The annual Roadburn Festival in Tilburg has long been known as a breeding ground for musical experimentation, unexpected collaborations, and exclusive commissioned compositions. For the 2024 edition, Hexvessel — the Finnish band led by frontman Mat McNerney — was invited to compose a special piece. The result was Music for Gloaming: A Nocturne, a captivating composition that premiered at the festival and left a lasting impression. Later that year, the band entered the studio to record the piece in its entirety. Now, this unique creation is officially released under the title Nocturne.
Nocturne serves as both a thematic and visual continuation of the darker path first explored on the previous album, Polar Veil. The artwork seamlessly aligns with its predecessor’s aesthetic — bleak, mystical imagery that evokes a mood of introspection and twilight. But it is musically where Hexvessel draws the clearest line: the psychedelic folk rock that once defined the band has now been fully traded in for a more layered, atmospheric form of Black Metal.
On Nocturne, Hexvessel opens the door wider than ever to acoustic instrumentation, ambient textures, and synthesizers — elements that entwine with the cold, desolate Black Metal riffs like tendrils of mist curling through a forest at dusk. The result is a soundscape that feels both hushed and ominous, evoking that liminal hour when day slips into night and the boundary between dream and reality begins to dissolve.
At the heart of it all is Mat McNerney’s unmistakable voice. His dark, solemn delivery acts as a guide through these fog-drenched sonic landscapes, grounding the listener in emotional weight and ritualistic calm. His vocals are occasionally joined by striking guest performances, notably Yusaf “Vicotnik” Parvez (Dødheimsgard, Ved Buens Ende), whose contributions inject a sense of alienation and unease, and Juho Vanhanen (Oranssi Pazuzu), who lends his voice to closing track “Phoebus”, further expanding the album’s otherworldly reach.
These collaborations underscore Nocturne’s refusal to be bound by genre conventions. The album stretches far beyond the confines of traditional Black Metal or psychedelia. It dares to slow down, to breathe and reflect, to wander through shadowed corridors of thought — all without losing its ever-present sense of dread. This is a nocturne in the truest sense: not a scream in the dark, but a whisper that lingers long after it has faded.
With Nocturne, Hexvessel shows that evolution need not be rupture. Growth can also mean refinement — a deeper sense of purpose and identity. This is music for twilight minds, for the in-between places, and for those who feel most at home in the half-light.
Special mention must go to the artwork, which mirrors that of Polar Veil and further deepens the album’s thematic cohesion. Visually and sonically, Nocturne continues to build on Hexvessel’s unique world — one that invites you in, only to leave you changed.
90/100
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