Listening to Hex’s elegant and richly textured soundscapes, you’d never guess that Bark Psychosis started out as a Napalm Death cover band. Hex is about as far removed from grindcore as you can imagine, its seven songs moving with preternatural grace between alternative rock, ambient, jazz, dub, and minimalism, and effectively blurring the lines between genres until it becomes something else entirely. Indeed, noted critic Simon Reynolds coined the term “post-rock” to describe its moody sound, a term that has since expanded to the point of becoming essentially meaningless. But listen to the opening salvo of “The Loom,” “A Street Scene,” and “Absent Friend,” and it’s clear you’re listening to a fresh approach to rock music that required an entirely new term for it.

Throughout their early years, Graham Sutton and his bandmates possessed a restless sense of experimentation, as heard on early releases like the Manman EP and “Scum,” a 21-minute piece of improvised ambience that was released as a single in 1992. Hex took all of those ideas and consolidated and distilled them down to their purest essence without sacrificing any sense of atmosphere. And speaking of atmosphere, the band recorded in St. John’s Church late at night to achieve a big, spacious sound, which only adds to the album’s nocturnal feel.

Unfortunately, the Hex sessions proved disastrous. Producing it themselves, it took Sutton et al. a year to finish the album. The exhausting recording sessions, combined with Sutton’s domineering personality, led to half of the band burning out and quitting by the time Hex was finished. Bark Psychosis limped along until April of 1994, when they performed at the legendary Britronica Festival in Moscow alongside Aphex Twin, Autechre, and Seefeel. By that point, Sutton had become interested in drum ‘n’ bass, leading to the formation of Boymerang and Bark Psychosis’ official dissolution. (Sutton would briefly revive Bark Psychosis to record and release 2004’s excellent Codename: Dustsucker.)

30+ years on, Hex remains a truly singular work that has shaped and influenced countless artists even as it stubbornly defies any easy categorization.