Messa Premiere Video for “Babalon”; Debut Album out Now
Italian four-piece Messa released their debut album, Belfry, this past Friday via Aural Music. The band waste little time in getting to the hook of “Babalon,” their first video from the record, or in setting a grim mood through their slow pacing, grainy black and white visuals (also red) and the vocals of Sara, joined by guitarist Alberto, bassist/guitarist Mark Sade and drummer Mistyr. They demonstrate some affinity for extreme metal in their aesthetic — there’s a fire in the woods in the video, etc. — but the groove of “Babalon” is all doom, the group exhibiting a style they call “scarlet doom.” I’m not quite sure what it means, but if it’s their summary of what they bring to songs like this one, then fair enough. The slow, bluesy roll of the riff, the easy nod and the engaging chorus aren’t so out of line with expectation, but it’s encouraging to find Messa working to distinguish themselves with their first album all the same.
To that point, I haven’t heard the full record as yet, so I wouldn’t attempt to speak for its entirety, but “Babalon” makes for an enticing sample. The video swaps back and forth between black and white and red footage as we see Sara developing and subsequently burning photos, and all the while the weighted lumber and spacious, melodic verses play out accordingly, swelling in volume for the aforementioned chorus and receding again as we see the band out in a forest gathering wood for the subsequent bonfire. In the end, it winds up being the roll that typifies the song — maintained during a lead from Alberto in the second half — and as the fire crackles at the finish of the track, it makes a suitable accompaniment to the final credits, which somewhat quizzically list the band lineup as numbers — 302 (vocals), 208 (drums), 508 (guitar), 231 (bass) — before giving the coordinates 46 degrees 48 minutes north 10 degrees 31 minutes east. No idea where those might lead, though it would be fun to find out.
If you happen to have an answer on that one, please leave a comment, but otherwise I’m content with the mystery. Check out Messa‘s video for “Babalon” below, followed by some more info on Belfry courtesy of Aural Music, and please enjoy:
Messa, “Babalon” official video
MESSA is an italian 4-piece band born in 2014 playing obscure and evoking doom with deliciously haunting female vocals, influenced by Pentagram, Bellwitch, Windhand, Jex Thoth, Sabbath Assembly, Bathory, La Piramide di Sangue.
Their debut album titled “Belfry” mix dark ambient drones with vintage occult doom and mesmerizing female vocals that will drive you through a scarlet velvet trip.
Aural Music will release “Belfry” in May 6th, 2016.
The tracklist goes as follow:
1- Alba
2- Babalon
3- Fa?ro?
4- Hour Of The Wolf
5- Blood
6- Tomba
7- New Horns
8- Bell Tower
9- Outermost
10- Confess
MARK SADE bass/guitars (the sade, sultan bathery)
SARA voice (restos humanos)
ALBERTO lead guitar (glincolti, douge)
MISTYR drums (nox interitus)
The map coordinates at end of video point to the sunken bell tower on the cover of their album. Not sure about the 156 at start of video or the numbers given for members at end of video.