HEXVESSEL RETURN WITH TREE STORIES
Helsinki-based folk proggers promise to get ‘back to basics’ on fourth full-length album.
Finnish-British folk prog collective Hexvessel release All Tree on Century Media on February 15, 2019. The first song from the album will be unveiled in early December, and frontman Mat ‘Kvohst’ McNerney reckons that the follow-up to 2016’s When We Are Death will be “perhaps the most Hexvessel record we have ever made”.
“The songs that grew into this record are the purest to what I feel the concept of Hexvessel truly is,” he says. “There are still some strong progressive elements and psych rock influences but I think they’re more integrated to the songs.”
The title reflects Hexvessel’s enduring fascination with the magic and spirituality of nature, says McNerney.
“All Tree is our mantra. Nature is our interface to godliness. For me it always comes back to that. It’s the word ‘tree’; the root of all existence, from which everything springs.”
Englishman McNerney spent his summers in Ireland as a child, captivated by ghost stories and Celtic mythology. He’s now based in Finland, having moved on from his work with Norwegian extreme metal bands Dødheimsgard and Code to write songs with a more bucolic feel for the six-piece he regards as a community.
“Mythology and tradition is still alive in Finland,” he says, “and there’s still a keen interest in their old pagan heritage. They’re in constant reflection, revival and preservation of their past, and in that you’ll find a lot of secret knowledge about the meaning of the universe.”
There have been line-up changes since Hexvessel’s last album too, with Simo Kuosmanen replaced by Jesse Heikkenen on lead guitar, and bassist Niini Rossi also departing. However McNerney is enthused to reconnect with long-time collaborator and Code co-founder Andrew ‘Aort’ McIvor, who guests on acoustic guitar.
“His love of old English folk and prog music can be heard throughout,” McNerney commented recently on Facebook, but while the band’s style continues to evolve, there’s still that same immediacy to many of the songs that was a winning trait of previous records.
“There will always be a catchy chorus on my albums,” says McNerney, “since I like to communicate. I think when a song speaks to us and we get hooked to it, we feel more in touch. It strengthens our sense of community and in that we come close to godliness. We become more at one with the universe.” JS
“There will always be a catchy chorus on my albums.”