Hexvessel - No Holier Temple (CD)

Hexvessel - No Holier Temple (CD)

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The CD version consists of a LP gatefold replica jacket and a big booklet with all lyrics, photos and liner notes.

No Holier Temple fuses the acoustic 70s folk vibe of its predecessor into a more psychedelic, electric, doom-folk sound with Manzarek-like keys, screeching rhythmic VELVET UNDERGROUND violins, Miles Davis trumpets and hypnotic freakouts. Weaving the uncanny songs together are the narrative vocals of Mat McNerney, who on this album has matured into the bastard child of Burke Shelley, young Jon Anderson and Paul Simon. Inspired by the progressive, spaced-out haze of bands like Amon Duul II, VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR and ULTIMATE SPINACH, whose song "Your Head Is Reeling" they cover with religious abandon. Their sound now expands outward from their eerie, signature, ritual-esque intros into a genre-twisting cauldron of otherworldly rock and the late-night, dreamy spoken-word of artists such as Jim Morrison (An American Prayer) and Ken Nordine.

The front cover is by the artist Bastian Kalous and represents the reverence to the native forest and nature that HEXVESSEL wish to raise awareness and preservation of. The themes of the album "are inspired by the work of great men like Scottish-American naturalist and preservationist John Muir and more recent radical environmental advocates Dave Foreman and Howie Wolke," discussing the definition of what makes something holy and sacred.

Details

Track listing

  1. Heaven and Earth Magic
  2. Woods to Conjure
  3. Wilderness is!
  4. A Letter in Birch Bark
  5. Elegy to Goyahkla
  6. His Portal Tomb
  7. Are You Coniferous?
  8. Sacred Marriage
  9. Dues to the Dolmen
  10. Unseen Sun
  11. Your Head is Reeling

Review

Fans of dark progressive rock with folk elements and a pagan atmosphere must not miss out on Hexvessel's second album. - 4/5