Finland’s Hexvessel have released “A Cabin In Montana”, the third single and video from their sixth album, Polar Veil. The video is carved from vintage footage taken from Canadian adventurer, Tommy Tompkins’ wildlife films of the 1970s. The new full-length is due out September 22nd. Check out the video below, and find out more about Hexvessel.
Pre-order Polar Veil here.
Main man Mat “Kvohst” McNerney explains, “You should all open this symbolic letter from a cabin in Montana. Step outside and get a deeper sense of meaning. Only then will life begin anew”.
“Nature represents freedom, darkness and the call of the wild. Black Metal has always been at the borders of my sound and playing, at the heart of everything I do. Tradition, nature, ritual, mythology, mysticism and philosophy, along with clashing and jarring chords have always been synonymous with Hexvessel. It was natural with Polar Veil, finally now as we reach the zenith of the journey, that these influences surface to the human ear, and with the freezing cold guitar sound that the climate here demands.”
Holed up in a home-made studio in his log cabin during the winter of 2022, McNerney drew on all the fundamental elements of his music career as a shamanic shapeshifter, with only the isolation of nature’s solitude as inspiration. Painting an aura with Polar Veil which resonates with solitary reflection and themes of personal spiritual transcendence, Hexvessel’s new album is a bold statement from an artist who continues to reinvent and explore nature mysticism through music.
Polar Veil features Nameless Void from Negative Plane, performing the guitar solo on the song “Ring” and on “Older Than The Gods”, Okoi from Bølzer provides guest vocals.
Hexvessel Live Dates:
September 22: YÖ-Talo – Tampere FI
September 23: Amplifest – Porto PT
September 29: Suisto – Hämeenlinna FI
September 30: Kuudes Linja – Helsinki FI
October 6: Monari – Kannus FI
October 7: 45 Special – Oulu FI
October 13: Dynamo – Turku FI
October 14: Torvi – Lahti FI
December 11: Klub Pod Minogą – Poznań PL
December 12: Zaścianek Club – Kraków PL
December 13: Hydrozagadka Club – Warsaw PL
December 14: SODAS2123 – Vilnius LT
December 15: Vagonu Hall – Riga LV
December 16: Kinomaja – Tallinn EE
More from Hexvessel:
From their inception in 2009, Hexvessel, created by Mat McNerney as what he described as “a free spiritual journey and a musical odyssey with no boundaries”, have captivated audiences and listeners with their evolution.
On the process of recording Polar Veil McNerney explains: “I built a studio at home in the log hut on our field, surrounded by large trees, called Pine Hill, to escape from everything and everyone. Polar Veil is what a spiritual home sounds like.”
A track such as “Crepuscular Creatures”, with unhinged, discordant guitar chords, as bassist Ville Hakonen’s hand snakes up and down the frets, is at the more avant-garde end of the album. Long term drummer Jukka Rämänen thunders the toms like never before, as McNerney croons Scott Walker-esque lyrics, somewhere between Edith Södergran and Ted Hughes.
Whereas “Listen To The River” with its ominous M.R James/folk horror lyrics of perilous environmental warning, featuring Ben Chisholm as main collaborator and multi-instrumentalist with Chelsea Wolfe on lush, haunting keys and strings, could have appeared on Hexvessel’s sophomore album No Holier Temple, albeit with a sound of that era, progressing out of folk.
When the components of the medicine are familiar but brewed in a completely novel concoction, the resulting side effects can be deliriously intoxicating.
Follow Hexvessel:
https://www.facebook.com/hexvessel
https://www.instagram.com/hexvesselband