I have to add that "(back?)" in the teaser specifically because of Hexvessel's specific relationship with metal music, one that I've already touched on in my review of Polar Veil. The gist of is that Hexvessel used to not be a metal band, with their brand of vaguely psychedelic neofolk being something that was only tied to metal through the lineup connections of its band, mostly through mainman Mat McNerney's time in Code and Dødheimsgard under the "Kvohst" alias. Polar Veil was the game changer in that it shifted the band's sound towards the black metal that has been part of Kvohst's past, effectively making Hexvessel a properly metal band for the first time.
This album's existence is intrinsically tied with Roadburn Festival. At the 2024 edition, which we've attended and covered, not only did Hexvessel perform the Polar Veil in full, but also a piece was commissioned to be performed on the main stage. It's a bit odd to see it now as proper Hexvessel album considering that the set was billed as MatMcNerney & The Hexvessel Folk Ensemble performing Music For Gloaming: A Nocturne, though the connection between that performance and the eventual studio recording is solidified by the fact that the musicians that extended the band into the aforementioned "ensemble" appear here as guests, and that the live recording of that performance is included in the deluxe edition of this album.
One thing that's immediately noticeable about Nocturne is that it is nearly an hour in runtime, more than 15 minutes longer than its predecessor, leaving it more room to explore how the Hexvessel sound adapts to metal. Polar Veil felt a lot like the old Hexvessel shifted towards a black metal sound through a darker guitar done, and Nocturne keeps that core, but finds more occasions to make use of harsh vocals and blast beats. The feeling of "old Hexvessel beneath the black metal layer" now feels more shifted towards the fact that the longer runtime allows for more space to fill with folkier and ambient bits, with pianos and acoustic guitars having sections that feel purposeful.
There was a very noticeable doom undertone to Polar Veil, and just like the black metal part, that also feels more well-developed this time around, though there is a slight tonal shift. Some of that is due to the vocals of Saara Šamane, used effectively and frequently throughout the record to give the album a haunting quality that shifts the doom towards its gothic counterpart, as well as due to the increased use of strings. The vocal front is mostly expanded by Saara, but there are guest spots in the latter half of the record by Dødheimsgard's Vicotnik and Oranssi Pazuzu's Juho Vanhanen that manage to fit right in the more expansive sound that this album has.
Usually I prefer albums that are more to-the-point, but I can't deny that Hexvessel made the most of the expanded runtime to make their recent shift feel more fleshed out. It's certainly more than just the runtime, and the band probably could've made an album just as expansive within its predecessor's runtime, but Nocturne more than anything feels like an animal that's given room to roam.
