Hexvessel Rock & Indie 6 Items

Hexvessel, the enigmatic Finnish band known for their genre-defying musical conjurations, is thrilled to announce the highly anticipated second vinyl pressing of their sixth album, "Polar Veil," via Svart Records, including new limited vinyl colours and a poster! Following the unexpected shift in tone from their Psychedelic Folk roots to a more atmospheric Black Metal sound, "Polar Veil" not only garnered Hexvessel a broader and even more diverse audience but also became one of Svart Records' best-selling albums of 2023.

Originally released to critical acclaim, "Polar Veil" earned the title of #1 Metal Album of the year in Sweden's Aftenposten newspaper, secured the #2 spot in Inferno Magazine's top 10 domestic Metal Albums of the year, and claimed the #13 position in Soundi's top 20 domestic albums of the year after receiving a stellar 5/5 review. The album was also nominated for Band of The Year in the Finnish Indie Awards, setting the stage for an exciting year of live shows in 2024.

Hexvessel's sixth album "Polar Veil" is a mesmerizing journey into the Sub Arctic North, weaving together elements of Black Metal, Ritual Folk Psychedelia, and Doom Rock. The second LP pressing is available on Svart exclusive transparent violet vinyl, limited transparent yellow vinyl, and standard issue black vinyl. Each pressing comes with a large-scale 12-page booklet featuring artwork by Thomas Hooper and the Svart exclusive edition also has a poster showcasing Benjamin König's stunning, jaw-dropping cover artwork.

Experience the magic of "Polar Veil" once again. Don’t miss out on one of these limited rarities and order your copy now!

Limited Svart exclusive box set edition. The demo LP will not be available separately.

Hexvessel and Svart Records celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Hexvessel’s debut album Dawnbearer with a set of reissues, including CD, double vinyl plus an exclusive vinyl box set with a bonus LP containing demos and early versions of tracks on the album.

“Dawnbearer is a very important album for us, being our first album but also the first original album release for Svart Records. It’s also a very special record for our fans, and one that’s particularly close to my heart, in a world of its own when compared to the other records we have made. Considering that it’s been out of print now for some time, I’m delighted to be able to oversee a reissue of this album, together with original demos and out-takes, and liner notes showing the making of this album which carries the initial DNA of Hexvessel’s musical and spiritual journey”, says band leader Mat McNerney, “We haven’t touched a thing on the original layout, but added some bonus material for the limited edition, should you wish to own a luxury edition of this, our now classic debut.”

Hexvessel band was founded by English singer/songwriter Mat McNerney (Beastmilk, Grave Pleasures, Carpenter Brut etc) after he moved to Finland in 2009. Their style of music has been referred to as “forest folk” or as Noisey/Vice puts it: “Weaving English folk, lilting Americana, and mushroom-induced psychedelia”. Their debut album 'Dawnbearer' was released worldwide in 2011 on Svart Records and is considered to be an influential classic record of the modern Occult Rock revival. Highly popular with Hexvessel fans and unique in their catalogue, featuring guitars by Andrew McIvor (Code), violin work of Daniel Pioro (who works on Paul Thomas Anderson’s soundtracks with Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead), the early production work of Jaime Gomez Arellano (Ghost, Paradise Lost), and guest vocals from Carl Michael Eide (Virus, Ved Buens Ende, Aura Noir).

“Think Woven Hand, haunted ’60s/’70s pastoral folk, or a darker riff on Midlake. McNerney covers Clive Palmer’s post-Incredible String Band crew C.O.B. and successfully transforms and darkens Paul Simon’s “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes.” He quotes Crowley, Truman Capote, Isaac Babel, etc. Unlike black metal-ready folk, this is folk by a talented, ambitious black metal musician. But the energy’s there. As is the atmosphere.” - Stereogum

“(Part of) a new wave of bands who share many of the original occult bands' musical and philosophical characteristics, spearheaded by Ghost, from Sweden, and the Devil's Blood, from Holland – have begun to lure in a new generation of fans, predominantly from the metal scene, their names alone – Ancient VVisdom, Hexvessel, Blood Ceremony– point to a focused step back to the age of Wheatley and Hammer. ” - The Guardian (2011)

“If you can imagine a late 1960s folk-rock approach allied to a doomy atmosphere with added touches of lo-fi psychedelia, then you’re getting close to the timbre of Finland’s Hexvessel. There are clearly nods towards King Crimson, Black Sabbath, the Beatles, HP Lovecraft and The Doors, but what the band have managed to do is create something that belongs specifically to them.”

– Malcolm Dome, Prog Magazine

Hexvessel’s fan-favorite album from 2012, No Holier Temple, gets a luxury 10-year anniversary reissue via Svart Records! No Holier Temple was Psychedelic Forest Folk band Hexvessel’s second full-length album, released to critical acclaim, cult status and some of their biggest sales figures to date. The Finnish “mushroom-devouring pixies” follow up to 2011’s critically acclaimed debut album, Dawnbearer, was described by Roadburn Festival as “a passionate, urgent and gorgeously strange musical spell.” Hexvessel’s break-through album No Holier Temple reached new heights for the band with two Emma Gala (Finnish Grammy Awards) nominations. No Holier Tample also won two Femma awards, which is the Alternative Finnish Grammy Awards. Hexvessel played the prestigious Roadburn Festival in The Netherlands for the first time that year in the church venue of Het Patronaat. The festival sold out in 7 minutes. No Holier Temple also landed in the Main Finnish Charts at #20 and in Alternative charts at #7.

No Holier Temple fuses the acoustic 70s folk vibe of its predecessor into a more psychedelic, electric, doom-folk sound with Manzarek-like keys, screeching rhythmic Velvet Underground violins, Miles Davis trumpets and hypnotic freakouts. Weaving the uncanny songs together are the narrative vocals of Mat McNerney, who on this album has matured into the bastard child of Burke Shelley, young Jon Anderson and Paul Simon. Inspired by the progressive, spaced-out haze of bands like Amon Düül II, Van Der Graaf Generator and Ultimate Spinach, whose song “Your Head Is Reeling” they cover with religious abandon. Their sound now expands outward from their eerie, signature, ritual-esque intros into a genre-twisting cauldron of otherworldly rock and the late-night, dreamy spoken-word of artists such as Jim Morrison (An American Prayer) and Ken Nordine.

The front cover is by the artist Bastian Kalous and represents the reverence to the native forest and nature that Hexvessel raised awareness and preservation of. The themes of the album, as explained by McNerney “are inspired by the work of great men like Scottish-American naturalist and preservationist John Muir and more recent radical environmental advocates Dave Foreman and Howie Wolke,”. No Holier Temple was a bold step into the wilderness for Hexvessel, carving their own distinct path. Follow and become initiated.