Review Summary: Scarlet O'hara's favorite doom band.
It’s a miracle, really. Three years ago, this band had just finished touring their immense 2022 release
Close when their van got obliterated by a car colliding frontally with them on their way home. Fortunately, everyone involved in the accident escaped with injuries, with some of the band’s members needing surgery which prompted a GoFundMe to palliate the dire financial situation they were left in. But this was not, by any means the end of Messa. Three years later, the Italian doom squad bounces back, fully recovered, and with another excellent release, this time through legendary label Metal Blade, which is already sign of the band’s unstoppable growth through their 11 years together.
The Spin is the band’s fourth full length, a…
spin on their favorite 80s music with influences like The Sound, Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim and The Police being tastefully integrated into their unmistakable brand of doom and occult rock. I’m aware that the conversation usually centers around Sara Bianchin’s astonishing vocals, and this album is the confirmation that she’s probably among the best vocalists that the genre has seen in the last ten years, but I dare to say, this is Alberto Piccolo’s record.
From the release of
Bellfry in 2016, it’s been clear that he was an accomplished guitar player, but his work on some of the songs in this new album, both in terms of his carefully crafted sound and the level of the solos he unleashes in a timely manner, prove that if you understand the balance between finding your time to shine and letting the other instruments do the same, the results can be truly fascinating. Transmogging a Vangelis inspired synth arpeggiato into his strings and using it to create a build up fueled by a timid blast beat that explodes into a guitar wail and the subsequent display of his axing skills is just pure genius, and probably one of the reasons why “The Dress” is my favorite track of the album (not to mention Sara’s vocals on the chorus, I could write a whole review about that chorus too).
But
The Spin is a collective effort, one of a band that has refined their sound to the point that they’re able to play with different influences while keeping their essence untouched. There are a few surprises on this new release. The doom tag, or any other tag for the matter, is hardly sufficient to describe the music on this record. You’ve already been treated to the galloping of “At Races”, but songs like “The Reveal” and the fantastic opener “Void Meridian” are worth mentioning for the amount of variety and the tangible goth vibe that they bring to the table, similar to that one last Tribulation album I never wrote about. You may be waiting for me to mention jazzy passages and bluesy guitars and yes, Messa still like to fiddle with those, but they are included in less measure and when they do happen, they flow more naturally than the sections that were the distinguished core of their sophomore album
Feast For Water.
There are many highlights on this new album, from piano based introductions to trumpet and guitar duels, plenty of synth work too managed by bass master Marco Zanin, and more importantly a coherent and consistent songwriting that translates into plenty of memorable moments that will stay in the back of your mind for the rest of the year. The band has found new ways of distilling pure class with this recording, and for fans of their last three albums, this will be no doubt a bountiful aural experience to say the least.
