Metal Inside(r) Home Quarantine is Metal Insider’s new column during this time of isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We asked artists five questions on what’s been keeping them busy ranging from their favorite movies, food they’ve been eating, music they’ve been listening to and more. We caught up with Barrens’ Johan G Winther (guitars/synths) as he’s been spending a lot more time with his family.

What have you been doing to pass time during the pandemic?

Since Sweden isn’t doing the lock down/shut down thing, life here has been mostly business as usual. A lot more of family time which is always nice, a bigger distance to other people in general but of course no concerts or anything, which sucks. It’s been a good time to catch up on things in the studio and to work on other projects that have been put on hold because of tours we were supposed to go on and stuff like that. It’s also very nice to see all the creative ways that both artists/bands and people in general deal with the situation. There’s so much fun stuff going on that will surely stay around once this whole thing clears up.

Have you been listening to any music or have any playlists worth checking out?

I’ve been spinning a lot more vinyl since I’ve been at home more, and I’ve also ordered a lot of new stuff because of the same reason. There’s been tons of great stuff released lately, but I’ve mainly been listening to these records:

Gösta Berlings Saga – Sersophane

Oranssi Pazuzu – Mestarin Kynsi

Fluisteraars – Bloem

Walk Through Fire – Vår Avgrund

Solar – Future Energy

Future Usses – The Existential Haunting

A lot of people have been spending this time cooking including making their own bread, what food have you been prepping during this time?

Mainly demos for new Barrens material. I don’t do too much cooking I’m afraid. At least nothing worth writing about.

In terms of entertainment, what movies, TV shows, books, or games have been keeping you busy?

Latest season of Better Call Saul and Bosch and The Last Dance series on Netflix. 

Been reading “The end is always near” by Dan Carlin, “The show that never ends” by David Weigel, and “The Inborn Absolute” about Robert Ryan.

What advice do you have for your fans in isolation during this time?

Stay safe and take care of each other. Listen to music, create art and use these times in a positive and creative way.