UMUR
"Dawnbearer" is the debut full-length studio album by Finland based (but multi-national) folk group Hexvessel. The album was released through Svart Records in February 2011. Hexvessel was founded by lead vocalist Mat "Kvohst" McNerney (real name: Mathew Joseph McNerney) after he had been in and out of Norwegian progressive black metal act Dødheimsgard for a couple of years. Kvohst joined Dødheimsgard for the recording of "Supervillain Outcast (2007)", but left the band again in January 2008. He reunited with Dødheimsgard again in 2010 but left again soon after. He has also released albums with artists like Void, Code, and Gangrenator. After relocating to Finland he formed Hexvessel and the rock group Beastmilk. The latter disbanded in 2015 and some of the members (including Kvohst) continued the band under the With Grave Pleasures monicker.
So needless to say that Kvohst is quite the prolific and eclectic musician. While many of his past adventures has been in black metal related acts, Hexvessel is a very different beast and shows a completely new side of the man´s talent. The material on "Dawnbearer" is in some sort of dark and psychadelic tinged folk style. Often almost ritualistic in its expression. An atmosphere which is further enhanced by monotone repetition. It´s the work of 60s and 70s folk artists like The Incredible String Band, Comus, Forest, Spirogyra, Jan Dukes de Grey, which come to mind, but Hexvessel brings a more contemporary edge to that style. On "Dawnbearer", Kvohst is joined by female vocalist Marja Konttinen and a host of guest/session musicians playing instruments like Harmonium, Gongs, Keyboards, Dulcimer, Zither, Psaltery, Bells, Drums, Percussion, guitar, Upright bass, Bowed Dulcimer, Hand Claps, Hand Drum, Bandoneon, Mandolin, and Banjo.
The outcome is a warm and organic instrumental soundscape complimented by the paatos filled vocals by Kvohst and Konttinen (who mostly sings harmony vocals and choirs). There is an eerie and dark psychadelic tone to the music and in usual Kvohst style the lyrics follow suit and paint gloomy absurd landscapes. Some may find the lyrics too "artsy" and pretentious, but personally I think this is some damn fine dark poetry. Kvohst is quite the brilliant vocalist with a distinct sounding voice and delivery, and the many well performed harmony vocals and choirs enhance the vocal part of the music greatly too.
The material on the 15 track, 54:29 minutes long album is generally well written, but some tracks are more interesting than others and while the overall quality of the album is relatively high, the long playing time does mean that the album overstays its welcome by about 10 minutes. Highlights include tracks like the Paul Simon cover "Diamonds", the opening track "Invocation Summoning", "The Tunnel at the End of the Light" (featuring Virus frontman Carl-Michael Eide on guest vocals), and "The Death Knell Tolls".
Upon conclusion "Dawnbearer" is a strong first release by Hexvessel, featuring high level musicianship, a well sounding production, and predominantly intriguing songwriting. As mentioned above there are some tracks which aren´t on par with the best material on the album and had the band weeded out those tracks, it would have made for an overall stronger release (they could easily have left out most of the instrumental tracks on the album). As it is a 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved though.