Band:	Hexvessel
Album:	Polar Veil
Style:	Neofolk, Melodic black metal, Psychedelic rock
Release date:	September 2023

01. The Tundra Is Awake
02. Older Than The Gods
03. Listen To The River
04. A Cabin In Montana
05. Eternal Meadow
06. Crepuscular Creatures
07. Ring
08. Homeward Polar Spirit


For the longest time, Hexvessel was that psychedelic folk band that metalheads liked because of the line-up connections it had to metal bands. Now, that connection runs deeper than just line-ups.

It is a bit telling that this is the album that had Hexvessel added to the Metal Archives, but this now gives us the possibility to quickly glance over the band's line-up to see that most of its members, past or present, have been part of some band already in the archives at some point. The band's line-up has been larger than the four-piece they are now, and one can easily see Code, Dark Buddha Rising, and The Abbey among the mentioned bands, some of which appear multiple times. Perhaps it is vocalist Kvohst who is the most recognizable member, whose tenure with Code and Dødheimsgard gave him all the black metal cred one might need, but who seems to have flourished more in metal-adjacent non-metal bands, with Beastmilk and Grave Pleasures existing alongside Hexvessel, but those haven't yet showed any signs of eventually turning into metal projects the way that Hexvessel has just done.

When I reviewed 2019's All Tree, I mentioned how the Fairport Convention-esque folk feels reflective and nostalgic rather than dark and apocalyptic. In some ways, Polar Veil feels like it partly exists to invalidate that statement. Just like the personification on the cover art, this album is shrouded in darkness, albeit a darkness that still retains some of Hexvessel's original qualities. This shroud mostly takes the form of black metal tremolo picking and a very doomy take on atmospheric black metal all throughout, but mostly takes shape in the guitar playing itself. The atmospheric focus doesn't let the sound turn too vicious, but rather acts like a dread that slowly erodes you. The other elements that one might expect from black metal, like shrieks or blast beats, have a very minor presence, but even such a reduced presence is a huge difference for a band that has never used them in the past.

The black metal elements being mostly reduced to the guitars means that the vocal aspect remains in the folky clean zone. Sure, Kvohst's vocals now sound doomier in this new context, rather than the pleasantly folky vibe of yore, and yet this does create such an interesting contrast since there's so little clean vocals in black metal out there. There's a feeling both in the musicianship and the compositions that old Hexvessel still lies beneath the black metal shroud, but is slightly morphed to fit this new sound palette. There are ways in which the songs progress that feel very specific to them, and having Kvohst's vocals on them is basically the catalyst for recognizing that familiarity. And it is in the progression of the longer songs like "Older Than The Gods" and "A Cabin In Montana" where the record feels most compelling.

Needless to say, it is a pretty unique sound, one that makes Polar Veil the kind of album that feels easier to appreciate in retrospect based on how Hexvessel will proceed from here. Will it be that neat black metal detour they did for that one album? Will it be the proof of concept for more dives back into metal sounds? Do we appreciate it for what it is, or do we think about the potential for further refinement of this blend? I am conflicted, because this is a sound that I've been awaiting a long time, but I also dread the thought of hearing nothing more whimsical from them.