I’m not entirely sure what or who brought Norway’s Barren Womb and Japan’s Hylko together. It’s not an intuitive pairing — the former are noise rock and the latter low-end-minded stoner-psych — but whoever decided their two-songer split needed to be a thing was right. Released March 20 through Captured Records and Fucking North Pole Records, the outing of course brings a track from each band, as Barren Womb plumb the session for their last album, 2024’s Chemical Tardigrade for the aggressive, surprisingly-melodic-in-the-chorus and chug-finishing “The Perils of Self-Improvement” and Hylko, with a video premiering below, offer “Green Spa (Cold Region Version),” having clearly dug the tone, riff and overarching vibe out from under some very large, very damp, possibly sentient moss.

Both bands have surprises in store, and both are assured in their aesthetic, but it’s the tension of Barren Womb and the more open fluidity of Hylko that make the complement work. As grounded as Barren Womb are as they turn to the crashing hook and then back around to the shoutier verse and the angular bridge that follows ahead of the last push, along come Hylko at a marked distance from lucidity, murky and effects-laced and seeming not so much to roll out the groove of “Green Spa (Cold Region Version)” as to shove it forward and let it float on its own momentum. It does not feel like a coincidence in the video when their instruments turn out to be made of cardboard and grass as they apparently get in a last-minute woods rehearsal for the gig where the clip culminates.

Hylko are the Tokyo-based three-piece of vocalist Moock (also djembe), bassist Nori Shio and drummer TofuckG, and on “Green Spa (Cold Region Version),” Eternal Elysium‘s Yukito Okazaki both produced and contributed ambient sounds. I think maybe you can hear some of that at the end of the video, when they take some time and put up the explanation text. That’s not actually the end, as there are 10 seconds after where it’s a dark shot of a face and it goes out from there, but the entire procession at that point has been weird enough that you can just go with it. Hylko‘s 2024 debut, The Man Comes Around, had its own blend of mellower flow and more active rush, but “Green Spa (Cold Region Version)” sounds more live, and seems to dig into the bass frequencies with particular revelry.

All of which is to say you’ll find the video on the embed below, followed by more from the PR wire, and I hope you enjoy:

Hylko, “Green Spa (Cold Region Version)” video premiere

On March 20, 2026, Nordic noise-rock duo Barren Womb return with new music as part of a split single with Japanese stoner rock trio HYLKO.

Barren Womb’s contribution, “The Perils of Self-Improvement,” is a mid-tempo stomper delivering grim news for the supposed wisdom of self-help culture. Built around a jangly guitar loop, the track gradually gathers force through pounding drums and impassioned screams before exploding into a massive melodic chorus, complete with the band’s trademark tag-team vocal delivery.

The song was recorded during the sessions for Chemical Tardigrade, Barren Womb’s acclaimed 2024 album, and intentionally held back for this split, a small but potent offering for both longtime fans and new listeners.

For over fifteen years, Barren Womb, Timo Silvola (drums/vocals) and Tony Gonzalez (guitar/vocals), have been a feral force within the international heavy underground. Often described as “easy listening for the hard of hearing,” the duo blend primitive punk energy, grinding repetition, and explosive quiet-loud dynamics into a chaotic yet strangely addictive racket.

Across five albums, numerous singles and EPs, and hundreds of shows across Europe and North America, the band have built a reputation as one of Norway’s most relentless live acts, sharing stages with Conan, Entombed A.D., Nomeansno, Slomosa, and Voivod, and appearing at festivals including SXSW, Øya, Deserfest Oslo, Tallinn Music Week, and Høstsabbat.

On the other side of the split, Tokyo-based trio HYLKO deliver “Green Spa (Cold Region Version)”, a groove-heavy stoner psych track built around a deep five-string bass riff and inspired by a journey to a hot spring in search of truth.

Featuring Nori Shio (bass), TofuckG (drums), and Moock (vocals/djembe), HYLKO create a surprisingly massive sound using only bass, drums, and tribal percussion. Produced and recorded by Yukito Okazaki (Eternal Elysium) at Studio Zen, the track blends fuzzed-out stoner rock, jazz-tinged rhythms, and hypnotic psychedelic textures, proof that sometimes less really is more.

The result is a split release that pairs Norwegian noise-rock abrasion with Japanese stoner-psych experimentation, bringing together two bands that thrive on doing things their own way.

Barren Womb & Hylko, Split Single (2026)

Barren Womb website

Barren Womb on Instagram

Barren Womb on Facebook

Hylko on Bandcamp

Hylko on Instagram

Hylko on Facebook

Fucking North Pole Records on Facebook

This is the second of two-so-far updates that Desertfest Oslo has posted over the weekend for its 2025 edition. Last week brought Graveyard, Eagle Twin, Cult Member and Slor to the bill, and this past weekend, it was Pallbearer, Messa, Barren Womb and Grand Atomic. These are not minor considerations on a lineup that already included Elder, Oranssi Pazuzu, Elephant Tree, Truckfighters, DVNE and others, and if I have my understanding of the advent calendar right, there should be two more such announcements still to come. Whether the lineup is complete at that point or not, I have no idea, but the poster’s starting to look pretty packed, for whatever that’s worth.

