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Magma - Merci CD (album) cover

MERCI

Magma

 

Zeuhl

2.76 | 257 ratings

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coldwhitesky
4 stars When I first heard this album I was a bit put off, I didn't hate it, but it didn't really make me want to listen to it more. Maybe it was how the sound related in some way to music I've heard before that I didn't appreciate. Nonetheless as I kept growing so to did my perception of this music, although this album deviates from the celestial sound we know, It is ZEUHL. If you listen with an unbiased ear, you can feel an energy equal to that of previous material. For me MAGMA is about expanding what we already know, to think up new things and grow, to purify the soul and to enlighten the mind, this album does not deviate from that. Starting with Call From the Dark, the sound is quite familiar for its time, but with musicianship fitting for Magma. The lyrics deal with the feeling of being in love. The next track, Otis, is a tribute to Otis Redding. The melodies on this track are quite captivating, radiating beauty. Softer then what is typical of MAGMA, but rich nonetheless. The next track, Do the Music is much more familiar, Good drums, everything feels well tied together. I'd go as far as to say this track is one of my favorite by MAGMA. "Otis(ending)" is a short slowed down version of a melody in Otis, accompanied by an organ. The next track, "I Must Return" could almost be cheesy, but somehow MAGMA always adds that extra thing to make the music alive, so it escapes being cheesy. The lyrical content in this track deal with dying and the beyond, metaphysics, returning to the core. themes that seem to fit this kind of music. Eliphas Levi, the 6th track, is a calming 11 minute track with emphasis on Flute, Piano and vocals, I don't have much to say about it beyond that. The last track, "the Night We Died" starts with a Kobaian version of a melody in"I Must Return" accompanied by piano, then drifts into the rest of the song, which turns into something quite dissonant and ambient, The song title is fitting for a beautiful expression of death and life. To conclude, I think this album is quite underrated. When listening with an open mind and heart its easy to find substance here, but it definitely deviates from the MAGMA people are used to.
coldwhitesky | 4/5 |

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