Messa / Maggot Heart
w/ Spirit In The Room
Zebulon Café – Los Angeles, CA
Wednesday, November 8th, 2023
Review/Pics: Manuel Gay
Italian phenomenon Messa released their third album “Close“ back in 2022 and has extensively toured in Europe since then. In July, the band finally announced a co-headline US tour with Berlin-based Maggot Heart. After 18 shows throughout the country, we were lucky to catch the last show at the Zebulon Café in Los Angeles.
Spirit In The Room was added to the line-up for the night and started the festivities at 8:30pm. It has been a busy year for the band who toured to promote their 2022 “Flamingo“ EP and got to open for Pantera and Lamb Of God on a few arena shows.
Saying that frontman Dennis Sanders gives everything during performances is to say the least. There is something cathartic in the band’s music and Dennis’ energy. Spirit In The Room opened with the Nine Inch Nail-esque “The Bird Of Paradise Alights Only Upon The Hand That Does Not Grasp”. Throughout the set, the music style varied as the band dug into their older material. The energy went from post-punk to industrial, while reminding me at times of mid-90’s Marilyn Manson.
Spirit In The Room is definitely a band to check out if you’re not familiar with them yet.
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After a quick stage change, a pre-recorded spoken word played before Berlin-based trio Maggot Heart took the stage next. The band opened with “Second Class”, which was followed by a few more songs from 2020 Mercy Machine. From the first seconds on, Linnea Olsson (singer and guitarist) and her band hooked the audience with a percussive high energy. Uno on the drums creates a rhythmic atmosphere on which Olivia (bass) lays down a steady groove. Linnea Olsson’s guitar is incendiary and her voice/singing reminded me of Patti Smith’s.
Maggot Heart’s sound oscillates between noisy rock and punk. Towards the end of the set, the band brought the energy a little lower during “This Shadow” from Hunger, released earlier this year and which featured a really cool guitar solo by Linnea. The trio ended their set with the powerful “No Song” featured on the Maggot Heart/Okkultokrati 2020 split EP and received a warm reception from the audience. Maggot Heart is already back in Europe where they will play a few shows in the UK.
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At 10:30pm, a long Arabic instrumental song played as the light dimmed, setting the mood for Messa. The Italian band opened with “If You Want To Be Taken” from their most recent album Close. Labeling the band as doom metal or anything else really would be reducing. The multiple influences and use of instruments give Messa their unique sound.
Marco uses an 8-string bass which gives a lot of depth to his parts, making it sound like a totally different instrument at times. Alberto on the guitar plays some parts with a bottleneck, which you would expect from a blues guitarist, not necessarily from a metal player. Later during the set, he put away his Gibson SG and played on a 12-string Danelectro with a reverb-y sound. Messa’s charm also comes from the contrast of a Black Sabbath-like heaviness contrasted by the clear and beautiful voice of Sara Bianchin.
Most of Messa’s setlist came from Close, except for “Leah”, which was the album single on 2018’s Feast For Water. The album version of their songs are on average around seven minutes long, but the live version include extended instrumental intros and/or bridges. Therefore, it was no surprise that the setlist only counted six songs and a lengthy guitar solo for which Alberto stood alone on the stage after his band mates left him for a moment. The live rendition of “Suspended” which counts a surprising jazzy guitar solo was incredible. Another personal favorite “Pilgrim” took everybody’s breath away and lasted probably longer than twelve minutes, but who keeps track of time anyway when you are immersed in such a transcending experience.
The Zebulon crowd was mesmerized by the band throughout the entire set, giving this concert a communion feeling. The band closed with “Rubedo” and its killer guitar solo, leaving the packed venue beyond satisfied. Messa will return to Italy with no further shows announced. After months on the road around the globe, the band will get some deserved rest. I would not think twice about catching them live next time they stop by near you.
Related Links:
Messa
Maggot Heart
Spirit In The Room