The announcement this time around is pretty minimal — just the names — which is fair enough. I’ve written a fair amount of festival-announcement text in my time, and for sure have wondered on more than one occasion if anyone ever bothered to read any of it while presuming the negative. Sometimes I actually do read it, because you usually get a pretty tight encapsulation of what a band you don’t know might sound like, but I have to acknowledge that that habit is based on the writing, which isn’t going to be everybody’s experience. The names were linked to social media pages when the fest posted them, so it wasn’t like they were giving you nothing to go on, in any case. Leads were provided. It’s more than you get from me. I just ramble on.

Here’s this week looking forward to next week. See how this works? Weekly. It’s called “weekly.” Here we go:

Second Sunday of advent is here. 🎄

BOOM! 💥☄️

Pallbearer (US)
MESSA (IT)
Barren Womb (NO)
Grand Atomic (NO)

Make sure to get your tickets – you don’t wanna miss Desertfest Oslo 2025!

Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/869859364817843/

https://www.facebook.com/desertfestoslo
https://www.instagram.com/desertfest_oslo
https://www.desertfest.no/

Pallbearer, Mind Burns Alive

Especially as it’s only been about a month since I was writing about Träden, aka Träd, Gräs och Stenar, I’m a little wistful looking at the latest round of adds to Høstsabbat 2024 knowing I won’t be there to see the show. I’ll confess I’m not familiar with Jaqueline or their 2006 record, Reaping Machines, but at this point I know enough to take the Oslo-based Fall fest at their word and follow their recommendations. I’ve got the album on now because it’s the future and the tradeoff for deregulated capitalist hell is we can do that. I don’t expect digging it will make me any less bummed not to make it to Høstsabbat this year.

Scheduling conflict. It’s my daughter’s birthday that weekend; same deal as last year. Yes, it’s true that the last time I was there I needed knee surgery afterward, but I still love Høstsabbat, Jens and Ole and their ultra-diligent, ultra-creative crew bringing the fest to life. Bringing in Witchthroat Serpent and Barren Womb too emphasizes the stylistic breadth of the fest as they are now — confident, established, ready and able to take risks and united by an idea of heaviness that, at its core, remains likewise amorphous and resonant. I could go on saying nice things about my experiences over the years at Høstsabbat, the bands who play or the people who staff it, the place it happens or the fact that there’s often an empty seat next to me on the flight to or from Oslo, but you get the point and I’m only bumming myself out. If you can get to this one, you should seriously consider doing so.

The Jaqueline record sounds pretty killer, by the way. Of course it does. Mid-aughts moody Scandinavian heavy rock, you say? Don’t mind if I do.

From social media:

It’s great to feel the winds of cold again, making path in our souls for the darker, grimmer, angrier and of course heavy AF acts that will come to our church of riffs in October.

Todays bouquet is as diverse as it is awesome.

The feeling of having Swedish prog legends 𝗧𝗥Ä𝗗, 𝗚𝗥Ä𝗦 𝗢𝗖𝗛 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗥 come to church feels almost unreal (Not the Roxette-song). The original lineup started back in 1969, and the band’s cvlt status can hardly be argued. Joined by guitar-virtuoso Reine Fiske in 2008, the band has revitalized their lineup as age always takes its toll.

What a treat it will be to see this legendary band grace The Chapel stage.

Another absolute highlight is the return to stage for Norwegian monster three piece 𝗝𝗔𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘.

Hardly any band as heavy as these guys have harvested more «sixes on the dice” from our national press. Ever.

Their masterpeice «Reaping Machines» from 2006 is a record as heavy as a ten ton Chevy, and led the way of combining songwriting finesse with pure, jaw dropping heaviness. What an album.

«Reaping Machines» will be performed in its entirety at Høstsabbat.

We Can Not Wait.

𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗧 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗧 is the second French band on our lineup this year.

Although showcasing a completely different sound than their fellow countrymen in Ni, they are just as much a perfect fit for Høstsabbat with their ultra slow and heavy riff worship.

This bunch of axemen knows how to tickle your belly with their low end debauchery.

𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗘𝗡 𝗪𝗢𝗠𝗕. Yes, they are coming back!

Timo and Tony laid completely waste to Verkstedet closing out the festival, when we first introduced the stage in 2019. They have been doing so ever since, and before, for that matter. Barren Womb is one of those bands we should cherish to the bone here in Norway.

They turn every single live show into a chaotic fest of emotion, energy and twisted originality(?). Their blend of hardcore and whatnot is so unique, in its weird catchy way.

How do they get the complexity to feel this accessible?

Come and see for yourself!

Our season is here – the time of the Sabbat.

