Photo by MESSA
The Italian doom band gives a track from The Spina darkwave-focused reinterpretation before returning to North America with Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats.
Italian doom metal band Messa have revisited “At Races,” a track from their 2025 album The Spin, with a new remix by Cold Cave that pushes the song further into the darkwave and synth-driven territory already present in the record’s broader palette.
The collaboration arrives during an active stretch for Messa, whose 2026 schedule includes festival appearances, a North American run supporting Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats and a subsequent European and UK headlining tour with The Night Eternal.
For vocalist Sara, working with Cold Cave carried a particularly personal significance.
“Anyone who knows me personally and is close to me in real life is aware of my adoration for Cold Cave,” she said. “From the lyrics, to the sounds, the spectrum of feelings, the somber aesthetic and visuals.”
She specifically cited Cold Cave’s Cherish The Light Years as an album that helped her through difficult periods.
“Few bands deal with the inadequacy of being in this world as perfectly as they do,” Sara continued. “Knowing I am not the only one that feels a deep connection to their material, it’s an incredible pleasure to share this collaboration.”
The remix also fits naturally alongside the direction Messa explored on The Spin. Released in 2025 through Metal Blade Records, the album broadened the Italian group’s already wide-ranging approach by incorporating elements associated with early goth rock and darkwave alongside doom, jazz, blues, progressive music, punk, black metal and ambient influences.
Rather than treating that shift as a move into an established scene, the band characterized it as another attempt to find a different musical vocabulary without abandoning its core identity.
“We don’t like to repeat ourselves and we constantly try to find a new language to express while keeping our identity,” Messa said of the album’s development. “This time we delved into a territory we had never explored before, which is the decade of the 1980s.”
Among the artists cited as influences on The Spin were Sisters Of Mercy, Virgin Prunes, Killing Joke, Mercyful Fate, Jimmy Page, Journey, The Sound, Boy Harsher and Vangelis.
The record also expanded Messa’s reach following its release. According to information provided by the band’s camp, The Spin placed at No. 2 on Decibel Magazine’s Top 40 of 2025 and No. 5 on Metal Injection’s 2025 Albums of the Year list. The album has also surpassed four million Spotify streams within its first year.
The Cold Cave version of “At Races” arrives as Messa continue taking the album onto stages internationally.
The band performed Rock N Bol in Sardegna, Italy on July 25 and appeared at Switzerland’s Palp Festival on August 8. Another European festival appearance is scheduled for August 29 at Suburbiae Unexpected Fest in Teramo, Italy.
Messa’s North American schedule begins September 5 and largely finds the band serving as direct support for Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats. Several dates will instead feature Messa in a headlining role, including stops in Asheville, Richmond, Little Rock, Reno, Vancouver and Grand Rapids.
The North American run also includes Levitation Festival in Austin on September 13 and continues through October 11 at Irving Plaza in New York City.
Messa will then return to Europe for a headlining tour beginning October 27 in Marseille, France. Metal Blade labelmates The Night Eternal are scheduled to support the run, which travels through Spain, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Italy before concluding November 21 at Live Club in Trezzo sull’Adda.
The touring cycle places Messa’s increasingly expansive approach to heavy music in front of audiences across multiple markets while the Cold Cave remix offers another interpretation of the stylistic experimentation heard throughout The Spin.
Tour Dates
Summer Festivals
July 25, 2026 — Rock N Bol — Sardegna, IT
August 8, 2026 — Palp Festival — Couvert du Goly, CH
August 29, 2026 — Suburbiae Unexpected Fest — Teramo, IT
North American Dates
With Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats unless otherwise noted
September 5, 2026 — Acid Bath After Party @ Eulogy — Asheville, NC **
September 6, 2026 — Richmond Music Hall — Richmond, VA **
September 8, 2026 — Neighborhood Theatre — Charlotte, NC
September 9, 2026 — The Masquerade — Atlanta, GA
September 10, 2026 — Brooklyn Bowl — Nashville, TN
September 11, 2026 — White Water Tavern — Little Rock, AR **
September 12, 2026 — The Studio @ Bomb Factory — Dallas, TX
September 13, 2026 — Levitation Festival — Austin, TX
September 15, 2026 — Sunshine Theater — Albuquerque, NM
September 16, 2026 — La Rosa — Tucson, AZ
September 18, 2026 — The Portal @ AREA15 — Las Vegas, NV
September 19, 2026 — Observatory North Park — San Diego, CA
September 20, 2026 — The Bellwether — Los Angeles, CA
September 21, 2026 — The Regency Ballroom — San Francisco, CA
September 22, 2026 — The Alpine — Reno, NV **
September 24, 2026 — Knitting Factory — Boise, ID
September 25, 2026 — Roseland Theater — Portland, OR
September 26, 2026 — The Showbox — Seattle, WA
September 27, 2026 — The Cobalt — Vancouver, BC **
September 29, 2026 — The Complex — Salt Lake City, UT
September 30, 2026 — Gothic Theatre — Englewood, CO
October 2, 2026 — Varsity Theater — Minneapolis, MN
October 3, 2026 — Slowdown — Omaha, NE
October 4, 2026 — Concord Music Hall — Chicago, IL
October 5, 2026 — Pyramid Scheme — Grand Rapids, MI **
October 6, 2026 — Danforth Music Hall — Toronto, ON
October 7, 2026 — Theatre Beanfield — Montreal, QC
October 8, 2026 — The Palladium — Worcester, MA
October 9, 2026 — Nevermore Hall — Baltimore, MD
October 11, 2026 — Irving Plaza — New York, NY
** Messa headlining date
European/UK Headlining Tour
With special guest The Night Eternal
October 27, 2026 — Le Dodu — Marseille, FR
October 28, 2026 — Sala Salamandra — Barcelona, ES
October 29, 2026 — Sala Copernico — Madrid, ES
October 30, 2026 — Antirouille — Montpellier, FR
October 31, 2026 — Westill Fest — Nantes, FR
November 1, 2026 — Petit Bain — Paris, FR
November 3, 2026 — Cathouse — Glasgow, UK
November 4, 2026 — Rebellion — Manchester, UK
November 5, 2026 — Rescue Rooms — Nottingham, UK
November 6, 2026 — Thekla — Bristol, UK
November 7, 2026 — The Garage — London, UK
November 9, 2026 — 13 — Tilburg, NL
November 10, 2026 — Kavka — Antwerp, BE
November 12, 2026 — Franz Club — Berlin, DE
November 13, 2026 — Logo — Hamburg, DE
November 14, 2026 — Rockpalast — Bochum, DE
November 15, 2026 — Artheater — Cologne, DE
November 17, 2026 — Das Bett — Frankfurt, DE
November 18, 2026 — Backstage Club — Munich, DE
November 19, 2026 — Dynamo — Zurich, CH
November 21, 2026 — Live Club — Trezzo sull’Adda, IT
Album Information
Messa — The Spin
Label: Metal Blade Records
Original Release: 2025
Available on CD, vinyl and digital formats.
Band Lineup
Sara — Vocals
Marco — Guitars/Bass
Alberto — Guitars
Rocco — Drums
Leave a Reply