Messa - Feast for Water

By Calen Henry. Messa's debut, Belfry made waves. Their occult blues from hell, rooted in 60's rock as much as 70's proto-metal, sounded like an apocalyptic coven worshiping at the altar of Jefferson Airplane, SunnO))), and Black Sabbath.

By Calen Henry.


Messa's debut, Belfry made waves. Their occult blues from hell, rooted in 60's rock as much as 70's proto-metal, sounded like an apocalyptic coven worshiping at the altar of Jefferson Airplane, SunnO))), and Black Sabbath. Delivering equal measures of riff mastery and experimental ambient weirdness, it was one of 2016's best doom records and made them a kind of torchbearer for "weird doom".

Feast for Water once again delivers the doom. Messa lay down riffs that go almost exactly as expected, but always slightly askew, keeping things interesting. The guitar solos, rooted in psychedelic blues, writhe and twist in ways many metal guitarists can't manage and Sara's powerful vocals pull it all together. The doom never loses the melody, letting the weird be weird.

And they bring the weirdness. Not content with their ambient psych doom from Belfry, Messa have branched out even further, bringing in jazzy moments, black metal, and noise. Some of the changes are clear right from the start. After an ominous low string opening over the sound of flowing water, opener "Naunet" builds into a climax of static before breaking. Any album that opens like a clipping. album has my attention.

"Snakeskin Drape" the album's first real song reassures listeners that Messa still bring the fuzz and the riffs before "Leah" breaks everything apart. Much of the track is classic Messa, big riffs a ripping solo, and great vocals but after opening with some SunnO))) worship (if they hadn't strayed so far from Goatsnake) it breaks into a laid back groove with jazzy keys that wouldn't be out of place on a Jaga Jazzist album. Sara's lovely vocals work astonishingly well over their newfound jazziness making the numerous other forays into it across the album seems natural rather than silly or gimmicky.

Apart from "Leah", "Tulsi" is the band's biggest departure. Still weirdly cohesive, it shows Messa's trademark sound expanded with echoes of Vhol; raspy vocals, chromatic tremolo runs, and spacey sludgey riffs, before breaking into an extended saxophone solo. As with the rest of the album, Sara commands all with her vocals and they keep the disparate parts together.

Few bands can take an already diverse sound, exponentially diversify it, and keep it so cohesive. Though they sound quite different, the result is reminiscent of Boris. Both bands mix heavy rock with seemingly whatever else takes their fancy, and make it work. Messa make weird doom even weirder and it's absolutely wonderful. Not everyone will want to be along for the ride, and if you're not Monolord have got your back for straightforward doom. Those up for the weirdness will be amply rewarded for their adventurousness.