Rating: 9 / 10 Stars
REVIEW – I am in love. Fans of bands like LUCIFER, SABBATH ASSEMBLY and CHRISTIAN MISTRESS chances are you will be in with MESSA as well. The rise of the female fronted doom band is a beautiful thing to behold. Sara has a very dreamlike sex appeal to her vocals. It is like she is creating this artful beautiful picture with her powerful yet sensual delivery. MESSA understand what Sara offers the overall sound and they compliment her and make her words feel almost like epic in a heartstopping sort of way. When this woman speaks, you know what she says is going to be well thought out and very passionate elegantly delivered. MESSA is a band that sounds like it took them a lifetime to come to the point and they want to stay. This is not so much a meshing of songs, it is a journey. You are not sure at first where the journey is going to take you and the opening throws you in this whirlwind of places where you are hoping that you land safely. The safety does not last, when “Babalon” hits we are thrown into the deep end of the ocean in a haze of fog and horror that we are not sure what is underneath. The atmosphere on this song creeps up on you, like it is trying to pull you under the water. This song showcases what MESSA has to offer, some periodical gloom that will excite and frighten the listener at the same time.
To call MESSA metal would be odd, but at times it does fit. They have this metallic slow crawl to songs like “Babalon” that just hit you in your soul. There are quite a few instrumental tracks on this album, and I know some people may take issue with that. I consider them like a warning, a subtle hint that you are going to be manipulated by the goddess of the sea again and you should prepare yourself. The guitar work on this album is jaw dropping, I am not sure if a description of “emotional” fit well into an album that will be clumped by fans in the metal bin, but the guitar creates an identity of its own within the songs really give this band so many more layers to who they are. The instrumental tracks all shine, this is a band who has a ton on display and are proud of the fact that they are not just set pieces behind a female vocalist who guys will notice. This is actually a band that has a ton to offer that all music fans should not only notice, but embrace. If this is what the label SCARLET DOOM is all about, I am so in. MESSA have put out a fucking incredible album that not only commands attention, but gives the listener so much to ponder and contemplate afterwards. For people who keep asking Jamie Myers when will SABBATH ASSEMBLY be putting out a new album, you may want to wander into the abyss of this beautifully orgasmic dark and hypnotising album that will win you over or they will drown you trying.
Be scared, be very scared….
More info can be found on MESSA at:
