MESSA

1. Void Meridian for this dark wave pulsar synth, the fat guitar riff reminiscent of those of ROGUE MALE; Sara captivates with her timbre, reminiscent of THE CURE or KILLING JOKE. Alberto and Marco's guitar solo sets the place on fire before the tune becomes monotonous again; a different sound that puts me on the lookout. 2. At Races draws on the work of THE GATHERING from the beginning, languid and addictive. An intoxicating post-punk sound with the heavy, metronomic rhythm; a whiff of SIOUXSIE in over-the-top mode; an addictive tune, again, it's starting to interest me strongly, a dark, haunting, post-metal wave track, singular and unique, I'm glued to it. 3. Fire on the Roof returns to the basic compulsive synth, bringing the strong, heavy rhythm with this dragging riff. A massive energy, a violent yet contained sound, hard, doomy for the heavy side; the violent, unstructured, dynamite solo with Rocco's machine-gun drum finale is strong, but there's creative energy. 4. Immolation for the electric piano arpeggio with Sara's gently melting bluesy voice; the ballad that suddenly drifts after a final piano stroke; a solo that comes out of nowhere, which struck me at Hellfest, Alberto's solo, astonishing because it's unique; the finale is intended to be calm and lets a few drops of prog blood seep through.

5. The Dress for the cyclothymic explosion from the start, a stoner, latent, ambient sound that lodges between the ears; there's something animal, something compulsive; a Floydian air, a Salvatiere air on this hidden crescendo. Halfway through, there's a break with the crashing bass, its reverberating sound, and then, and then, this trumpet that takes us with the guitar on a jazzy-western slope, a thriller film with the appropriate raincoat; the end with the return of contained violence, but the progressive atmosphere is definitely there. 6. Reveal continues to walk on the lands of Louisiana with these archaic cowboy notes; the guitar searches for its range and it's off for a musical wave full of devastating fury; a frantic blast beat, the sulfate bass, and Sara tames it all with her bewitching voice; a short break that searches for itself and the thunderous solo, in the style of incendiary BLACK SABBATH; the contained frenzy and Sara's screaming assassin vocal that lets loose, slaps. 7. Thicker Blood with the return of dark synth à la LACRIMOSA and a hint of SISTERS OF MERCY; crystalline guitar arpeggio and fragmented Sara, bleeding her words; the explosion allows to move on to a more constructive monolithic mode looking at the origin of black quite simply; the rise can be guessed, Sara imitating Amy overwhelming before her death in complete darkness; doom progressing with again, but what a pleasure, again a gripping, breathtaking guitar solo; a mantra appears, the voice confronts the heavy rhythm, again this invasive sound of ROGUE MALE, what a good memory; illuminating heaviness, musical climate also reminiscent of SAXON, a crescendic title which swells, and what I feared/hoped for finally arrives, a howled deluge of vocal hordes having the cathartic effect of freezing our ears. The silence is there again in the album, staggering.

Powerful, glossy-dark, yet accessible

Messa, an Italian art metal band, have been quite active studio and live since 2014. They are one of the coolest and most diverse metal acts I've heard of late. They defy easy classifications. There are metal elements, but there are also crossover/heavy, pop, and some goth tendencies making the whole affair quite eclectic. The band thinks of their sound as "scarlet doom," so we'll go with that. Powerful and female-fronted vocally, they will leave an impression on you. And I'll start with that. Sara Bianchin is one of those vocalists who, from the first line of the song, will snap you to attention. She has the power and command of Floor Jansen but with the caramelly allure of Karin Bergquist. Similarly, the guitars, bass, and drums are all inventive and full of kickass.

Their sound is difficult for me to describe, but it is a tactile blend of metals with more intent and structure than the kind of aimless drift that accompanies some post-bands. The mood can sometimes be quite dark, but unlike other bands where the music wallows with downbeat lyrical content, these guys will often go for some catchy accessibility, so there's this great contrast. I was reminded a few times of System of a Down but without that hyper-manic thing that SOAD does; I mean the comparison insomuch as the way that SOAD can take the heaviest crushing stuff and turn it on a dime into something catchy with a memorable melody. Messa has that ability as well, and they also offer the occasional change-up to softer, more beautiful passages. This is an interesting and impressive album and one of the coolest I've heard from 2025.

This 2016 release was the debut album from Italian stoner/doom/drone quartet Messa, who comprised Mistyr (drums), Alberto (lead guitars), Mark Sade (bass, guitars) and singer Sara. They are still very much active, having released a few more studio albums with a live release coming out just a few weeks ago on Svart which I will be reviewing in the future, and it will be interesting to see if they have maintained this style as in many ways we are at the speed of sludge, with riffs which are as heavy as lead, and arrangements which are all about accentuating the atmosphere. There are lengthy instrumental passages that build the drama, while Sara has a good clear vocal style with a good use of reverb.

The black and white cover photo of the church tower looking out of Lake Resia is the perfect visual accompaniment, giving us both foreboding and gloom, putting us in a certain mindset. But it needs to be noted although much of their music is very much in the style above, there is one song, "Hour of the Wolf", where they allow Sara to really shine in the first half with just a single guitar, while the second half is doom at pace with the full band on show and Sara very much in control. When they are at pace, they are reminiscent of the likes of Beastwars, although they say they have been influenced by the likes of Windhand, Bohren Und Der Club Of Gore, The Devil's Blood, Jex Thoth, Angelo Badalamenti, Bellwitch and Urfaust, with droning occult doom which is incredibly deep and dark. It was this album which announced them to the world, and if this style of music is of interest, then this is quite special indeed.

You may call it 'doom with a modern twist'. I really adore the album's overall atmosphere, and they also were able to reproduce this on the stage when celebrating a gig at the Roadburn Festival by the way. The MESSA quartet is hailing from Italy, their music blends doom metal, psychedelic occult rock and oriental folk flair to something unique and appealing. And so exemplarily I'd like to mark the melancholic Orphalese as one album centerpiece. Front singer Sara Bianchin turns out to be a special addition to the staff in any case. Her soulful voice, expressive and ethereal in both ways, has an important part, that's for sure. The other core members are drummer Rocco Toaldo, as well as Alberto Piccolo and Marco Zanin, sharing diverse keyboard/synth and stringed instruments, also including the comparatively rare dulcimer, oud and mandolin.

Regarding the aforementioned highlight there's another instrument involved too anyhow. Played by guest musician Giorgio Trombino the duduk makes the real sensation here, to a lesser extent when standing on its own, moreover due to that charming liaison with the vocals. Awesome! The moderate guitar variations are serving the perfect compact frame, or background, if you will. Suspended comes in with a slow-tempo flow, the guitars are meandering between hard riffing and jazz touched solos. Then a Dark Horse takes us on a ride with everchanging pace, from wild to easygoing, back and force. Every further song has its own characteristics, hence here we have an entertaining production at hand, no doubt. They are not coming from my favoured subgenre actually, but this songs are multi-faceted and very touching nevertheless. Definitely a recommendation.