Hexvessel announce cold, dark new album Polar Veil

Finland's dark forest rockers Hexvessel have announced they will release their brand new album, Polar Veil, through Svart Records on September 22.

The new album, the band's sixth, sees them taking a colder, darker approach to their sound, mixing in strands of mianman Mat “Kvohst” McNerney's musical past such as dark psychedelia, black metal, folk and doom rock. You can watch the video for brand new song Older Than The Gods below.

"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," says McNerney. "Polar Veil is what a spiritual home sounds like.

"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.”

Polar Veil features guest appearances from Chelsea Wolfe collaborator Ben Chisholm on keyboards and strings, Nameless Void from Negative Plane on guitar and Okoi from Bølzer on guest vocals.

You can view the new album artwork below.

Pre-order Polar Veil.

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.