Interviews About Albums: Massa Nera - The Emptiness Of All Things (2025)

In this new interview, we sat down with the American Screamo/Hardcore Punk band Massa Nera to ask questions about their album, "The Emptiness Of All Things".

1. What can you say about this new EP/CD?

 

Our new album is the culmination of about two years' worth of reading, writing, arguing, and experimenting. We think it's our most successful attempt yet at carving out our own sonic niche, though we're probably not the best judges of that. It's an album that traffics in bad vibes.

2. What is the meaning of the EP/CD name?

The name of the album, The Emptiness of All Things, comes from the film First Reformed. In the film, the protagonist, Reverend Toller, writes that some people are called by God to serve him due to "their all-consuming knowledge of the emptiness of all things." That phrase stuck with me for many years and felt appropriate as a title, given this album's preoccupation with the yawning chasm that lies at the center of the present day, wherein 1) things only have meaning so long as they can command attention or a decent price, 2) the very idea of a shared reality has been annihilated (along with a broader sense of historicity), and 3) the threat of climate catastrophe is ignored in favor of the continued production of heartless slop that benefits the few at the expense of the material, emotional, and intellectual well-being of the many (among many other things). It's an attempt at staring straight into the heart of darkness, I guess. Our record isn't religious (we're all either agnostic or atheists), but I think it shares some of the same existential concerns as Paul Schrader's film, including a yearning for transcendence and a fear that such transcendence may be impossible to achieve given our current trajectory.

3. Which one is the composer of the CD/EP?

It was composed by all four of us! Our writing style is extremely collaborative. Each member of the band played a crucial role in shaping the sonic and thematic identity of this album.

4. If you had to pick one song, which one would you pick?

My personal favorite is "Lavender." In its ugliness, I think it most precisely conveys our feelings and thoughts about the present moment. Additionally, "Lavender" was something of an experiment for us. It was an attempt at incorporating different moods and techniques into our sound without sacrificing coherence or craft. I think we pulled it off! It's also extremely fun to play, and Tony (from Crippling Alcoholism) absolutely kills his vocal feature.

5. Is there a special message in this EP/CD? If there is what it is?

I don't want to reduce the album to any one specific message, but if I had to pick a special message, it's that "green growth" won't save us. Green capitalism is still capitalism, which means it is still fundamentally cancerous. Our only way forward is through collective action and a total reconfiguration of our value system into something compassionate, something empathetic, something that strives for both collective well-being and symbiosis with Earth. None of us is free until all of us are free, including our non-human brethren.

6. Are there some lyrics that you'd love to share?

I don't know if any of the lyrics will make sense out of context. They might not even make sense in context! Here's a verse that could work decently on its own:

Computers crunch commands

beneath the soot

naming names with peak efficiency

The professor,

poring over his lecture,

beats off,

snot dripping from his chin

Tumescent with valor,

Engorged with pride

He insists his students thank him

when he cums

7. Which inspirations have been important for this album? Like musically or friends, family, someone you'd love to thank especially?

There were too many inspirations to list.

Musically, we discussed artists such as Scott Walker, Meth., Gorguts, Russian Circles, Pygmy Lush, Pg.99, Botch, Sumac, Capsule, Transistor Transistor, Raein, Daitro, Slint, Rodan, Sonic Youth, Fugazi, Oathbreaker, Ganger, Grouper, Art Bears, etc. I'm positive dozens, if not hundreds, of additional musicians influenced us on one level or another, but these are the artists I remember us name-dropping.

Lyrically, we were attempting to craft something more playful and literary, without sacrificing the fundamental seriousness of the record. The present moment is dire, but it's also fucking absurd, and as such, it can be comical in a sickening sort of way. Édouard Levé's Autoportrait was an influence, as were the works of Mark Fisher (specifically Capitalist Realism and Ghosts of My Life), Ryū Murukami's In the Miso Soup, the lyrics of Crippling Alcoholism and Emma Ruth Rundle, the films of Werner Herzog, hip-hop artists like Wu-Tang Clan, the spirit of post-punk, etc.

Some lyrics were culled from sources like the AvalonBay Community and White Desert websites, Amnesty International's report on cobalt and copper mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo, environmentally-minded films like Burning (2021) and Woman at War, video essays on degrowth communism, and even an oil company advertisement I saw while waiting for something to load on YouTube. All this said, some of my favorite lyrics are things I heard people say in my day-to-day life.

Visually, we talked a lot about modernism (specifically Edward Hopper and Francis Bacon), as well as "hauntological art," Bauhaus design, David Carson, post-punk record designs, and anarchist architecture (or "anarchitecture").

This record wouldn't have been possible without the friendship of every band we've played with, every person who's booked us, talked to us, or allowed us to crash on their couch, as well as our family and loved ones. We view it as existing within a larger, collective dialogue.

8. Something to add?

Thank you for sending us these questions and indulging our rampant, embarrassing pretentiousness! We really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. For anyone reading this, it's not too late to get involved. The fascists, capitalists, industrialists, and technocrats certainly aren't waiting. We can't go down without a fight.