ALBUM REVIEW: Lake Drinker – Horndal

When a band sets out to capture the sound of the death of an entire town, you can be sure the results will be pretty damn heavy. That’s exactly what Swedish four-piece HORNDAL aim to do on their second full-length, Lake Drinker. Taking their name from the dying town in question, the band describe their sound as rusty metal. That definitely makes sense when you hear them, but probably bears some explanation here. Specifically, they draw comparisons to the riff-heavy death ‘n’ roll of To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth-era ENTOMBED. There are also definitely touches of both sludge and thrash metal in the mix. As well as this, there’s often an element of creeping horror, particularly from the occasional use of xylophones and glockenspiels.

Of course, metal and horror have had a long and fruitful relationship at this point. Make no mistake however, Lake Drinker isn’t the story of some ghoulish slasher or a maniac with a chainsaw. Instead, it tells the very real story of a town – HORNDAL‘s town – in degradation and decline. This is something the band began on Lake Drinker’s 2019 predecessor, Remains. On that record, they detailed the closure of the town’s steel factory over 40 years ago and the resulting desolation. This time, we’re in the present day, and an American tech-giant is wreaking environmental devastation on Horndal and its surroundings. It feels like a very timely message, and one that’s clearly very close to the band’s heart.

Surely one of the strongest features of Lake Drinker is its wealth of impressive riffing. This becomes clear early on in the record’s opening track Rossen, and remains the case throughout. One could point to any number of songs for stand-out examples, but the three-track run from The Uprising to Kalhygget definitely offers some of the best. The latter in particular makes for a firm album highlight, boasting some seriously high-energy bounce. Ninth track Thor Bear also deserves a mention here, as it carries itself with a particularly groovy swagger.

Another stand-out on Lake Drinker is the band’s vocalist Henrik Levahn. His vocals sit somewhere between the thundering bellow of MASTODON‘s Troy Sanders and the harsher boom of the late and legendary LG Petrov of ENTOMBED. Again, there are plenty of moments to choose from where Levahn shines. Prime examples include his roaring cries of “Heads roll! Blood spill! Down at Bertas Bar and Grill” on the album’s second track Horndal’s Blodbad, as well as his furious railing against deforestation on the already-mentioned Kallhygget.

The riffs and vocals may stand out on this record, but you can’t fault any of the performances on Lake Drinker. Drummer Pontus Levahn provides a weighty anchor to proceedings, locking in nicely with Erik Welén‘s rumbling bass. All this is in safe hands with producer Karl Daniel Lidén, known for his work with HORNDAL‘s fellow Swedes in BLOODBATH and KATATONIA. Lidén‘s production lends the record a raw and cavernous quality, without washing things out or letting them lose their punch.

All the elements are there then for a solid metal offering, and Lake Drinker definitely is, but for some reason it rarely feels exceptional. For the most part it seems HORNDAL have found their sound and stuck to it. That’s fine of course – it’s a good sound – but it does mean that the near 50-minute runtime feels a touch too long. While the songs don’t necessarily overlabour their ideas, many clock in near or over the five-minute mark. Again, that’s not a problem in itself, but a little more dynamic variation would almost certainly help. There are moments of quiet on this, sure, but it rarely feels like the band lean into these as much as they perhaps could.

That said, this is still a good record. The quality remains steady to its very end without any real slip-ups or stinkers. Seventh track Growing Graves makes for a particular highlight. It throws up plenty more great riffing, and even evokes MASTODON at their most straight-up raging – that’s definitely a compliment. Tenth track Town Burner is another rager and highlight. With epic leads and manic vocals, this one’s particularly sure to please fans of the bracing, raucous energy of KVELERTAK.

Overall, Lake Drinker is just solid. It’s rarely more, and it’s rarely less. While it may not have quite enough ideas to justify its length, the standard of those on offer is high enough. Unlike a lot of bands, HORNDAL definitely have an interesting story to tell. But if they want listeners to keep listening, they’ll probably need to expand their horizons a little further than they do here. In the meantime, this record is definitely worth a listen, and its cautionary tale is one we should all take heed of.

Rating: 7/10

Lake Drinker is set for release on April 9th via Prosthetic Records.

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