Those who haven’t noticed MESSA yet get ready for a great shock! “Close” is their third full length and definitely is one of the most unique albums you can hear this year. The first two albuls were released by Aural Music but this time they are in Svart Records and obviously this is a level up for them to receive extra promotion but it doesn’t really matter, one thing is for sure, “Close” is their best release by far.
“Too close to thou, suspended…”
This time they blend their dark doom metal (that we loved on “Feast For Water” album) with much more prog flavors. But watch out, this album requires your complete attention, the ten compositions spread on 65 minutes, which means most of the tracks are long in length but take it easy, they are of that kind that they will take you by the hand dragging into a weird music trip that carries a flag that says one things, cyclothymia. And that’s why the aethereal melodies constantly alternate with outbursts and this causes internal upheaval. «She’s unstable…» like they say on the magnificent “Orphalese”, a composition that I could pick up if I had to choose only one of many beautiful ones we find here.
“Vision sustained and shattered…”
The album is loaded with aromas, some great rock elegies dressed with Mediterranean colors, but please, don’t get confused, this is not the case of a western musician that travels to the east and gets fascinated, here we are talking about the actual experience of someone that has been grown up with such melodies and blends them now with doom rock of a band that levels up and of course it’s deserves it. Guitar riffing are in harmony with the piano, the wind instruments and the oud but you will get fascinated by the mature vocals by Sara Bianchin that gives a great performance on the album. All the above bring an exotic feeling from the East that runs through out the album but the compact playing by the rhythm sections brings the necessary balance that saves us not to get lost in some kind of a world music soup and yes, who cares if you feel like you are covered with sand from North Africa. Some months ago I was jealous with those lucky ones that saw Messa live at Roadburn Festival but here we are, they are touring Europe this winter and two shows in Greece are included. Hell yeah!
