Finnish psych-folk and occult doom outfit HEXVESSEL have released ‚Horse Tears‘ as a standalone digital single, a cover of GOLDFRAPP’s debut album track previously exclusive to the premium edition of their latest record ‚Nocturne‘. The single features former IN THE WOODS… vocalist Jan Kenneth Transeth alongside his daughter Lea.HEXVESSEL have made ‚Horse Tears‘ available as a digital single, lifting the track from its previous status as a premium bonus offering tied to the band’s seventh full-length album ‚Nocturne‘, released June 13, 2025 via Prophecy Productions. The song is a cover of ‚Horse Tears‘ by British electronic duo GOLDFRAPP, originally appearing on their celebrated debut album ‚Felt Mountain‘ from 2000.
The recording features a notable guest appearance by Jan Kenneth Transeth, the original vocalist of Norwegian avant-garde black metal pioneers IN THE WOODS…, accompanied by his daughter Lea. HEXVESSEL frontman and songwriter Mat ‚Kvohst‘ McNerney, who founded the Tampere-based band after relocating from England to Finland in 2009, expressed deep personal significance surrounding the collaboration. McNerney recounted first encountering Transeth in 1996, travelling as a self-described ‚blackpacker‘ to Kristiansand to meet the band, and cited IN THE WOODS… as a lasting influence on his artistic development.
A visualiser for ‚Horse Tears‘, directed by McNerney himself, accompanies the single release. The track serves as an extension of the atmospheric and emotionally expansive world constructed on ‚Nocturne‘, an album that blends acoustic folk sensibilities, cosmic synthesisers, spectral piano, and black metal textures. The record also features contributions from ORANSSI PAZUZU’s Juho Vanhanen and Yusaf Vicotnik Parvez of DØDHEIMSGARD. ‚Nocturne‘ is available in multiple formats including 2CD artbook, digipak, and various gatefold vinyl editions.
Photo: HEXVESSEL / NecrosHorns