PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Ever wondered what the death of an entire town sounds like?
HORNDAL’s sophomore album, Lake Drinker, is the heavy soundtrack to a true horror story about a small industrial town in Sweden being brutally murdered, left to rust away, and then fooled into believing in the false hope of prosperity, promised by big American tech. The follow up to 2019’s Remains, Lake Drinker is a cautionary tale about making a deal with the devil. But this story of urban decay is not a fairytale or fantasy, it’s rooted in the real lives of the citizens of Horndal, retold by a band whose own lives are umbilically linked to the town itself.
The first part of the true life tale is laid out across the nine songs on Remains – re-telling the events of over 40 years ago, when the steel factory that employed almost the whole population of Horndal was shut down, leaving the town abandoned to perish. In an act of defiance, a local theatre group wrote and performed a play about this life-changing, disastrous event. In their production, the devil himself came to close the factory, deserting the workers to their unhappy fate and sending the community to an early grave. The story came true; the factory was shuttered and the town left for dead.
Now, in present day Horndal, a new demon is looming, a fresh hell is on the horizon. An American tech giant has arrived – cutting down the forests and emptying the lake. The beast is back, only this time it looks a little different. With no theatre group to document this new threat, the task is left to HORNDAL, and Lake Drinker is the soundtrack to this new wave of destruction.
Recorded in the iconic Studio Gröndahl in Stockholm, Sweden with producer Karl Daniel Lidén (Bloodbath, Katatonia, Crippled Black Phoenix) taking care of recording, mixing and mastering, Lake Drinker is a worthy follow up to their debut. The songs are captured in a raw, organic form, making the album come alive as it weaves its tale, incorporating elements of sludge, death metal and furious punk attitude.
The album features some guest contributions courtesy of Pelle Jacobsson from Sweden’s National Radio Symphony Orchestra (classical percussion), Christer Falk and Daniel Johansson (horn arrangements), Johan Jansson of Interment and Dreadful Fate (guest vocals), and last but by no means least the voices of Horndal’s own protesters.
This is a story about the town of Horndal, but there are many others just like it out there. Here’s to all rusty hometowns out there.
Drink up.
