Hexvessel return on 22 September when their sixth album, Polar Veil, will be released via Svart Records. Mat ‘Kvohst’ McNerney summons the ghosts of his past in a jaw-dropping, unheard-of rebirth of style and sound that develops into a cold, metallic hymn to the Sub Arctic North.
At once unmistakably Hexvessel, Polar Veil is also steeped in the nocturnal atmosphere of McNerney’s past, churned in the cauldron of Black Metal, Ritual Folk Psychedelia and Doom, and echoing with shivering Gothic undertones.
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.
Take a look at the video to new track ‘Older Than The Gods’, featuring guest vocals from Okoi of Bølzer.
“Nature represents freedom, darkness and the call of the wild,” says McNerney . “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.”
Polar Veil also features Nameless Void from Negative Plane, performing the guitar solo on the song ‘Ring’.
You can pre-order the new Hexvessel album Polar Veil here.
