Genre : Doom, Stoner metal, Middle-Eastern folk, Hard rock, Black metal
Released : March 11th, 2022
Label : Svart Records
FFO : Black Sabbath, Kadavar, All Them Witches
I don't even remember how I stumbled upon Messa's 2018 "Feast For Water", but I do remember being so entranced by it that I just had to share it around with friends and all of them unanimously enjoyed it as much as I did, hell, some of them even became die-hard fans as a result !
So needless to say, I was excited to hear a new musical chapter from the Italian doom metallers who had managed to so easily captivate our collective imaginations and enjoyment of moody, gloomy music.
And it is my pleasure to announce that "Close" succeeds in not only being a worthy successor but also the band's most diverse, surprising and well crafted material yet in what is, so far, a flawless tryptich of albums that each have their distinctive feel and themes.
For this album, it seems like the band wanted to put an emphasis on their Mediterranean identity and build its sound around that idea, with the inclusion of traditional Middle-Eastern instruments such as the oud (a fretless lute) and the duduk (an Armenian flute with a very distinctive sound), along with oriental percussions and guitar work.
However, that is not to say that "Close" solely relies on oriental musical tropes to build its identity , oh no no no, and that is all the beauty of it.
Messa draw influence from the very origins of metal and hard rock, just like they draw from doom, sludge and stoner metal and surprise the listener with the occasional unexpected jazz solo, blues lick, saxophone bridge or even a rapid blast of black metal.
The meeting of these different musical styles is already quite interesting but add to that the utterly gripping and commanding voice of lead singer Sara and you have the last piece of the puzzle that makes this kaleidoscopic blending and experimenting of genres work and tell a compelling story over an hour's worth of music.
With "Close", Messa set themselves even further apart from the rest of the doom and stoner metal crowd as a truly unique and irreplicable entity while also unveiling a new facade of their identity as a band.
These underground doom metal heroes have amassed a cult gathering and could be well on their way to becoming one of the most important contemporary bands of the genre, and despite not being a man of faith myself, I can only encourage you to join in the partaking of this singular mass.
Comments