Eldfödd, which means “fireborn” in Swedish, is a new band formed in 2025 by Sebastian Ramstedt, best known as the guitarist for Necrophobic, but also for his other great band called In Aphelion. He has gathered other deserved veterans of the Swedish scene around him, who have played or helped out in such illustrious bands as Firespawn, Witchery, Under the Church, General Surgery, Interment, In Aeternum, and countless others—a lot comes together in such a musical life. This first official sign of life from Eldfödd was released by the Norwegian label Edged Circle Productions, which also released In Aphelion's first EP. The four tracks, which clock in at just under 20 minutes and also include the two tracks from the “Beyond the Fire” demo released digitally in early March 2025, are available on CD, limited edition colored vinyl, and as a very limited edition box set (only 30 copies) with vinyl, tape, shirt, and other items. The latter of which is already sold out and is sure to be a much -in-demand collector's item.
But let's get to the music, which is what this is all about in the first place. This EP offers fantastic, authentic old-school death metal. "Risen from the Flames", the first track and title track of the EP, starts with an ominous intro before the accurate, crushing riffs kick in and things quickly get down to business, with the tempo picking up significantly. The following track, “Beyond the Fire,” starts off at full throttle, and here, as in general, the vocals of Erik Sahlströmm, known from General Surgery, among others, fit perfectly and are characterized by a perfect blend of intelligibility on the one hand and rawness on the other. "Possess, Blind and Devour" is also an initially fast-paced blast at the intersection of death and thrash metal, before more playful, slower song sections in the middle section add some dynamics to the whole, only to then go full throttle again. Finally, the closing track “Silence of the Gods” with its fantastic chorus and varied song structures—the slow, grinding mid-tempo section in the middle of the song with its great melody is magnificent—forms an absolutely worthy conclusion to this first official release by the band.
In a final note, I can only say that I am eagerly awaiting the band's first full-length album and that every lover of old, traditional death metal sounds should give it a listen. In this respect, Eldfödd joins the ranks of other current or former high-quality death metal “supergroups” of musicians who wanted to give space to their penchant for old, original death metal again or in parallel to other musical playgrounds. Names such as Grand Cadaver, The Lurking Fear, Bloodbath, Death Breath, and Chaosbreed come to mind.
