Plaga just released their first full-length entitled Magia Gwiezdnej Entropii (which for the non Polish speakers of us roughly translates to "The Magic of the Star Entropy"). Upon first listen, it is tempting to draw parallels to Mgła, which for some time now has been a huge favorite of mine. (For the ones of you who are fortunate enough to be located in Germany, be sure to check out both bands at the Under The Black Sun festival that kicks off on the 3rd of July.) The atmosphere created by Plaga in this album is slightly more primal than that of Mgła, yet it is far from lacking in depth and atmosphere. This is one of the reasons why I have recently grown so fond of the Polish black metal scene; while I do enjoy the straight-out raw and noisy low-pro sounds of acts such as Belkètre as well as the more ritualistic and atmospheric sound of for instance Behexen, it is disappointingly rare that I come across bands that encompasses both these features in their work. Plaga does this brilliantly on every track of Magia Gwiezdnej Entropii, although I particularly enjoyed the title track because of its constant shifts in intensity.
One of my immediate thoughts after giving the album a first listen, besides its resemblance to Mgła, was that parts of it reminded me of something more that I just could not put my finger on. After giving it a couple of more listens, it dawned on me that parts of the title track actually resembles a track by Sterbend (Einsamkeit from the album Dwelling Lifeless, to be specific), which features the same kind of animalistic howling and depressive undertone.
There is nothing groundbreaking about Magia Gwiezdnej Entropi, but it is rare that so many appreciated aspects can be found in one single album. For that reason, if you enjoy any of the acts mentioned above, I highly recommend giving this album a listen.
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