Sleepbomb Band Photo by Lisa Gotch
Sleepbomb Share “Fear the Night” off their Conan the Barbarian Reimagined Record [Watch + Listen]
San Francisco-based cinematic doom/drone act Sleepbomb is streaming “Fear the Night,” the final preview from their upcoming record, Songs in the Key of Conan, set for release on 5 June 2026 on vinyl, CD, and digital formats via koolarrow records (run by Faith No More’s Billy Gould). The album reconceives John Milius’ 1983 classic Conan the Barbarian, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Songs in the Key of Conan, is the culmination of a complicated eleven-year journey for Sleepbomb, originally conceived as the next step in their evolution beyond improvised silent film scores.
Of the track “Fear the Night,” Tim Gotch (bass, synths) states:
“‘Fear The Night’ was one of the earliest Conan the Barbarian compositions and was previously titled ‘Obelisk.’ It’s gone through a few variations over the years, and this is the third official recording of the track. In the film, this track is the score for the journey into the center of the mountain to steal the princess; quiet and clean for the covert parts and explosive for the ensuing battle, with the outro covering Valeria’s death scene.
“The core verse/chorus sections have remained largely the same since day one. The outro has had a couple of variations and is my favorite part; I just think it works really well, and it even has some vocals on the version recorded for our album ‘The Path of Pins.’ The track was also an early part of the development of my bass tone with the use of reverb in the chorus, and reverb is something that I use consistently to this day.”
FIND the single on your preferred digital platforms HERE / Watch the video
“Fear the Night” single cover art
Revisit the previously released singles:
“Forged In Steel/Blood on the Snow” [Listen | Watch]
“A Gift of Crom” [Listen | Watch]
Pre-order Songs in the Key of Conan (vinyl, CD, and digital), plus band merch on Bandcamp.
The record release show will take place on June 4th at Bottom of the Hill in SF [Ticket]. The next day, on June 5th, Sleepbomb will play at the Arlene Francis Center in Santa Rosa alongside Oxide, plus another band TBA [Tickets at the door].
Songs in the Key of Conan Album Cover Art
Sleepbomb crafts full, original scores for genre films, settling on a drone influenced style of doom metal while incorporating other textures to suit each film’s distinct atmosphere. Their goal is to re-contextualize the experience of classic films through immersive, reinterpretative sound. Historically conceived as a live project, Sleepbomb has been performing their scores across the West Coast of the US since 2003.
Musically, the band ranges from heavy doom riffs to dreamy shoegaze, dark soundscapes punctuated with shimmering guitar and ethereal vocals. Originally stylistically close to a chaotic version of Throbbing Gristle vs Black Sabbath, Sleepbomb has been exploring experimental sounds and forms throughout their career, guided by the band’s love of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Coil, Neurosis, Sunn 0))), Ulver and Swans, among others.
Sleepbomb joined Bill Gould’s koolarrow records and Belgium’s Consouling Sounds in 2023 for the release of their score for the classic 1920 German Expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. They were overjoyed to repeat this collaboration for their 2025 release of The Sleeping Dead: excerpts from an alternate score for George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead.
Over the course of the first five years, Sleepbomb’s music for the upcoming album Songs in the Key of Conan (inspired by Conan the Barbarian, directed by John Milius). developed from two hours of messy improvisation into a taut, fully written original score; full of driving percussion, soaring synths and dynamic guitars. Over the same period, Sleepbomb evolved from a loose ensemble playing beer gardens to a fixed lineup selling out Bay Area theaters, with Conan becoming their signature work.
Likely, without Covid, this record would have come out in 2021 and sounded very different given the pre-pandemic lineup of Sleepbomb. The album’s path was further delayed by licensing issues that halted live performances of the film and internal scheduling shifts. With the addition of Claire Hamard in 2022, Conan was finally recorded at Earhammer Studios in summer 2024 with producer Greg Wilkinson, alongside longtime live collaborators Matt Pankuch (horns) and K.R. Morrison (percussion). Tracking wrapped in about a week with minimal setbacks. Claire amicably departed the band in 2025, but her performances remain an integral part of the album. Mixing resumed in late 2025 and moved quickly, finally bringing Songs in the Key of Conan to its awaited completion.
Track Listing:
01. Forged in Steel [Listen | Watch]
02. Blood on the Snow [Listen | Watch]
03. My Father’s Sword
04. Wheel of Pain
05. A Gift of Crom [Listen | Watch]
06. The Price of Knowledge
07. Two Fools Who Laugh at Death
08. The Serpent’s Eye
09. All the Gods Cannot Sever Us
10. Fangs of the Serpent
11. Ascending the Steps
12. The Tree of Woe
13. Fear the Night [Listen | Watch]
14. The Pyre
15. Live Forever
16. Temple on Fire
Album Credits:
All music written and performed by Sleepbomb.
Produced by Sleepbomb and Greg Wilkinson.
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer Studios.
—Sleepbomb—
Charles Hernandez: guitars
Robert Johnson: drums, percussion
Tim Gotch: bass, synths
—Contributing Musicians—
Claire Hamard – vocals, clarinet, keyboards
Matt Pankuch – horns, percussion
K.R. Morrison – percussion
Sleepbomb:
https://www.sleepbomb.com
https://linktr.ee/sleepbombsf
https://www.facebook.com/Sleepbomb
https://www.instagram.com/sleepbombsf
https://sleepbomb.bandcamp.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4JLjyliVluKOjAuGNOhhtU
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm9fuXjn9a1CmaA8LZM4jng
Koolarrow Records:
https://koolarrow.com
https://www.facebook.com/KoolarrowRecords