The Absence of Presence

The Absence of Presence is the sixteenth studio album by American progressive rock band Kansas. The album was originally due to be released on June 26, 2020,[1] but due to manufacturing delays the release date was postponed to July 17, 2020.[2] It is their fourth studio album without founding member, lead vocalist and keyboardist Steve Walsh, who retired from the band in 2014; the other three being 1982's Vinyl Confessions, 1983's Drastic Measures and 2016's The Prelude Implicit. It is their second album with lead vocalist and keyboardist Ronnie Platt and guitarist Zak Rizvi. It is the first album with keyboardist Tom Brislin, who replaced former keyboardist David Manion.

The album serves as a follow up of The Prelude Implicit, and features significant songwriting contributions from the newest members Zak Rivzi and Tom Brislin, on music and lyrics respectively. The Absence of Presence marks the return of a familiar Kansas staple being longer tracks (such as the title track and first single "Throwing Mountains"). Founding member and band manager Phil Ehart came up with the album name, as well as at least three of the song names (the title track, "Throwing Mountains",[3] and "Animals on the Roof"), which gave lyricist Tom Brislin a concept to work with. The Absence of Presence marks the debut lead vocal from keyboardist Tom Brislin, making the total number of lead vocalists in the band at three, a feature not seen since "Somewhere to Elsewhere".