Italian doomsters, Messa, have really delivered with an immense new album in Close.

Soaring up out of the Italian room rock underground in 2014, Messa have been rapidly garnering a frenzied throng of devotees, in thrall to their monumental and broad-ranging sound craft. Releasing two widely celebrated cult records, the latest of which Feast for Water in 2018 was a critical breakthrough success, with Rolling Stone calling the whole album “captivating, wringing maximum drama out of its savvy stylistic clash,” Messa have had everyone on tenterhooks, waiting for what was next.

Well, Close is what we have been given. Close is a sonic journey through an immersive landscape brought to life through the amazing vocals of Sara.

From the get-go, this album has captivated me.  It is not the sort of songs I can put in my normal playlist, but this is definitely an album listen each time.  I find it is so easy to just lose myself in the music.  I’ve found that no matter how many times I have listened to this album, there is subtle nuances being presented to me each time.  In every song there is magic there for the taking.  This album is quite easy to lose yourself in with the substantial tracks all clocking in over six minutes long.  Yet with so many longer songs, I haven’t found any dull moments where I’ve been wanting to skip to the next song.

The sound across the album is different in each song and yet this doesn’t overwhelm me at any time.  The changes throughout complement each other perfectly.  Messa are certainly bring a new freshness to the genre of doom metal, taking it to places it has never been, but giving me that sense of familiarity.

This one is a great find with so many moments to keep bringing me back for another listen. My favourite tracks on the album are Suspended, Dark Horse, and Pilgrim.

Messa are:

Sara: Vocals, Lyrics, Percussions

Marco: Bass, 8 Strings Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Synth, Dulcimer

Alberto: Guitar, Slide Guitar, 12 Strings Guitar, Oud, Mandolin, Vocals, Moog Bass, Rhodes Piano, Synth, Percussions

Rocco: Drums, Percussions, Screams

 

Additional musicians:

Giorgio Trombino – Duduk and Saxophone

Matteo Bordin – Free Guitar

 

Close was released on March 11 through Svart Records.  Check it out.