Band:	Mesarthim
Album:	Arrival
Style:	Atmospheric black metal, Electronic black metal
Release date:	May 2023

01. Arrival Pt 1
02. Arrival Pt 2
03. Arrival Pt 3
04. Arrival Pt 4
05. Arrival Pt 5
06. Arrival Pt 6
07. Arrival Pt 7
08. Type IV

Here's the Arrival of the mysteriously wonderful Mesarthim, once again bringing you some atmospheric black metal from who knows where in the vast open cosmos.

Mesarthim are an atmospheric black metal project that formed in Australia back in 2015. The project is masterminded by a couple of anonymously intelligent lifeforms (of some kind or another) who simply go by the names ".". And here, whoever they are, they present you with their seventh galactically ambitious release to date, simply titled Arrival. Mesarthim are a band renowned for captivating listeners through their cosmic-themed atmospheric soundscapes, taking you on journeys to the far ends of the mysterious and wonderful universe. Where can we expect our minds to wander to this time on Arrival?

To begin with, the album features eight parts in total, with a total running length of forty-nine minutes, the longest track (the closer, "Type IV") being just shy of seventeen minutes in length. However, the remaining seven tracks are relatively short in comparison to the closer and vary from less-than-a-minute intervals to ten-minute epics. What's most striking about this album is that it's mostly electronic- and synth-based. There are still harsh vocals present at times in the form of blackened shrieks and there are still a fair amount of black metal elements in place, such as the signature tremolo riffs, but the album is mostly constructed by its synth and electronic work - almost Tangerine Dream-like, you could say.

The album begins with a slow, atmospheric intro, which is nothing fancy or out of the ordinary for Mesarthim, as they often want to set the tone for what's to come. The album continues its progression in an overflowing dream-like fashion, with a variety of wonderfully crafted keyboard melodies and electronic, cosmic sound effects. The occasional lead guitar work, although short, is often memorable, and the riffs and blackened shrieks that come into play don't hinder the mostly tranquil and calming atmosphere at all. Even with the black metal elements, there are very few signs of aggression here; it's not as if you're getting vacuumed into a black hole or getting lost in a hostile alien environment of some sort. It actually feels as if you're on a pleasant intergalactic voyage of discovery (mostly).

Although the album's structure is reasonably strong, the atmosphere is engaging, and it's pleasantly melodic throughout, nothing really captures the imagination more than the epic closer "Type IV". Where to even begin with this track? Simply put, it is intended to create the soundscapes of an intergalactic voyage that takes your imagination through empty, infinite space, and being Mesarthim, they do this extremely convincingly. The song is impressively constructed through some excellent lead guitar work and melodic, blackened tremolo riffs. Nothing out of the ordinary, you could say, but it's often constructed with soft, tranquil electronic passages that really capture the listener's imagination. "Type IV", in term, has all elements previously featured on the album and more, so I guess you could say the album itself has simply been building up to this epic closer, but the track also acts as a sequel to the track "Type III" from the 2016 EP that goes by the same title.

If you're in the mood for something on the softer side of the atmospheric black metal subgenre and happen to be a real space nerd or some crazed sci-fi fanatic who's into atmo-black, then Arrival could be the album for you. Mesarthim's latest Arrival reaches cosmic frontiers far beyond our wildest intergalactic imaginations, making this ideal for those with a vividly wild imagination who fantasize about voyaging through the depths of space.