Design by Thomas Moe Ellefsrud / hypnotistdesign

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
https://spoti.fi/3tkuMZl

NEWSLETTER
https://bit.ly/HostsabbatNews

https://www.facebook.com/hostsabbat/
https://www.instagram.com/hostsabbat/
http://hostsabbat.no/

Høstsabbat Spotify Playlist

Since its first iteration, the Oslo-based fest Høstsabbat has made a point to be supportive of the native-Norwegian underground. This coming October, they’ll up the stakes in that regard by adding a whole new stage and venue to the proceedings. For a show that takes place in a spot that already has two stages and, well, there just happens to be a third right across the street that has another one, it’s a natural kind of growth to happen. Barren Womb, Golden Core, Superlynx, Magmakammer, Orsak:Oslo, Acârash, Kanaan, Astrosaur and Subnoir will hold sway over the new stage and in addition being a badass homage to the festival’s home city and country — though I wouldn’t have minded seeing SÂVER added again now that their record will be out — and while I’m not sure how the timing will work out with the two stages back at the Kulturkirken Jakob, that’s a chance for someone like me coming from outside or even for someone from Norway unfamiliar, to get a lesson in what the scene there is all about. It’s an opportunity.

Announcement from the fest follows:

As Høstsabbat has been growing over the years, since our humble start in 2013, our intentional focus on showcasing the Norwegian underground has lost turf to bigger acts from foreign countries. It’s been super fun to be able to book top shelf bands from different corners of the world, but it’s no secret that our focus on the always brimming scene in our native country has lost ground.

Fear no more!

Høstsabbat 2019 will include a third stage, at the awesome bar and stage at Verkstedet Bar, literally a 30-second walk from the church. This stage will consist of Norwegian bands ONLY. After months of planning, we feel we have captured the essence of bands, set to break through to the next level. It’s hard to describe the quality and diverse impact of this stage, and we would like to thank all the bands for making this vision become reality.

It’s a tremendous joy to welcome these nine acts to Høstsabbat 2019, illustrated on a stunning poster by the incredibly talented Trine Grimm (Trine Grimm Tattoo), who is also set to curate the art program this year, alongside our long-time companion Linda K Røed!

There you go, Boom!

Bands:
Barren Womb
Golden Core
Aca?rash
Superlynx
Magmakammer
Astrosaur
Orsak:Oslo
SUBNOIR
Kanaan – Band

FESTIVAL TICKETS
http://bit.ly/HSfestivalpass

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST – HØSTSABBAT 2019
http://bit.ly/HS2019playlist

https://www.facebook.com/events/274561413173994/
https://www.facebook.com/hostsabbat/
http://hostsabbat.no/

Superlynx, “Hex” official video

With two full-lengths under their belt of skin-peeling noise rock, Trondheim, Norway, duo Barren Womb offer an aesthetic shift with their upcoming Record Store Day EP, Crown Control. Set for release April 22 through All Good Clean Records (distribution through Stickman), the five-track trades distorted guitar for banjo and adopts a neofolk and Americana stylization that removes the traces of post-Kvelertak black ‘n’ roll that otherwise make themselves felt in their sound. True, a song like “Devil Run the Game” from their 2015 sophomore long-player, Nique Everything, did much the same, but Crown Control brings this more into focus and is a more brazen move away from weighted sonic impact.

For example, listening to “Freak Flag,” for which Barren Womb have a new video premiering below, my most immediate comparison point for what Timo Silvola and Tony Gonzahl are doing is 16 Horsepower‘s “Straw Foot,” and that doesn’t feel like an accident on the band’s part. To listen to the lyrics of “Freak Flag,” there’s plenty of disaffection on offer, as well as some willfully less-than-charming raunch, but where they end up gets to the underlying message at the heart of the song. After urging an audience toward what they call “the dark side” and “the cool side” in the chorus, they finish with the lines, “…Because the worst is the best in a hive mind/And no one should have nothing to hide.”

What that last couplet lacks in grammar, it makes up in justifying the song’s overarching sense of alienation, and it seems that loud or quiet, Barren Womb bring a purpose to their material that’s about making a statement at least as much about conveying the wretchedness driving them toward that statement in the first place. I haven’t heard the rest of Crown Control, but there’s definitely an element of critique in the “Freak Flag” video as well, which features more hot dog eating than I, even as an American — and all we do is eat hot dogs; well, that and wars of aggression, anyway — have seen in a while, and a bit of NSFW-ness for decent measure.

Just a heads up on that.

Barren Womb‘s Crown Control is out April 22 and can be preordered now from All Good Clean Records. PR wire info follows the clip below.

Please enjoy:

Barren Womb, “Freak Flag” official video (NSFW)

Directed by Hanna Fauske.
From the EP “Crown Control” available now on All Good Clean Records.

On April 22nd, Records Store Day, the Trondheim-based power duo Barren Womb will release Crown Control, an EP somewhat out of the ordinary for the duo.

Lyrically it’s still rooted in their usual bleak universe, but the distorted guitars and drums have mostly been replaced by banjo and acoustic guitars. Crown Control comprises 5 winding, misanthropic tracks in the Dark Americana-/Folk-tradition, and will be released by All Good Clean Records.

The first hundred copies will be released as a special handnumbered edition including a signed insert and lyrics sheet.

Crown Control preorder at All Good Clean Records

Barren Womb on Thee Facebooks

Barren Womb on Twitter