With a name like “Even Without Those We Have Lost, The World Still Relentlessly Turns,” you know you’re in for an intense experience. This latest EP from Swedish chaotic hardcore band Fox Womb is a shift, a transformation that the band has been yearning to make — a departure from their darker, blackened hardcore roots towards a more chaotic and, dare we say, ‘fun’ hardcore sound.
Fox Womb started their musical journey with a series of experiments in different styles of metal and hardcore back in 2020. From these explorations, they’ve found their muse in the chaotic realm of hardcore, drawing inspiration from acts like Converge and Every Time I Die. In this new EP, the band dives deep into themes of injustice, grief, and depression, blending them seamlessly with their aggressive and heavy sonic landscape.
Fox Womb takes listeners on an emotional rollercoaster that effortlessly oscillates between the chaotic and the contemplative. The six tracks serve as a tapestry of raw emotion, addressing everything from homesickness and unattainable memories to the hypocrisy within religious sanctuaries, the isolating burden of depression, and the weighty issues of social justice.
Bridging their past of blackened hardcore with a newfound love for chaotic hardcore, the band manages to capture the energy and intensity of their live performances.
As they weave in melodic undertones, dissonant breakdowns, and occasional bursts of black metal, each track stands as a testament to the band’s evolution and their prowess in musical storytelling. We sat down with the band to give the full track by track of this wild beast below.
1. ”Hiraeth”
This was the first song we wrote that turned us towards the more chaotic and fun hardcore that we all in the band enjoy. It was meant as a more melodic song, but our then guitarist [Tor Höglund] changed the picking part to a more shredding riff, a little less [letters to catalonia] and a little more [Converge]. As soon as we heard that, we all fell in love with the song and it became one of our favorites to play live.
The meaning of the songs titel is Welsh, and means homesick. And it is what the song is about. To remember a moment, but also now that you can not relive that moment ever again. Or to miss a person you loved more that anything on this earth, but they somehow doesn’t exist any more.
2. ”Into the Light of God”
We wanted a dumb and fun song to pick up on live shows. That everyone could sing a long and stagedive to. But also a song that we could show how much we love breakdowns.
”Into the Light of God” is about the contempt for the church. That it is supposed to be a safe space for anyone who grieves or is in some kind of darkness. But instead, those who suffer gets shunned and become a pariah. Those who are supposed to give comfort, just bask in the light of their god and blame those who are different or have another way of thinking.
3. ”Celestial Devourment”
This one is simply about depression. How the burden of not being able to keep dark thoughts away sometimes can be overwhelming. But it is also comforting knowing that you are not alone with these feelings, and that we stand together through thick and thin.
One of the first times we played this song live, we didn’t have anyone moshing or going ape shit in the crowd. So first we thought that it was just a bad song to play live, but after we looked at the footage of the live show we played it on, we realised that every single person in the room were all headbanging to the rythm. When we played it back then, it sounded way more [Entombed] than what it ended up with. Mostly because we used HM2 pedals back then.
4. ”Milkbather”
”Milkbather” became that one song to bridge over from the blackend hardcore-style we used to play to the more chaotic hardcore. We never limit us to write just one type of hardcore or metal, cause we draw influences from many diffrent styles. And even though none of us in the band is ”Trve Kvlt”, we all enjoy good black metal. And if it fits the song writing, why the hell not use it?
The lyrical theme for ”Milkbather” is ”eat the rich”. How the political climate has changed drastically over the years here in Sweden. Fascism, no more helping those in need, taking away cultural, medical and school funds to spend on evicting people from their homes. Homes that are too expensive to live in. People get more poor, and scum become more rich.
5. ”Blood Clots”
This one was fun to write. This was the first piece of the puzzle that started this EP. We only had a hand full of these types of fast, frantic and chaotic songs, but we knew that this is what we loved the most. As soon as we started to play this live, back in 2022, we realised that the kids on the shows went crazy. And that is an A+ for us. The fun 9/8 part and the cool rock n roll was written by our then guitarist [Tor Höglund], who felt that the song was way too short and kind of missed some pizzazz. And in the end, it is probably one of our favorite parts to play ever.
The spit part before the breakdown was actually our producers [Robert William-Olsson] idea. He thought it could be a cool and fun flare to the song. But when we tried to record it, our vocalist [Simon Romberg] couldn’t make it sound raw or cool. It kind of sounded like a child with a runny nose who tried to sound cool when they spit. We are fortunate that Robert is a way cooler spiter.
6. ”There Is A Black Hole In My Chest That I Try To Fill With Flowers”
This was the hardest song to put on paper. Cause it kind of started of as a post-hardcore song, in style with [Hopesfall], but it developed to a more mathy but still very melodic hardcore song. This is also one of the longest songs we have ever written so far. Once again, [Tor Höglund] wrote the crazy 5/4 part that we all love, and it just puts more character to the sound.
”The lyrics was probably some of the hardest I have ever written. It is a song that is 100% about grief. Grief over the loved ones you have lost along the journey. Grief over the part of you that you never will get back. Grief over the realisation of that nothing will ever be like it was once. And the sad part of it all is that only you can carry that grief and sadness. No one else will ever be able to comprehend that sorrow. The only thing that we actually can do is to help each other. Help to understand the grief. Help by talking and make sure that the wound that is this grief, becomes a scar. A scar that will constant remind us of the loved ones we have lost, and use the scar as a shield. Because even without those we have lost, the world still relentlessly turns. And we can never let that cruelty take over.” – Simon Romberg
