Ελληνικά
Last Updated on 11:52 PM by Giorgos Tsekas
In less than 24 hours Hexvessel will hit the stage with Oranssi Pazuzu at Gagarin 205, in Athens. Don’t miss the oppurtunity to watch these guys live, but before you go to see them, check our interesting talk with Mr. Mat McNerney aka Kvohst.
Hallo and welcome to Metal Invader. Congratulations on your new album “When We Are Death”, the response has been great so far. How do you feel about the album yourselves?
Thank you! Yes this has been the best received album so far, by the fans and also a new audience which has come to the band for the first time. Signing with Century Media has meant that we have really moved out of our underground roots and are getting a lot more recognition. We’re very proud of the album. It was a lot of hard work and took three years to make. At times I thought it would never reach completion, because it was such a mountain to climb to reach the summit.
The record has an amazing artwork. Who did it and what’s the meaning behind it’s title?
The artwork was done by Adam Burke. He’s a really good painter and has been doing a lot of great work lately. I asked him to paint my concept of the album title. I wanted to show a woman, the symbol of the earth mother or the eternal female, as she becomes one with the cycle of life. She is decomposing and dying but also giving birth to new life, and being born again into the elements that make up the universe. On the LP version you can see forest spirits emerging on the back, as they observe the universal cycle. It’s a pagan scene. I wanted something that had a religious look about it. There have been so many Christian depictions of holy events or of the ascension of Christ into heaven for example. I wanted it to have that look and feel but be of a pagan scene.
You definitely have a very unique vibe from a different time. Where do you draw your musical and non musical influences from?
We listen to a lot of diverse music. The range is very wide and vast. We don’t have any musical boundaries. If people want to know what our influences are, they can go to our Spotify page and check out the mixes we make there for example. And I always include a list in the albums. Our non musical influences are a lot about books, poetry and arthouse cinema. I am very inspired by the work of Muir and also Thoreau, Carl Sagan and Robert Anton Wilson.
“When We Are Death” is your third full length album. Where does it stand among the first two?
It’s the third one. Every record we have made I think is unique. It’s the third stop on the journey thus far. I think it’s the best, but I would, wouldn’t I?! People get hooked on whatever album they love the most first. So I think others will have their own preferences. That’s really fine with me. I think there is this perception that artists get mad when someone says “I like your first record best” for example. I really don’t care. If someone has a connection to my music then I am extremely happy that the songs have worked their way to someone else’s heart. I don’t mind which song, or what album. I don’t really think one is better than the other. They simply have different qualities. The more recent stuff is more accomplished – in terms of performance and song writing. But that’s not always something people are looking for. I can’t help the new stuff getting better – it’s just that something I gain with experience. With age and wisdom comes increased responsibility to deliver.
How has the touring been so far and what kind of interaction do you have with your fans?
Touring is fun. We have been out with a lot of great bands. We like to hang out with our fans and meet them after the show. I like to meet them and get to know them. I think we have a close relationship with our fans. Hexvessel fans are the best.
How do you perceive music as an individual and how do Hexvessel write and rehearse their material?
How I perceive music is that it’s the magic force that binds my universe together. Music is the beat that keeps my bones moving forward. Without music I cannot feel, love or understand the universe. It’s my language and syphon for filtering through my understanding of life basically. I write the music and the songs and I take it to the guys and we jam it out and arrange it in the rehearsal place. As I said this particular record took a lot of jamming before we came to a place where the album started to find it’s feet.
How would you describe your own music if you were to label it under a genre?
People call it Psychedelic Forest Folk-Rock or something like that. It’s convoluted. I called it Hexvessel. We are a band whose genre is defined by the band name. We’re not playing a role like a black metal band for example. In that genre you just call you band something. We’re the first of our genre.
“I’ll remember you when I’m dead” is a characteristic moment of the record. Which one or two tracks would you suggest to someone who hasn’t heard it at all?
I would suggest people listen to the record. It’s a diverse record and so one or two tracks really don’t give you an idea of the band. You know, Electric Wizard can be defined by one of their songs. We don’t follow a pattern.
You have been involved in many different and popular projects. Is Hexvessel your main band?
I guess you could say that Hexvessel is my music, rather than a collaboration with another writer – as in Beastmilk or Grave Pleasures. Main band is a term I don’t want to use because I put everything into every project I work on as an artist.
How much did you spend on writing and putting together the new album this time? Were there any unfortunate events along the way?
3 years. I guess the writing part to this one took a long time. Nothing bad happened though. We have good karma with Hexvessel.
Who is the main composer in Hexvessel and how do you guys arrange the rich instrumentation you have in your tracks?
I write all the music. We have a talented band. I know them well and their strengths and how to bring out the best in them. So they are the people I trust the most to arrange, record and perform the songs. It takes real trust and good communication.
You have very strong elements of the 60’s – 70’s rock scene, do you consider that era the best in terms of the music released back then?
No I don’t consider that the best era at all. I get a lot of inspiration from that era, it’s true. And I like the sound of the equipment used too. I think that at some point the equipment reached it’s peak in terms of production quality.
How much time should someone spend on a Hexvessel record in order to completely apprehend it?
That depends on the individual. Can you ever really comprehend a good record?
I found your band when “No Holier Temple” was released. Do you believe one should listen to your albums in the order they were released or not?
No, I think people can pick up and enjoy us at any point in our history.
I want to personally thank you for the track “Woods To Conjure” from that record, because it completely blew my mind when I first listened to it and still does to this day. If you wish, share any thoughts you have about it and it’s merit compared to other Hexvessel songs.
I don’t compare my songs to each other. I usually have better things to do with my time than think about one song in relation to another! hahah. But Woods To Conjure was my hymn to the forest. The feeling of being in the forest and also the religious and holy connection to nature. It’s a feeling I have had since I was a young boy. I wanted to translate that for others and also to connect it to everyone’s innate feeling about the wonder and miracle of nature. It has a special quality to the song, because it comes from a very special place. Sometimes you find fresh bear tracks in the woods. It gives you a thrill. The bear was close by. That’s how I feel about the song. It’s very close to the magic elements that make up what is so magnificent about nature. The song for me acts as a kind of conduit through which the forest speaks. And all it asks is that you think of it, feel it and are one with it. It asks you to “conjure” it in your mind and soul. “Conjure me” it calls. That song has some pine forest inside it.
Tell us a few information about the concept behind the video clip for “Drugged up on the Universe”. A very beautiful video, by the way.
The concept is all about someone waking up. They are looking outside their reality tunnel and into the fabric of the universe. It’s easy to explain to anyone that has had an epiphany like that. You realise true reality and are touched. The main character in the video is representing that journey when you step outside and realise what life is all about.
Are there any plans in the near future for Hexvessel other than live shows?
Yes, we’re working on two records now – two separate projects. We’re always busy!
Thank you very much for your time, the last comments are yours!
Thank YOU. We’re very much looking forward to coming to Greece and meeting all our friends there. Hails to Greece, a country that refuses to give up or lose their spirit even when the EU cabal tries to crush it. May we all live to see a better world.
