Messa
The Spin

There are many things I don't know about the pleasant town of Cittadella: I just know that it has a football team that has been playing in Serie B for a long time, and that the greatest volleyball player in the world, Paola Egonu, was born here. But what would you think if I told you that Cittadella also gave birth to a Metal band of worldwide stature? Because that's what the Messa are, who interpret the most intimate and dark soul of their city; along with another internationally famous Metal band, the Ad Nauseam, founded in that Schio located 50 kilometers away: compared to the Venetian scene, worse has been seen.

I must admit, however, that Messa never really captivated me much: I would sample their albums, but after a while, I would invariably get bored. This is not the case with their fourth full-length, The Spin, released yesterday, hot off the press, which I cannot help but define as the best work of a promising and already solid career.

Messa flirt with Doom metal, enriched as usual by the most varied influences: the opener "Void Meridian" reminded me of the legendary Obsessed, embellished by guitar work by Alberto Piccolo that proves excellent throughout the album; it goes from the Stoner brand Elder of "Fire on the Roof" to the dark piano sonata of "Immolation," from the Jazz hints of "The Dress" to the almost Delta blues inception of "The Reveal," with the longest, most intense and heavy track, "Thicker Blood," worthily sealing this work. An album pervaded by a dark atmosphere worthy of the most intimate emotional torments, gothic, esoteric, elevated by the fantastic voice of occult priestess Sara Bianchin, their true crown jewel.

A band that may or may not be liked, but one to be proud of, in a country where mainstream television has mostly remained, with all due respect, to the Ricchi e Poveri and Cugini di Campagna.

Until next time.