Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Messora originally started as a solo project with no goal or anything. I just wanted to write and record some songs. At the time I was playing in a band called Whispers in the Maze, with a bassist called Ben Bertrand .I had figured out the guitars and drums for what would become the song The Door, and asked Ben to play bass on it. We both really liked the way it turned out and decided to get a live band together for the project. The guitar player from Whispers, Emine, agreed to join the project. I already knew of Joey Lariviere and loved his drumming so I asked him to complete our lineup, to which he happily agreed. There have been lineup changes since then, but those are the people who helped me bring Messora to life in the beginning.

How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music? 
I’ve been enjoying describing Messora as a modern death metal band with the mindset of a 70s prog band. In the beginning, the main influences would have been Lamb of God, Opeth and Children of Bodom. There was a good amount of Slayer, Behemoth and Gojira in there too. Artists that influence me the most now would be Nine Inch Nails, Converge, Daughters, King Crimson, Can and Pat Metheny. 

Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
I think a metalhead would be interested in Messora because it’s likely very different from other bands they’re currently listening to or have heard before. Everyone has a hard time pinning down the style or subgenre of the band, and I think that the musical shapeshifting we engage in contributes to the appeal and novelty. You can also buy a CD copy of our album The Door, for those who like to collect physical copies.

What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media? 
So far Messora has released the debut full-length The Door in late 2019, and more recently the single Forever as I Beg, accompanied by a cover of Nine Inch Nails’ Closer. The Door got great reviews and ended up on lots of end of year best-of lists! I was really happy with how it was critically received. It also garnered lots of fans and continues to do so, especially outside of Canada, which is cool. Forever as I Beg seems to be doing great with fans of The Door, as I thought it would. It’s only been out for a month but so far so good!

Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
We were playing live a lot up until a deliberate break after the release of The Door. We were set to get back into it in April and had lots of shows lined up for the summer, but then the pandemic hit. We unfortunately haven’t played live since those The Door shows and have no plans to do so in the near future unfortunately.

What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
Messora is going to be continually changing and evolving as a project, both sonically and visually, and I think that labels/zines/promoters will be interested in keeping up with the band. The goal of the project is to be continually exploring new concepts that haven’t been touched on before, especially within metal music. Hopefully, if for absolutely nothing else, it’ll make for good press. 

What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
The immediate plans are to finish up the mixing/mastering of the new record and coming up with a label pitch. This includes doing a photoshoot to unveil the new look of the band to match the new record, as well as hopefully producing some videos for key songs/singles. At the moment we’re working on the album art, which is looking great so far.

Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Both Messora releases are available digitally on all streaming platforms and online stores. You can watch the music video for The Door and the lyric video for Forever as I Beg on Messora’s youtube channel. You can also buy CDs, t-shirts and long sleeves on the Messora bandcamp page.
Thanks! (Answered by Zach Dean)

January 2022