Messa

The sound on their most recent album “Close” varies from eclectic heavy rock with oriental influences to occult doom rock that is reminiscent of bands like The Devil’s Blood and Wolvennest. Their songs are enhanced by their use of strange instruments like the oud, aeropho0ne and lute, to which they also add a saxophone, Moog bass and Fender Rhodes piano. Led by Sara’s powerful pipes, the quartet takes the listener on a rollercoaster of emotions. Messa excels at creating huge rock songs that are intimate at the same time. They connect classic doom metal with traditional Arabian microtonal scales.

As opposed to bands like Altin Gün who try to put a modern western spin on traditional Eastern music, Messa puts classic hard rock front and centre. The layer of heaviness they add on “Closer” means this is an album that hits all the senses. Calling this music ‘cinematic’ would be an understatement. This is music you can taste, touch and have to experience live.

The scheduled show of Message at the Soulcrusher festival past October was cancelled because of a heavy accident involving the band’s tour bus. Fortunately, everyone has recovered now and they’re ready to play a show in Nijmegen. We’re looking forward to it!