Swedish rust metal group HORNDAL have announced that vocalist Henrik Levahn will be making an appearance at Örebro University for a guest lecture on October 25. Levahn will be participating in a discussion on company closures and ethics, with regards to both the band’s eponymous hometown and country.
Speaking on the announcement, HORNDAL's Henrik Levahn comments: "Professor Magnus Hansson contacted me and asked me to be "the emotional part" of his field. Downsizing, layoffs and shutdowns are very rational with facts and figures, my goal is to give a voice to the feelings of frustration, anger and fear. All of these emotions were a part of my younger years in Horndal when the steel mill was shut down."
Örebro University professor Magnus Hansson adds: "Their music is all about people living in Horndal, the closure of the mill there and the town’s slow decay. My previous research has focused on company closures. I have tried to describe and analyse what happens in a corporate organisation after deciding to close and until its employees go home for the last time. We were brought together, with our different perspectives, by common issues. Sharing the same interests, enthusiasm, and commitment to understanding dying mill towns, closures and – in my case – organisational mortality.”
HORNDAL are no strangers to voicing their concerns and offering critique on the pitfalls of big tech and post-industrial decline, with their 2021 album Lake Drinker and follow-up EP Be Evil both exploring themes of the real world consequences of American tech on Horndal and beyond.
The guest lecture is planned for 25 October, 9:15am –12:00pm CEST, in lecture hall M at Örebro University. HORNDAL's Henrik Levahn will participate via Zoom.