adg211288 .- -... ... . -. -.-. . (2016) is the second full-length album by the enigmatic Australian atmospheric black metal act Mesarthim. Seemingly looking to become all that more mysterious, that title is in Morse Code. It means Absence. All the song titles are in Morse Code as well, though they translate to just 1 through 6, so aren't actually all that interesting. Anyway, Absence, as I've going to refer to it in this text from now on, is Mesarthim's fourth release in 2016 after the single Suffocate and the EP's Pillars and Spire.

Despite being considered a full-length, Absence is actually only forty seconds longer than the Pillars EP. I guess the band are judging it based on the number of actual tracks they include on the release. This has six whereas Pillars had four. I think effectively this is more like the band's third album rather than their second as it's officially considered, because of that. Though the distinction may also have something to do with the fact that Pillars felt like a continuation of where their debut album Isolate (2015) left off, where Absence sees Mesarthim trying something different. The start of the next chapter, if you like.

This idea of not rehashing their first album is to Mesarthim's credit, but it also doesn't change the fact that the element that really made them stand out on Isolate, being their really majestic sounding synths, are all but completely missing on Absence, certain parts of the fifth track being a noted exception. Instead they draw more heavily on traditional space ambient to make something that overall sounds hell of a lot colder. The vocals sound even more tortured as well. In fact this isn't far off being a depressive black metal record to my ears. Isolate had similar vocals but those synths made it far too uplifting to think of it as depressive music. This though, is an entirely different kettle of fish.

And it's not bad stuff, but it does sure as hell feel a lot less unique compared to what the band did on Isolate. It does not help my personal experience of the album that I actually reviewed a very similar release by a band called Auriga recently, the album which in point of fact was released by Avantgarde Music, who Mesarthim are also with. VII - Dimensions of Asymmetry (2016) was the album in question, and Absence is of the same ilk except it doesn't have the exceptionally long straight ambient sections. If those put you off Auriga's album then Absence may be more to your liking, but that's something that swings both ways. While Auriga's pure ambient sections could felt too elongated, they did also offer a variation to their album that Absence largely lacks.

Variation wasn't exactly a strong suit on Isolate either, but the style of synths used at least gave each tracks melodies their own identities and for the most part that's what the tracks on Absence are sorely in need of. The last two stand out the most, the fifth because there are more influences on display, including a feeling of being a mix of the old and the new as far as Mesarthim's music is concerned. The sixth has a more triumphant feel to its synths compared to the rest of the album. Perhaps more to the point though the atmosphere that Isolate captured, that of being both majestic and harsh at the same time, has been lost on Absence.

I really enjoyed Isolate to the point of considering Mesarthim one of the best new black metal acts based on it, but I did worry that they may be a one trick pony after Pillars showed itself to be more of the same. While they have certainly dispelled such a notion with Absence, it does unfortunately come in the form of a much less remarkable release.