Mgla (Polish for "fog") was founded in 2000 and after a few EPs,
began releasing full-length albums in 2008, by which time the
present duo had solidified itself.
Reviewed here is 2015's Exercises In Futility, the band's third
album.
Black metal has branched into several directions over the years,
but that's not Mgla's forte -- they have more in common with the
earlier, frosty Norse style (akin to, perhaps,
Immortal
at their prime) than the modern offshoots.
That might imply a stale rehash, but Futility is anything but --
it's simply classic black metal done right, with just the right amount
of ferocity and variance of pace to keep things right, with the added
bonus of a proper production rather than the deliberately lo-fi recordings
of the past.
While
Behemoth
may still reign as Poland's most well-known black metal bands,
Mgla is certainly giving them a run for their money.
