a good dose of Swedish Death Metal that feels rather unpretentious. The lack of solos, such as those featured in Dismember, is compensated for by regularly slowing the tempo down considerably, thereby maintaining the tension. Admittedly, the fact that the listener’s attention doesn’t wander also has to do with the short running time, as I wonder whether this will work well on a full-length album. For that, I think a bit more work needs to be done on suspenseful songwriting, as becomes clear when the slower passages drag on a little too long. Brahn would do well to inject a bit more vitriol and grit into the mix; at times it sounds just a touch too safe. But then again, that’s what demos are for, of course.
Although it hasn’t quite reached the same level yet, fans of bands like Mordbrand or Abysmal Winds might well want to give this a listen. Whilst there is clearly room for improvement, this is certainly not a bad start for Ancient Entity.
