MGŁA - With Hearts Toward None (2012)

Genre: Orthodox Black Metal

Label: Northern Heritage Records

Rating: 9.5/10

I first heard Mgła in 2007, with the release of Mdłości/Further Down the Nest, and instantly fell in love. I had been searching for new Polish bands, and the fact that they had a Polish name and EP title excited me, then being in the throes of an obsession with Polish culture and language. Subsequent releases have never failed to disappoint, and the release of With Hearts Toward None was thrilling. I'm not going to do a riff-by-riff analysis of this album; instead, I will choose three songs to analyse, namely I, III, and VII.

"I" starts off with a dark, strong sounding riff, with an inexplicably good lead over it. The drumming kills, both in ability and tone. At 2:32 a third section, with a dramatic new lead over it bursts forth. At roughly 3:38, the intro riff comes blasting back in., followed by a return to the second riff. This is my favourite song from the album, and it has the best lyrics in my opinion. A brief excerpt here:

Between the damned,

the pissed and the outright insane

Grand architects of failure,

sculptors of loss

No golden thrones to follow

No shrines of solace to seek

The main riff to "III" is like a contagion; it immediately catches and spreads throughout your entire body, eventually killing you. Or at least it feels like this. The verse is simple and dark. Melodic, but not in a retarded way. The chorus is priceless. If this doesn't stick in your brain, you have no soul, as they say. There are a few iterations of this, until the 5:00 mark, when it switches to a third riff, equally as wonderful. This is extremely thoughtful music. At roughly 6:25 a slower lead comes in, then at 6:51 the drums slow down, and it leads to the end of the song. I'd like to sample some more lyrics here, those from the end of this track

Grey ash prayer

Severed from the unconscious

Perverse theodicy

Atrocious immanence

With hearts toward none

"VII" starts off with an extremely addictive chord progression with the sound of rain over it; the drums bring up rising action. I suspect this will ever be Mgła's closer at live shows; it certainly was when I saw them, and at every show I know of since the release of this album. At 2:08, the second, lead guitar comes in and the drums blast away behind it. The verse riff is every bit as malevolent as the intro. The chorus is majestically evil. This song is fantastic. The bass is also noticeably interesting. An example of the lyrics from this song is in order:

As the darkest night of them all

falls upon the scorched

home shores

As the great fervour within

is crawling in stasis and dirt

Mgła have long been one of my favourite bands. Although Mdłości will always hold a special place in my heart, With Hearts Toward None is their defining release. Even if you've never heard Mgła before, you absolutely must hear this album. To order, Northern Heritage still has copies on vinyl and CD in stock.

BUY OR DIE!!