Hello, everyone! Here’s a review I’ve been planning to do for a while, my review of the newest album from Mesarthim, Arrival.

This is the seventh album from this duo, and I’ll admit I haven’t listened to any of their first six, but I first listened to this a few months ago, and I knew I wanted to give it its own review, but I couldn’t find the lyrics for it anywhere … and if it were a mini review I wouldn’t have waited, but honestly I considered just making this a mini review because I didn’t want to give it a full review without knowing the lyrics, as I can’t hear what the lyrics are.

And no, I still haven’t found the lyrics, but I decided to give it its own review anyway, because I think an album this amazing deserves its own review! I mean, I could have made it a mini review, but I just really felt like giving it a full review … because again, this absolutely rules!

This is a black metal album which not only has so many phenomenal moments, but it has the cohesion to make it feel like a complete musical journey, and with a running time of fifty minutes, I think it’s pretty much the perfect length for this specific album!

Because I couldn’t find the lyrics for this album, it’s one reason why this review won’t be super in-depth. But while I think this album is absolutely phenomenal and deserves boatloads of praise, there are other reasons why this review isn’t going to be super long. It’s a bit of a tricky album to review—yes, partially because I don’t have the lyrics in front of me, but also because … well, there are certain albums that are the kind of musical experience where it has to be heard to fully understand what makes them so amazing, and I think this is one of those albums. And of course you have to hear an album to fully know what the album is like, but there are other albums which I could describe and I think it would tell you a little bit more about the album … and this one I think is trickier to describe.

But still, I’m going to at least somewhat try … and one big thing that stands out to me on this album is the synths, which add so much to give this album a spacey feeling that really improves the musical experience, making it feel like a journey through space.

The musical textures here are absolutely gorgeous, with the strings playing a huge role in that at points, like in “Arrival, Pt. 3” (although maybe I’m just hearing synths and thinking they’re strings, I’m not sure) … and it’s also very much helped by the fact that the guitar distortion is extremely fitting for this album … it’s not overpowering, but it’s got just enough bite to it to make the music hit a lot harder, and when the mixing is this good, too, it just sounds absolutely phenomenal!

And I can’t not talk about the melodies … there are so many absolutely gorgeous melodies throughout this album, and often when it feels like the melody ‘should’ go one way, it goes another way, and it honestly improves the album if you ask me—in fact, it’s a big part of why I think the album is so great!

And while the bass isn’t as noticeable as I usually prefer, it still provides what feels like a really nice foundation for these songs, and it sounds fantastic when paired with the distorted guitar! And honestly, I like that the basslines aren’t as noticeable here, and I’m not entirely sure why.

Now, it’s worth mentioning that for me to love an album this much, it can’t be purely from a lack of negatives … although it is a contributing factor, and in this case there aren’t a lot of negatives for me …

But still, I could point out a few things, like how at points the album has a slightly foggier sound than I would have liked, but that’s only occasionally. And also, while I really like the shorter tracks, they feel like they could have maybe used a bit more tension to give them a more dramatic feeling.

Still, though, the shorter tracks do work really well. “Arrival, Pt. 1”, for example, is a great way to start this album! And speaking of the start of the album, once you get to the second track, “Arrival, Pt. 2”, if you love that track (which I do), you’re probably going to love the album, as it feels like a sign of what’s to come throughout the album—although there’s still a lot of unpredictability … and that’s kind of what I mean when I say it’s a sign of what’s to come—it could be seen as a sign of unpredictability throughout the album, as this track really builds up tension super well!

For a black metal album, I feel like this album is surprisingly catchy … I mean, not that black metal isn’t often catchy, but this album kind of feels as catchy as a pop album! And when the snares sound so incredible in the mix, it really helps these songs hit way harder, and the combination of that with the fantastic melodies is just absolutely incredible!

And also, it’s worth mentioning that even though I don’t know what’s being said here, the vocals sound absolutely fantastic!

Often this album feels like it’s building up to something, and I don’t just mean within the individual tracks, but it feels like the whole album is building up to something …

And then we get to the seventeen-minute closing track, “Type IV”, which feels like pretty much the perfect way to end this album!

“Type IV” starts with some of the best tension-building on the entire album, and … well, I’ll just let you hear it for yourself. That is, if you want to, of course.

And speaking of which, I highly recommend this album! To me personally, it’s among the absolute best albums I’ve heard from 2023, and again, it’s full of phenomenal moments while also being a cohesive album experience that feels like a musical journey, and a fantastic one! For me, it’s a 9.5/10, the first album I’ve given a 9.5 in a while!

Really, at the end of the day, I think this is a black metal album, but there’s a part of me that wants to call it ‘pop metal’, even though realistically that’s probably a stretch … but still, it’s one of the poppier black metal albums I’ve heard from this year, and if that sounds interesting to you, I’d recommend you listen to this … honestly, I’d recommend it regardless, because again, I think this absolutely rules!

If you’ve heard this, I’m curious to hear what you think of it. And I’m especially curious, do you think the synths fit well here? Because the idea of synths that sound reminiscent of 80s pop being included in a black metal album this much feels kind of strange to think about … I think it works amazingly well, but I’m curious what you think.

I know I haven’t posted in a while, and that’s partially because I got sick and didn’t feel much like working on reviews … as much as I enjoy reviewing albums, I just didn’t feel like it when I was sick, for whatever reason.

But I do have more reviews on the way soon … and it won’t be too long before year-end list season … wow, time flies. Hopefully I have all my 2023 year-end lists posted around the new year, unlike my 2022 year-end lists, but we’ll see.

But for now, thanks for reading this review!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 9.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Arrival, Pt. 2”, “Arrival, Pt. 3”, “Arrival, Pt. 5”, “Arrival, Pt. 6”, “Type IV”
Least Favourite Track: “Arrival, Pt. 7”