Messa - Close (2022)

Completely blowing us away with their even more refined and enigmatic mixture of Doom and Psychedelic Metal with tons of lush atmospheric elements, today we have Messa and their latest opus “Close”. If you thought the band’s first two full-length releases were awesome, this one takes things to a whole new level. Delivering over 64 minutes of trance-inducing music, this release will most likely end up at the top of our best albums of 2022 list.

Slowly building up anticipation, “Suspend” quickly escalates into a powerful mixture of crushing distorted riffs and Sara Bianchin siren-like vocals. This track perfectly evolves into more Psychedelic and atmospheric territories as it progresses into more free-flowing pieces like “Dark Horse”, “Rubedo”, and the sultry “Orphalese”. There are obvious comparisons to be made to Jess and the Ancient Ones and Jex Thoth, but Messa manages to craft an aura of uniqueness around their music.

After the instrumental “Hollow”, the album switches gears into more hypnotic territories with “Pilgrim” and its Middle Eastern vibes intertwined with powerful riffs. As this and the following track, “0=2”, are longer in duration, the band seems to take a more improvisational approach, crafting some truly engaging and unique pieces filled with magical details. Our personal favorite track has to be “If You Want Her to be Taken” and the dramatic weeping guitars paired with out of this world vocal passages and a disarming tempo.

Just as the release closes with the magical noir-esque “Serving Him”, we are left highly impressed by how much Messa has improved in just a couple of years. The band’s sound is expansive and yet well targeted to deliver maximum Doom and melancholy with some Psychedelic fuzz. If you are looking for heavy powerful riffs, a mystifying vocal performance, and a wide variety of influences mixed in a very unique and cohesive way, this is the release for you.

Label: Svart Records

Release: March 11th, 2022

Genre: Doom/Psychedelic Metal

Country: Italy