Review: Hexvessel ‘Nocturne’
Mat ‘Kvohst’ McNerney has been a constant since the early days of my Shaman writing career when I covered Hexvessel‘s album Kindred for the site way back in 2020. The band themselves, however, have been around a lot longer, forming in 2009, which is about the time when English singer-songwriter McNerney relocated to Finland.
Nocturne marks the Tampere outfit’s seventh full-length release and features not just the aforementioned Kvohst on vocals and guitar, but also Kimmo Helén (piano, keys, strings and guitar), Jukka Rämänen (drums and percussion) and Ville Hakonen (bass), as well as a plethora of guest musicians.
According to the promotional notes, the album’s seeds were sown at the performance of a commissioned work at Roadburn Festival 2024 titled Music For Gloaming: A Nocturne. Meanwhile, the cover art itself bears a striking similarity to the preceding album Polar Veil, albeit with a darker, sinister twist, perhaps indicative of what to expect sonically.
Opening is a beautiful piano ballad ala Philip Glass, which could just as easily be performed at swanky venues such as Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall. At just over a minute long, it’s the shortest track by far and serves as a wonderful start to the album. Piano again features in Sapphire Zephyrs but this time accompanied by icy cold black metal ala Darkthrone and balanced by gorgeous folk textures, stunning.
Inward Landscapes, at eight minutes forty-six seconds, is the album’s longest, most epic sounding piece incorporating a multitude of styles including gothic rock and psychedelic folk. In some respects, it embodies the true spirit and adventurousness of prog but minus the virtuoso ponderousness of many an outfit who I’m simply too polite to recount here. How do you top that? The answer is you don’t; instead you switch to stunning TSOL led death rock, as evidenced on A Dark Graceful Wilderness. Vocally, that band’s Jack Grisham comes to mind, giving it a rougher, punkier aesthetic.
a perfect compromise between their earlier psych-folk roots and their present-day black metal focused incarnation…
Spirit Masked Wolf is anthemic in the spirit of latter day Bathory, with fist pumping moments not overly dissimilar to those found on that group’s more Viking metal material. Nights Tender Reckoning, by contrast, is mournful, initially recalling Metallica circa the Black Album (Nothing Else Matters crops to mind during the opening bars) along with less likely comparisons such as Muse and Radiohead. Thus, it can be viewed as the album’s ‘ballad’, the depressive vibes of artists exemplified by Xasthur are also evident.
Mother Destroyer atmospheric opening sets the tone before alternating heavily between vicious black metal and the kind of gothic rock expounded by Rozz Williams during Christian Death’s initial run, delivered as it is with an irresistible melodrama. Concealed Descent is a slow, delicate number, which gives fans (such as myself) of albums such as Dawnbearer the opportunity to smile broadly at this nostalgic gem, there were also moments that recalled Black Sabbath’s She’s Gone, which pleased me yet further.
Unworld is a grinding, slow-burning beast of a track with Dødheimsgard’s Yusaf ‘Vicotnik’ Parvez vocals enhancing the OM/The Lord ecclesiastical led doom that dominates throughout. Phoebus, though intense, is also deeply melodic, evoking the shoegaze inspired post black metal of bands such as Chrome Waves and Alcest. There’s also a post-rock edge present in the style of early Mogwai and Godspeed! You Black Emperor, marking this out as both a personal favourite and an ideal conclusion to Nocturne.
Though inclined more towards the band’s earlier works, nonetheless, the album felt like a perfect compromise between their earlier psych-folk roots and their present-day black metal focused incarnation, with the inclusion of the latter especially proving no great surprise considering McNerney‘s roots.
Label: Prophecy Productions
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Reza Mills
