(((O))) Interview: MESSA

Joe Norman caught up with Alberto Piccolo (guitars) and Marco Zanin (bass/guitars) from the Italian “velvet doom” band MESSA in late October 2026 via a Zoom chat from their respective homes.

Currently playing in the UK as part of their EU tour, the conversation took in tour life, recent shows, the song-writing process, their phenomenal 2025 album The Spin, and an unpredictable influence from a classic 1980s movie.

E&D: So how did your recent US tour with Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats go?

Alberto: It was an amazing tour. We had an amazing time with them, and we got along very well. I mean, they’re very nice people, and also a great band. So, as great as they are as musicians, also great people.

E&D: That’s good to hear. Were you guys friends with them before the tour?

Alberto: We were fans, but we didn’t know them personally.

Marco: We were huge fans. Personally speaking, they are one of the ten bands that I had as references for when we wanted to start a doom band. So when we got the offer to open the shows for them, we said “Hell yeah!”

E&D: Fantastic. I’m pleased you got to see that come full circle and to go on tour with such inspirational people.

Marco: The good thing about opening for a big band is that you gain a new audience, you know? And also, you please your fan base by playing on big stages with the proper sound, with the proper lights, so you can properly spread your message. When you’re playing small stages, it’s cool; it’s where we belong, of course, and it’s where we are used to playing. But for somebody that really likes your band, the sound is always a bit weak. If you’re not in a proper spot, you can just hear, I don’t know, the bass cabin, rather than just the vocal, you know?

And so, for a fan that they don’t have the chance to see you live; especially because we are from Italy, and going to the U.S. is always a pain in the ass visa-wise and finance-wise. So for our fans, seeing us on a proper stage was good for them, you know? They were happy, they told us it’s so good to see you finally on a proper stage, with a proper PA sound.  And it was awesome for us as well, you know? Like, all the venues where we played with them were super cool venues. We were listening to them [Uncle Acid] every night, and I still like them!

E&D: That’s got to be a good sign!

Marco: Yeah, for 30 days, you know, over and over, every day, and I still love them.

E&D: That’s awesome. I saw you guys in the UK supporting Paradise Lost last year. It was an amazing show. And I also saw you guys perform The Spin at Roadburn festival last year.

Marco: The average capacity on the US tour was around 700–800; some venues were 1,000–1,200; others that were 500, so basically the same as the Paradise Lost shows Europe. In Paris, there were 2,000 capacity shows. The average was 1,000, let’s say.

E&D: I saw footage from the US tour and the production looked great! How long a break have you got before you hit Europe? It’s coming up in a few days, right?

Alberto: Yeah, four-days time! We tried to take as much time off as we could. But as soon as I came home I started working on some songs and some mixing work. We never really stop!

Marco: And I spent three or four days with a really fuzzy head after the flight. I’ve never had that before. Me and Sara [MESSA vocalist] are super busy with the financial aspect of the band, dealing with the managers, and video calls, meetings, and stuff. Then we’re preparing the next tour, dealing with the merch, re-setting our gear after almost 35 shows.

E&D: I really enjoyed the Cold Cave remix that came out a little while ago. It’s really cool: a perfect match. What it was like, hearing your music transposed into a new genre?

Alberto: At first, I was a bit confused because they’d changed the song to a major key – a happier version of the song! But as soon as I listened to it again, I was very pleased with the result. I loved it. It’s good they made it different, not too similar.

E&D: Alberto, you mentioned working on new material. Are you able to tell us anything about any new material that you’ve been working on?

Alberto: It’s pretty early, but we have some early-stage songs. We need to really dig into this after we come back from the tour. We’ll dedicate our time just to doing that.

E&D: I look forward to it. Do you get a lot of time to write on tour? Or are you just note-padding ideas down?

Marco: On tour, the only thing I do is look for a toilet! [laughs] Thinking about when I get a shower; like laundry today or laundry tomorrow? Where’s the next bar for Guinness? Basic survival things!

I had a couple ideas when I was on tour, so I always have a phone ready for when the idea gets to you.

E&D: Using voice notes or. . . ?

Alberto: Yeah voicemails. When I’m back at home, I can do it properly. . . [make a demo]

Alberto: I saw an interview with Josh Homme [Queens of the Stone Age frontman] saying that he doesn’t like to have very polished demos of song because he works on it with all the people together. He likes to keep it undone, and this is a good approach. We kind of do it as well, with some songs.

E&D: So when you bring ideas to the full band together, what’s often the starting point? Would it be Sara has some lyrics and a melody, and you fit something to that? Or would you come in with a riff?

Alberto: Most of the time, we come to the rehearsal with a riff, or maybe a finished song. And then Sara tries to find something that fits with the lyrics. She’s very good at coming up with lyrics on the spot, which is a very useful skill to have.

 Occasionally Sara comes up with the riff and the melody first, like, for example, with ‘Void Meridian’, the first song of the album [The Spin].

E&D: Its sounds like you guys have a really open collaboration.

Alberto: Well, I think it’s because we are – as we always say – four very different people, so we need to find the common ground. I mean, what I propose is not gonna work for everybody. I know it from the start, so we need to find a place where everybody is at least a bit happy because it’s not gonna satisfy everyone.

E&D: I love the song ‘Immolation’. Every time I hear it, I get real goose pimples, especially live. I’d love to hear a bit about the background of that song, and how it came together.

Alberto: That’s my favourite song of the album [The Spin] actually. We wrote this song together, me and Sara. I was living at my friend’s house; I just broke up with my girlfriend at the time and I had to move out of the house. So the song is about that.

We did a couple versions of that song. We’ve done a more 70s version of it – I still have on my computer somewhere – and then we decided to rework it, and make it more like a ballad, with the piano and all the things. Sara was also was going through a strange time as well, so I think we both put our vision on the break-up thing on that song.

 

E&D: If you’re both in a similar place, I guess that comes together for the song.

Alberto: Yeah, I think the connection there between me and her was exactly this, even though we never spoke about what the song is about. Maybe that’s my vision of the song; maybe she thinks totally differently. I never actually asked, “Hey, Sara, what’s the song about?”

Marco: Exactly.

Alberto: I put my suffering in that song.

Marco: We had several songs that had been written in a classic MESSA way, but we said, okay, no, let’s get into the 80s vibe; so we changed the arrangements. This song has been one of the most challenging to arrange. And we had quite a few fights because of this song! I remember we were trying to figure out a beat for the last part, when it comes in really heavy after this ballad? We did say, “Okay, let’s make an 80s ballad”. We were sharing ideas on how to get the proper beat for the soloing and stuff, and – I don’t know if you ever noticed this? –  but the beat on the last part, it’s inspired by the Top Gun movie – the song, ‘Take My Breath Away’!

At a certain point, we said this song is too serious, so let’s have fun.

E&D: All of that soundtrack is awesome. I hadn’t noticed that, but I’m gonna have to go and check that out now. That’s really cool.

Marco: When you listen to that song, you say. . .  you can realize, oh my god! Okay, that’s the beat.

E&D: I’m really looking forward to the tour; I hope you guys have an amazing time. I’ll also be seeing you at ArcTanGent Festival next year.

Alberto &Marco: Thank you for having us.

Catch MESSA on their current UK Tour: