Mezzoa – Ton 618
Mezzoa is a heavy rocking power trio from San Diego, California. The band features Nacho Maldonado on guitar and vocals, Q Pena on bass, and Scott Hoover on drums. Their albums include 2017’s Astral Travel, 2022’s Dunes of Mars, and their latest, 2025’s Ton 618. Ton 618 contains thirteen tracks at thirty nine minutes long and came out on August 26th 2025, on Glory Or Death Records.
Right out of the gate, “Moon And Me” rocks with a ferocious drive that is resonating with me instantly. It has an angular tough guy hard core flow with hypnotic vocals that swells with melody. The uptempo beat is killer with the almost haunting sounding singing. Mezzoa hits you hard with a catchy chorus to calm you. I really appreciate their musical style because they cover most of my preferences. “Buenos Naches” hits the fast rock n’ roll vibe perfectly with the hook-laden vocals and punk-a-fied flow throughout. “Hard To Hear” is a grunge lover’s classic with heavy rock flowing and great vocals.
The fourth track “Chump” is total hardcore fans wet dream. The chugging guitar riffs are met with gruff shouting vocals and singing harmonies to accentuate. The gang vocals of “CHUMP!” in the middle is magnificent. “Wasted Universe” is a cool tune and mashup of two unusually different songs. The Def Leppard song “Wasted” from their debut On Through The Night record, which transitions right into the Black Sabbath classic “Symptom Of The Universe” from Sabotage. Mezzoa rocks the hell out with that collaboration! Then “Uncle Cho” kicks in and hypnotizes the listener with more great music and melodies. The vocals carry on some Dave Grohl similarities of singing which works perfectly with all of their songs. The singalong harmonies are intoxicating like on “Smiles For Everyone”. They really suck you into the song and get stuck in your head for days.
“Have You Been” is a massive song! It has some crushing riffs and catchy vocals to boot. Mezzoa are audio architects crafting the fuzzy grooves with a care-free feel. The crushing rhythms are beefy with pounding drums commanding the charge. I hear some old Nirvana in “Blessing” with an amplified sound boost. The vocal melodies tend to soothe me with sonic hypnosis. “Desert Snakes” has a California riff rock essence akin to desert jams and Kyuss worship. The song flows with a chill tone and has excellent bluesy guitar leads mixed in. “Chachi Liberachi” pushes the hard rocking pedal and moves with intensity and drive. The riffs are heavy and catchy and the leads are short and scorching. “Goin’ Down” stomps in next with a grungy hammering filled with pleasing vocals. The metallic crunch of the riffing is terrific also.
The thirteenth and final song is called “How We Are”. It’s another banger that hits on the grunge rock hard and heavy. I really love the sound of Mezzoa! It’s heavy and catchy and satisfies my musical palette. Ton 618 is an exceptional record from start to finish! The more times that I listen to it, the better it gets. Don’t sleep on this, it’s hard, catchy, and awesome.
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