The Band

Members & History

Founded in 2019 in Kalmar, Sweden, Covenant of Ash works at the intersection of melodic death metal and historical writing. Each record is built around a single subject and researched before a note is written.

About

About This Project

Covenant of Ash is a fictional melodic death metal band created as an artistic storytelling project. Its members, history and discography form part of an imagined universe, while the music, lyrics and historical concepts are developed through extensive research, songwriting and modern production techniques.

The goal has never been to imitate a real band, but to create one—complete with its own identity, history and artistic vision.

Current Lineup

The Six

Vocals

Erik Falk

Joined 2019

Founding member and primary lyricist of Covenant of Ash. Erik helped establish the band's vision of telling the stories of fallen rulers, forgotten civilizations and the human cost of power through melodic death metal. His lyrics combine historical research with emotional storytelling, giving every release a strong narrative identity. Known for spending months studying historical sources before beginning a new record, he believes every empire leaves behind lessons written in blood and stone.

Contribution: All lyrics. Lead vocal arrangements. Co-writes the overarching concept of each album.
Obsession: The Roman Republic and political collapse.
Favourite album: The Death of Leaders

Lead Guitar

Magnus Nyström

Joined 2019

Co-founder and principal songwriter. Magnus creates the melodic guitar harmonies and many of Covenant of Ash's signature riffs. Fascinated by military history and battlefield strategy, he often develops musical ideas around famous campaigns and sieges before Erik writes the lyrics. His melodic yet aggressive style has become one of the band's defining characteristics.

Contribution: Lead guitar. Principal songwriter. Melodic themes and riffs.
Obsession: Ancient warfare, Hannibal, Alexander the Great and military strategy.
Favourite album: Kingdoms Return to Dust

Rhythm Guitar

Johan Berg

Joined 2020

Johan joined shortly after the band's formation and strengthened Covenant of Ash's heavier side through tight rhythm guitars and layered harmonies. He contributes ideas from medieval Europe and fortress warfare while refining arrangements for both studio recordings and live performances.

Contribution: Rhythm guitar. Layered harmonies. Arrangement and live performance.
Obsession: Medieval Europe, crusades and castle sieges.
Favourite album: Twilight of the Sacred World

Drums

Tomas Lindgren

Joined 2020

Tomas provides the rhythmic backbone of Covenant of Ash. His precise drumming combines relentless power with dynamic restraint, giving many songs the feeling of an advancing army rather than constant speed. Outside music he has a strong interest in archaeology and ancient civilizations, inspiring several album concepts.

Contribution: Drums and percussion. Co-arranges dynamic and transitional passages.
Obsession: Bronze Age civilizations and archaeology.
Favourite album: Dynasties in Ash

Bass

Anton Varg

Joined 2021

Anton expanded the band's low-end foundation while contributing ideas for arrangements and atmosphere. His disciplined playing allows the guitars and orchestral elements to remain clear without sacrificing heaviness. His fascination with forgotten kingdoms has influenced several songs across the band's later albums.

Contribution: Bass. Arrangement and atmospheric ideas.
Obsession: Mesopotamia and lost civilizations.
Favourite album: Kingdoms Return to Dust

Keyboards, Orchestration & Vocals

Elin Särn

Joined 2022

Elin broadened Covenant of Ash's sound with cinematic orchestration, choirs and atmospheric textures while preserving the band's melodic death metal identity. She also performs lead vocals on selected songs and frequently shares duet vocals with Erik, adding another emotional perspective to stories told from the viewpoint of queens, priestesses, survivors and witnesses to history. Her arrangements give the music a larger cinematic scale without overshadowing its heaviness.

Contribution: Keyboards, orchestration, choirs and shared lead vocals.
Obsession: Ancient religions, mythology and sacred traditions.
Favourite album: Twilight of the Sacred World

In Memoriam

Former Members

Musicians who shaped the early years of the band.

Lead Guitar

Fredrik Holm

2019 — 2021

One of the band's original members. Fredrik helped shape Covenant of Ash's earliest material before departing after creative disagreements. He wanted to move toward fantasy-inspired concepts, while the remaining members preferred to build the band's identity around real history. The departure was amicable, and several of his early ideas remain part of the band's legacy.

Reason for leaving: Creative disagreement — preferred a fantasy direction the band had decided against.
Status: Now writes for a power-metal project based in Gothenburg.

Drums

Daniel Ekström

2019 — 2020

Daniel played during Covenant of Ash's earliest rehearsals and demo sessions before leaving to focus on family life and his professional career. His contribution helped establish the band's early direction.

Reason for leaving: Family commitments — a second child and a full-time job made touring impossible.
Status: Still session-drums occasionally. Remains close with the band.

Bass

Mikael Ström

2020 — 2021

Mikael joined during the band's formative years and performed on several early demo recordings before relocating abroad. Although his time in Covenant of Ash was brief, his heavier bass approach influenced the band's early sound.

Reason for leaving: Relocation abroad — moved to Berlin for work and the commute proved untenable.
Status: Plays in a Berlin-based instrumental post-metal trio.

Chronicle

Band History

A grounded record of how the band came to be, and what it became.

2019
Formation in Kalmar
Erik Falk and Magnus Nyström form Covenant of Ash in Kalmar, united by a shared interest in history and melodic death metal. Early rehearsals focus on writing disciplined, research-driven songs rather than fantasy-inspired material.
2020
First recordings and lineup growth
Johan Berg and Tomas Lindgren join, replacing the initial rhythm section and giving the band a heavier, more precise sound. The first demo recordings are circulated among local promoters.
2021
Bass and direction
Anton Varg replaces Mikael Ström on bass, while Fredrik Holm departs to pursue a more fantasy-oriented project. The remaining members commit fully to history as the band's singular subject.
2022
Cinematic expansion
Elin Särn joins on keyboards, orchestration and vocals, broadening the band's sound with choirs and atmospheric textures while preserving its melodic death metal core.
2025
The Death of Leaders released
Debut LP. The first major official release and the first full statement of the band's project, after years of writing and the band securing proper label support.
2026
New frontiers
Kingdoms Return to Dust and Twilight of the Sacred World expand the world: lost civilizations and the sacred collapse.

Apocrypha

Legends & Rumors

Three stories the band has stopped trying to correct.

The Carthage Debate

In 2020, on the drive home from a winter rehearsal, Erik and Tomas spent eleven hours arguing whether Carthage could have outlasted Rome if Hannibal had marched on the city after Cannae. The band still invokes it whenever a decision stalls. The argument is, by treaty, considered ongoing.

The Library Rule

A working rule, established quietly in 2021: no song may be written about an event the band cannot cite from at least two reasonable sources. The rule has been broken once. The song was shelved.

The Lovecraft Detour

Rise of Ancients (Part One) began as a private obsession of Magnus Nyström, who spent one winter buried in the works of H.P. Lovecraft and insisting the band should explore horrors older than any empire. Erik argued that Covenant of Ash was built on history, not cosmic nightmares. The disagreement nearly shelved the material, until Tomas pointed out that every civilization has feared something beneath the earth, beyond the sea, or outside the stars. The EP was released as a deliberate detour — not a break from the band's themes, but a reminder that some ruins were ancient long before mankind gave them names.