Hexvessel - Kindred (2020)

Psychedelic forest folk-rockers Hexvessel will release their new nature-mysticopus, Kindred, via Svart Record. Taking a darker and more esoteric path, Kindred sees Hexvessel re-forge their eclectic melting cauldron or "vessel" of sound into a potent "hex" of spell-binding songcraft. Blues-laden psych-rock and progressive structures harken back to King Crimson, giving way to dark earthen balladry reminiscent of early Nick Cave and the doom-laden atmospheres of Dead Can Dance. The band returned to their original studio in Tampere, Finland, where they recorded their cult classic No HolierTemple, which fused Hexvessel's folk roots with an occult undercurrent, with thenew album mastered by John Davis (The Killers / Gorillaz / Led Zeppelin / LanaDel Rey) in the UK. Through Kindred's 10 song rites of passage, Hexvessel cover Coil's Fire Of The Mind live from a mental institution and delve into the Druidicsa crificial swamps with songs like Bog Bodies, which conjures the deep Lynchian night with muted trumpet and foggy rhodes piano. Adorned by cover artwork byartists Thomas Hooper (who has worked for Neurosis, Converge andDoomriders) and Richey Beckett (who has created work for Metallica, FooFighters, Robert Plant), Kindred is an album which calls you on a journey, both intimate and richly enlightening. A sub-arctic occult blues number, with western-noir guitars,'Demian' is a paean to the work of Herman Hesse and is about opening up our subconscious to reach our human potential. Singer/song-writer Mat McNerneysays "Demian is in a sense the true message in everything we do with Hexvessel.