Hexvessel - Kindred

2020 release. Psychedelic forest folk-rockers Hexvessel release their nature-mystic opus, Kindred, via Svart Records. 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 Holier Temple, which fused Hexvessel's folk roots with an occult undercurrent, with the album mastered by John Davis (The Killers / Gorillaz / Led Zeppelin / Lana Del 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 Druidic sacrificial swamps with songs like Bog Bodies, which conjures the deep Lynchian night with muted trumpet and foggy rhodes piano. Adorned by cover artwork by artists Thomas Hooper (who has worked for Neurosis, Converge and Doomriders) and Richey Beckett (who has created work for Metallica, Foo Fighters, Robert Plant), Kindred is an album which calls you on a journey, both intimate and richly enlightening.