Italian doom metal conjurors Messa unveil 'The Dress' video/single • GRIMM Gent

“The Dress” is the latest single from Italian doom metal conjurors MESSA. The stunning new track, which includes a trumpet solo by Michele Tedesco, comes off the band’s forthcoming new full-length, The Spin, set for release on April 11th through Metal Blade Records.

Sailing past their tenth anniversary in 2024, MESSA takes another step towards legendary status with their majestic fourth album The Spin, which takes its listeners on a breathtaking journey across the wide-open skies of their creative imagination and over a compelling landscape of moods, twists, and styles. Based in the band’s eclectic, self-defined “scarlet doom” sound, The Spin rises, falls, broods, bites, comforts, and destroys, all the while resounding with both instinctive magic and obsessive, concerted hard work. After lighting up the underground with a triptych of increasingly distinctive and wondrous records – 2016’s Belfry, 2018’s Feast For Water, and 2022’s Close – MESSA is audibly equipped for the proverbial big leagues.

Comments the band on “The Dress,”

“This song comes from the darkest place and the unfathomable void of oneself. Pain circles around, emerging violently and then drowning again in the depths. This is reflected in the riff: the descent scale keeps coming back and circles repetitively. The dress, in this case, is the gateway to a personal crucifix built with self-hatred and mirroring despair.“

MESSA‘s signature sound absorbs influences from jazz and blues, punk and prog, and black metal and dark ambient, but their restless experimentalism has extraordinarily smooth and assured results. The Spin incorporates another new element, interpolating an ’80s goth rock vibe in typically full-blooded fashion. “We don’t like to repeat ourselves and we constantly try to find a new language to express while keeping our identity,” stresses the band. “This time we delved into a territory we had never explored before, which is the decade of the 1980s. We are aware that many bands before us took inspiration from that era, but we decided to be careless and run away with it mainly because we get involved and question what we do. We are not part of the ‘dark scene’ in any way. The influence for this record looks back to the early goth rock/dark wave rather than the later emanations of the genre.” In addition to Sisters Of Mercy and Virgin Prunes, the band cites records by Killing Joke, Mercyful Fate, Jimmy Page, Journey, The Sound, Boy Harsher, and Vangelis as impacting significantly upon the creation of The Spin.

Something that seems to get both easier and harder at the same time are Sara‘s remarkable vocals. With greater experience of stage and studio, her beguiling pipes continue getting stronger and more versatile; so the singing here is more assertive and confident, but the singer’s concerted push to new heights comes somewhat at the expense of a healthy mental equilibrium. “For this record I gave up parts of my own sanity,” reveals Sara. “I wore myself in so many different ways… You can’t lie when you’re singing. My aim was to record my parts in the most honest way possible. Mix-wise, the vocals are more on the spotlight, in true ’80s fashion. The lyrics touch on multiple topics throughout the record; destroying one’s ego, impossible cursed love, giving up on yourself, others’ expectations, self-sabotage, resurrection. While we were touring the US I reread some books by Cormac McCarthy. It was crucial to pave the way I wanted to express myself. I think the lyrics this time are more ‘straight in your face.’ I used metaphors like I always did, but I wanted to get more verbally naked and raw. I never spoke so clearly in our previous records about insecurity, misery, uneasiness, anguish and distress.“

The Spin was partly recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered by Maurizio “Icio” Baggio and includes synth work by Andrea Mantione (Nuovo Testamento) on “Fire On The Roof” and cover art by Nico Vascellari (Uroboro, 2023. Nero Portoro marble, tire. 57 x 57 x 10 cm).

Find all pre-orders at: metalblade.com/messa. Find band exclusive vinyl at: messa.bandcamp.com/album/the-spin

MESSA has confirmed shows across Europe this Spring including a special performance at this year’s edition of Roadburn where the band will play The Spin live in its stunning entirety.

MESSA Live:
4/15/2025 Feierwerk – Munich, DE
4/16/2025 Gebäude 9 – Cologne, DE
4/18/2025 Roadburn Festival – Tilburg, NL * Performing The Spin live
4/26/2025 Argo16 – Venice, IT
5/09/2025 DesertFest Oslo – Oslo, NO
6/22/2025 Hellfest – Clisson, FR
6/26/2025 Resurrection Festival – Vigo, ES
6/27/2025 Nazca Live – Madrid, ES
6/28/2025 Sala Upload – Barcelona, ES
6/29/2025 Molotov – Marseille, FR
7/11/2025 DC Rojc Open Air – Pula, HR
8/08/2025 Alcatraz – Kortrijk, BE
8/9/2025 Sonic Blast – Moledo, PT
11/8-9/2025 Damnation Festival – Manchester, UK