Every branch that strikes the chest of our protagonist as he advances through the wind-gnarled pines reinforces their depiction of the unsympathetic north, the untamed, and the all-consuming numbness the comes with the embrace beyond the doors of a modest cabin. Tea-and-smoke sparked visions of past selves fold together like leaves, glued by the sap of a vagabond soul and root in said woods, a place to let the self flow unhindered into its surroundings as Finnish black metallic forest folk rock act Hexvessel recollects past-and-present compounds into personal alchemy on this brilliant sixth full-length album. Haunting in its presentation of one diorama after another ‘Polar Veil‘ puts to use decades of insight, a career-spanning call upon strengths as a sort of walk through the milling mind pondering both place and spiritual significance. The result is surreal in its atmospheric lustre as points of dramatic black metal and ritualistic folken ebb lend a dreamlike, doomed sort of magic to the endless stroll through the moonlit woods they’ve summoned within these eight images.

Hexvessel formed circa 2009 by way of Mat McNerney aka Kvohst who’d been heavily praised for his work in Code and Dødheimsgard throughout that particular decade before this project and the celebrate Beastmilk (now Grave Pleasures) would break fresh soil beyond the underground black and death metal he’d been involved in since the mid-90’s or nearby. Rather than dance upon old tombs and awaken the Finland-based project’s dark folken psychedelic rocking ways I’d suggest catching up on the thorough exploration of their discography on my review of the connection with the lifeforce (‘All Tree‘, 2019) and the coming of age recollection (‘Kindred‘, 2020), which I’d loved. Though it’d make sense to dig up the discography and reminisce once more I’d just as well embrace the suggestion of a free-spirited paganistic sense of exploration which allows ‘Polar Veil‘ to be exactly whatever it wants to be. In this case the artist proposes their work be… everything at once dancing madly backwards relishing in its dreary spiritual ooze.

It’d be natural enough to stumble into this Hexvessel record and go doe-eyed at the allure of McNerny‘s voice as it so naturally splashes across the the otherwise harsh surroundings as water, warmth rather than ice. Opener “The Tundra is Awake” doesn’t skimp on its tremolo-picked atmospheric black metal motions, its transition to arpeggiated gloom and Ulver-worthy synth glimmering in its midst, but it will eventually become clear that this is already as metal as this project has ever allowed itself and frankly this is just the first step outside the hirsimökki; As the product of consummate professionals with deep-impactful works under their collective belts of course this album hits with its big spots and most endearing pieces up front as “Older Than the Gods” features Okoi (Bølzer) on backing vocals and Nameless Void (Negative Plane) providing a guitar solo (see also: “Ring“) in support of a soulful piece with much the same appeal as “Billion Year Old Being” that’d kicked off the previous LP, a notable titular statement and a grand peak presented near the end to shore up its statement. Simple as the guitar melody and the pacing of the song appears the arrangements on ‘Polar Veil‘ certainly aren’t sparse or plainly delivered but lined with too many layers to parse amidst the uniquely dissonant and clashing rhythms of the band. A quick drift through “Listen to the River”, which I believe features Chelsea Wolfe on keyboards, reveals this weirding touch of the rhythms, a high point for folks most interested in the psych-folk creep of their earlier work.

Occult forest sounds, or, the avant-romanticist longing from the hill. — The miasmic glow of the first half of the album concludes with the wryly smiling gothic horror of “A Cabin in Montana“, frankly a point of relief from the thickly lain gloom and doom layered froth of the first three pieces but no less related in its atmospheric ruggedness. The lyric/title probably isn’t a reference to Ted Kaczynski, though it’d fit the mood perfectly its chants of freedom bearing a sort of late 80’s New Model Army strike to it despite the song bearing the rust-like taste of circa ‘Hvis lyset tar oss‘, its grit echoing downward throughout. I particularly enjoyed the transition here into Side B a step into the more ‘progressive’ black muse which serves Kvohst‘s verbose and folken aspects in every case. That isn’t to suggest that “Eternal Meadow” is a take on Vintersorg or even Arcturus but that the dreamy tarantella of the piece has a similar level of peculiar adventure to it, a vikingr dramatism which finds its glorious rise ~4:01 minutes into the piece, right up against the last minute to great effect.

This is where I’d say the atmospheric black metal glint of these pieces meets up best with not only the artist’s distinct vocal style, but the transition into a gothic rock and Scandinavian folk etched nighttime session as the album begins its conclusive third. For my own taste every song has hit up ’til this point and “Crepuscular Creatures” isn’t an exception, probably the most expected narrative tone and eerie bit of signature one’d expect in the twilight of any Hexvessel record, bringing to mind his guest spots on Rope Sect‘s LP not too long ago in terms of attacking the poetry in a unique cadence; Though I could go on complimenting every feature of this record, expect darkest doom (“Ring”) and a cold-snapping whorl-out with the closer, I am really just fawning over the experience at this point and, sure, even months after first sitting down with it.

Was going a bit “metal” all it’d take to redefine the already broad spectrum of Hexvessel? I’d argue that they’ve done much more than strike at the spiritus of black metal here, that’d always been a threat from the shadows of their work anyhow, but really the work done here is in creating a crystalline mood and sense of mystère which is accentuated by the voluminous, transfixing approach they’ve chosen. Though I’ve still got a few points of enduring inspiration picked out of this discography I have to admit that ‘Polar Veil‘ is one of the most attractive, skull-gripping feats from them yet and a record I’ve not yet been able to purge from regular rotation. A very high recommendation.

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