April 4, 2023
I’m very excited to announce the release of a new Medda single, “The Charlatan and the Thief.” The track features Björn Strid from Soilwork on vocals, and a guitar solo from my good friend and bandmate, Andres Arevalo. The release date is set for April 28, but you can pre-save to your Spotify profile below!
January 22, 2021
October 9, 2020
On October 9, 2020, Medda released its fourth effort, Fission, a four-song melodic metal EP featuring vocals from Björn “Speed” Strid, Bears Among Men, and Ralph Lee, and guitar solos from Mattias IA Eklundh and Robby Hardin. What sets this EP apart from Medda’s previous releases is the addition of vocals—a first for the typically instrumental solo project.
Medda began as frontman Robert Pessagno’s avenue for releasing songs that didn’t quite fit within the other bands or projects he’s been involved in. Although focusing primarily on instrumental melodic metal, Medda has always been seen as an “anything goes” project, which certainly extends to having vocals. It wasn’t until the beginning of 2020 that Robert had the opportunity to work with some of metal’s most talented musicians (famous or not) to produce a high-energy release that spans across death metal, thrash metal, deathcore, and industrial metal genres.
The theme of Fission is separation—releasing yourself from the toxic people, entities, and ways of thinking that pollute your mind and the way you view the world in order to progress as a human. This “fission” can result in a fiery explosion of disagreements and major life choices that leave behind scars, but allows for new beginnings and positive growth.
This EP is also an ode to the melodic death metal of the mid-2000s. The decade had an explosion of albums that seemed to define the sound of bands like Soilwork, In Flames, Disarmonia Mundi, Scar Symmetry, Meshuggah, and Darkane, to name a few. This era of metal is significant because it was and remains Robert’s biggest influence in crafting the music of Medda. And things have finally come full circle with one of the most prominent leaders in this realm providing vocals on the title track—Soilwork’s Björn Strid.
Although Medda is Robert Pessagno’s solo project, Fission is undoubtedly a group effort, coming to life with the help of the many guest musicians. The EP is available now on all streaming platforms and for download on Bandcamp.
Track list:
September 24, 2020
Mattias plays a guitar solo on a track called “Cognitive Dissonance,” from the upcoming Fission EP. His alien-like solo sits over a Meshuggah-inspired groovy polyrhythm riff, which is a perfect compliment and contrast to the thrashy death metal sound of the rest of the song. This track also features Ralph Lee (Altercation) on vocals, and the two guest appearances create one hell of a dark and twisted journey.
Mattias IA Eklundh is hands down one of my favorite guitar players out there. I’m always mind blown by the way he plays, and it was such an awesome experience to work with him. The Fission EP releases on all digital platforms October 9!
September 15, 2020
I am very excited to share with you a teaser video for “Fission,” featuring Björn “Speed” Strid. The new Medda EP releases October 9.
September 3, 2020
Between the guitar riffing, the song structures, the ambient keys, and the hard-hitting drums, Soilwork has always been a huge inspiration in the Medda sound. The only thing that was missing was the vocals. Medda has, historically, been an instrumental project. But with the new Fission EP, the concept was to bring to life a darker side of Medda. And to fully realize that sound, it needed to have vocals. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with some great vocalists on this EP, and the first of which is none other than the man that defines the Soilwork sound himself — Björn “Speed” Strid.
It was such a pleasure to work with one of my idols in music, and I can’t wait for you all to hear the song he’s featured on when the EP releases — October 9!
Cheers!
– Robert
August 29, 2020
I am very excited to announce that Medda will be releasing a new four-song EP, Fission. It has been over three years since Medda has released material, so I’m happy to be releasing music again.
The idea for this EP came about when I was given the opportunity to work with some great vocalists on some of my favorite unfinished and unreleased material. The songs I had written are much heavier and darker than previous Medda songs, so combined with the new vocal element, I thought this would be a great concept as an EP.
I’m always looking to push the Medda sound in new directions. So I’m looking forward to adding this EP to the Medda lineup. Fission will be release digitally on all major streaming platforms on October 9, 2020. Follow Medda on Instagram and Facebook for more updates!