Mgła: Exercises in Futility (2015)

A few months back I reviewed a compilation by the Polish black metal band Mgła and lamented that I had actually bought the wrong release when I was looking for this album.  That worked out well though because I actually loved the compilation.  So, eventually I knew I had to track this one down as well and that finally did happen.

Mgła's sound is not really anything new.  If anything they sound like a more misanthropic version of Inquisition.  It is black metal stripped down to its core essence.  It relies on constantly repeating riffs with the occasional solo to bring a brief glimmer of melody.  But besides that, the music is dark and intense with a feeling of desolation. 

The lyrics are just as dark and hopeless as the music.  The songs are all titled after the album title with only Roman numerals afterwards to distinguish them.  The first lines are "The great truth is there isn't one and it only gets worse since that conclusion".  This bleakness and nihilism continues throughout the album. 

Honestly I think I prefer the compilation from earlier to this album.  That one had more of a raw feel to it, while this is much more refined.  That being said, this is still a terrific example of true black metal without any of the outside elements that have been brought into the genre recently.  There is a lot of great black metal in the last few years and Mgła is at the top of the list.