Messa - The Spin - review
Messa - The Spin - review
Tracklist
01. Void Meridian02. At Races
03. Fire On The Roof
04. Immolation
05. The Dress
06. Reveal
07. Thicker Blood
A review by
nikarg April 10, 2025
It has been a wild ride for Messa from Belfry to The Spin. Leaning on a doom metal foundation, the band has been exploring various soundscapes with each release, always offering something interesting and captivating. This time around, they have gone almost full ‘80s, with influences by bands like Killing Joke, The Sound, The Sisters Of Mercy, Virgin Prunes, and Siouxsie & The Banshees. In fact, there are instances when Sara Bianchin’s vocal delivery reminds me of Siouxsie Sioux.
Messa wanted to prepare the fans for the direction of the new album, by having a Polaroid promotional photo, and also by choosing “At Races” as the first single, a song based on a main riff that is the very definition of ‘earworm’. Album opener “Void Meridian” also belongs to the same decade and sound, and, while these two are among the best songs on The Spin, there is really nothing that could be omitted from this album. Its runtime is around twenty minutes shorter than Close, and the band seems to have edited themselves to the point that there is not a single gram of fat here. Every song hits hard, either riff-wise (“Fire On The Roof”, “Reveal”) or emotionally (“Immolation”). And the soloing is from another planet.
My favourite cut is probably “The Dress”, a long, slow and brooding masterpiece that oozes atmosphere, and features an interplay between guitar and trumpet, which is going to end up being one of the finest moments of 2025’s music, regardless of genre. There is one more song of similar length and scope, the fantastic closer “Thicker Blood”, which has an outro that stays with you long after the album is finished, and it is the perfect ending to a top-class album.
In all fairness, I was initially a bit disappointed that Messa decided to go with the trend of exploring the ‘80s sounds, like so many other bands do. I have always considered them to be trailblazers, not followers. But, damn, they do it so skilfully, so professionally, so elegantly, and so convincingly, that I simply have almost nothing to complain about. They even got their hands on original ‘80s equipment to provide this excellent sonic result, which is still their familiar ‘scarlet doom metal’ with the jazz, blues, prog, and black elements, only now there is some hefty dose of goth rock thrown in the mix. For sure, this album is the most accessible in their discography, and they are bound to get a lot of attention now that they have signed to Metal Blade, but is there seriously anyone out there with good taste in music, who doesn’t believe they deserve all the attention they can get?
I said that I almost have nothing to complain about in the previous paragraph, because my nitpicking self cannot get over the recording choice for Sara’s vocals on “Reveal”. While it has a cool slide guitar opening, and proceeds with a stomping riff with great support from the rhythm section, the multi-tracked vocals sound unnecessary and grating to the song. There are other instances when this happens, but “Reveal” is the only case that it takes place for the entire duration of the song, which is why I find it to be a flaw worth mentioning. In my opinion, the voice of this woman needs no such processes.
My nitpicking self still finds that The Spin is year-end list material, just like every one of the band’s previous albums. You can expect nothing less from Messa, but pure brilliance. Those who will listen to it live in its entirety at Roadburn are so lucky.
“All my monsters
Ready to feed
Coming over
Eating my heart”
Comments
Comments:
6
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Posts: 1524  |
Posts: 1524
Cannot wait to hear it, thanks for the review supporting my expectations 
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Posts: 1176  |
Posts: 1176
Can’t wait to listen to this one, there’s not many albums I’ve been this excited for this year
---- 2026 Favorites
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 Posts: 8256 |
Posts: 8256
^ Well, today is release day, I am fairly confident that both of you are going to love it!
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Posts: 66  |
Posts: 66
Cannot stop listening to this masterpiece.
---- I listen to metal before you were even born...
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| Posts: 8256 |
Posts: 8256 Written by H-metal on 14.04.2025 at 22:50 Same here, for almost two months now. It is probably my favourite after Feast For Water.
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Posts: 214  |
Posts: 214
This album is just wonderful! Great atmosphere, catchy compositions and such a unique identity! And those guitar solos are beautiful
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