On the 12th of March, Finnish label Svart Records released the third album of Italian doom rock band Messa 'Close'. The cover is a picture of three people headbanging furiously while listening to it. Just kidding, these people are performing Nakh, a ritual dance that has an uncanny resemblance to headbanging. After 'Feast For Water' was noticed by Rolling Stone magazine, the band sort of crawled halfway out of the underground, and people started to eehm....do that dance they do at metal shows. But Messa isn't totally metal.
They sound like a retro rock group that plays stoner doom with influences from the '70s and the Middle East. For this record, guitarist Alberto learned to play the oud, a fretless pear-shaped guitar and it sounds quite amazing, while guest musician Giorgio Trombino (bandmate of vocalist Sara in Bottomless) plays the duduk, a flute that sounds like it's been buried in the desert for a few years. All these instruments create this aura of warmth, endless deserts and mirages of oases circled by palm trees. Add crunchy stoner doom riffs and you almost have a very original sound. But does 'Close' have that?
The answer: yes. The key is guitarist Alberto, who sounds like a mishmash of Tony Iommi and David Gilmour. Especially in his solos, which sound like they were written for a Pink Floyd record (the solo in 'Serving Him' for example) or an old jazz record (the solo in Suspended). While the riffs sound huge, you can hear the details, the distortion is not turned to 11. A smart decision because that way the record has that old-fashioned sound, which makes their music more unique.
Speaking of originality and talent, Messa couldn't exist without vocalist Sara. Her vocal versatility is unbelievable, especially knowing that Messa is the first band Sara sang in. Just listen to the first single 'Pilgrim', which represents 'Close' the most. Its build-up and transformations into a stoner doom song and into cinematic postrock are simply mesmerizing. 'Orphalese' shows the musicality of this band. From the atmospheric beginning to Middle-Eastern scales, escapism is the keyword for this song. Then there is 'If You Want Her To Be Taken', which is a doom-blues song. I'm not kidding, the entire song is howling like a heartbroken wolf. The 'battle' between the grimy solo and the clean solo is original and show that Messa consists of inventive and fearless musicians. Speaking of that, the saxophone is back in '0=2' and it gives the song a twist like a good M. Night Shyamalan movie.
Conclusion: Messa is definitely progressing hugely with their music. By looking back to the past, and incorporating those influences in their vision of this record, they explore new ways to make their sound more Messa. On 'Close' they did that perfectly.
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