Review by Sonny for Hexvessel - Nocturne (2025)

I hadn't listened to Finland's Hexvessel before, but a quick bit of background digging tells me that they began life as a psychedelic rock act and feature the UK's Kvohst on guitar and vocals. They have travelled a fair way from those beginnings because this, their seventh full-length, is undoubtedly a metal album, but one that isn't easy to pigeonhole and which weaves together a number of disparate influences into a very modern-sounding record. There are certainly doom metal elements present, particularly of the more gazey, post-metal type, but that is a long way from the full story here.

Beginning with a short, wistful piano intro, fittingly titled "Opening", which segues seamlessly into a very nice melody and the opener proper, "Sapphire Zephyrs", it becomes apparent that we are dealing with a crew who know a little bit about decent songwriting and musical transitions. The track's initial wistfulness is soon usurped by black metal-derived blasting, but with atypically clean vocals which allow it to maintain its overridingly mournful atmosphere. During its eight minutes the track takes a number of turns with changes in tempo and delivery, yet it still sounds exceedingly coherent and consistent, the hallmark of skillful songwriting. This approach is the band's modus operandi for the album as a whole which makes it feel quite progressive, especially on the longer tracks, whilst the post-metal, doomgaze elements infuse it with its suitably melancholic atmosphere. The production is very clean and allows all the band members contributions to be heard perfectly with the drums, bass and keys all clearly defined within the overall sound.

All-in-all I enjoyed this, it features some really nice melodies which resonated with me quite deeply and, as I said earlier, the songwriting is top-knotch. It isn't the heaviest album you will hear this year, but then again it isn't trying to be. The band succeed in their atmosphere-building, which feels consistent throughout and the skillful pulling together of its various component influences into a coherent whole is impressive, be it doom, black metal, post-punk or whatever else they throw into this witch's magical brew. Ultimately this is a fine addition to a relatively modern branch of post-doom metal.