By:
Daniel Jackson
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 4/9/2015
Label: No Solace |
Northern
Heritage Records
There are a lot of us that revel in both ends of the spectrum and
everything in between, and ‘Exercises in Futility’ is diverse enough to scratch
a number of itches all at once. This is musical showmanship woven into the very
fabric of conventional melodic black metal, and the results are top notch.
‘Exercises in Futility’ CD//DD//LP track listing:
Exercises
in Futility I -VI
Mgla is:
M.
| Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Darkside
| Drums
The Review:
We’re
now about six weeks removed from the 4th September release of ‘Exercises in Futility’ and I’ve had a
lot of time to spend with this album. The hype surrounding this album has been
pretty high, and even weeks after its release people continue to sing its
praises via their social media platform of choice. It’s easy to understand why
once you hear it. As black metal albums go, it’s not overly complex, nor is it
an impenetrable wall of dissonance like a few of the other well-loved albums of
2015. What makes ‘Exercises in Futility’
so likeable is that it’s so accessible and memorable without ever crossing that
dreaded line into commercial pandering. In certain ways, it’s as orthodox a
black metal record as you’ll hear this year. But it’s also fully-realized and
confident enough to try things that genre purists might dismiss out of hand.
While
the two bands are very different stylistically, listening to ‘Exercises in Futility’ reminds me of
listening to Tribulation. They share next to no traits at
all musically, but because they have a similar security with what they’re doing
as a band and a similar ability to put together memorable songs that flow
nicely. You could say that that ‘Exercises
in Futility’ takes the more melodic and mesmerizing moments of ‘With Hearts Toward None’ and carries
those moments out with a flashier execution. On ‘Exercises in Futility’, the drum beats are more creative and
varied, throwing in everything from the militaristic snare work on “II” to comparatively plain and
standard rock beats. The latter is used to its strongest effect on the leadoff
song, almost dipping its toe in the waters of a song like Nachtmystium’s
“Ghosts of Grace”. That moment in
particular is the mastery of this album in a nutshell. The album constantly
flirts with the sort of stylistic elements that get bands called out for
dumbing down their sound for mainstream tastes without ever actually committing
to it.
With
‘Exercises in Futility’, Mgla rides that fence—dividing the border of orthodox
credibility and compromising for popularity’s sake—for all it’s worth. For the
most devout of underground black metal devotees, this album may already feel
like a step over the line. For those who set up camp on the outskirts of black
metal fandom, catching only those who venture well beyond black metal’s
strictest musical city limits, this album likely dwells too close to those
“scary” urban areas for comfort.
Thankfully,
the world’s a varied place, and people are not so easily broken down into
opposing factions. There are a lot of us that revel in both ends of the
spectrum and everything in between, and ‘Exercises
in Futility’ is diverse enough to scratch a number of itches all at once.
This is musical showmanship woven into the very fabric of conventional melodic
black metal, and the results are top notch.
FFO:
Plaga, Kriegsmachine, Akhlys, Furia
Band info: Facebook
