You must have been living under more than one giant rock to not have taken notice of MGLA’s last record, „With hearts toward none“, arguably the most influential and most praised Black Metal album of the past few years. Following its already pretty good predecessors, „WHTN“ established MGLA as one of, if not THE leading band in contemporary, hooded, hiding-behind-anonymity, ritual-performing Black Metal. What sets the Polish horde apart from the vast majority of worthless bands is - of course - the sheer quality of their music. „Exercises in futility“ continues where „WHTN“ left off, sporting a slightly rawer, sharper, more immediate sound which lets the elaborate, guitar work shine in a bleak, filthy light. Sure, you’ll find some of those cliché harmonies and arpeggios here as well of which less talented bands craft their whole records. But - much more importantly - you’ll find HUGE, tormented melodies, a mind-blowing sense of dynamics and some of the best actual SONGS that you’ll hear in this genre this year. M.’s vocals are ferocious, clearly articulated and just as in-your-face as every note on this terrific record. I’m not trying to put any „classic“ or „milestone“ status to this, as time will tell whether it is or not, I’m just saying: If you’re not buying too many Black Metal records a year (which is a smart thing to do) - buy this one!

OO Void