ËMËHNTËHTT-RÉ

I've held off for two months before reviewing this, making sure that the five stars I've awarded it is accurate. I've now heard Ëmëhntëhtt-Rê about five or six times and each time I listen to it, it just gets better. A lot of Magma can be quite oppressive and difficult to take in one sitting. This is the exception, and it really is superb!

There's plenty of vocals on this one. Christian Vander's drums and voice sound just like he did over twenty years ago which is surprising as the guy must be a fair old age. This time new recording technology makes the whole album sound crystal clear. It's still quite intense and dark sounding - as you'd expect from a Magma album - although there's not that much on it that you'll be whistling to yourself afterwards. It's not that kind of album. It just sounds right and doesn't have the cheesiness that MDK had - that one always reminds me of the musical 'Jesus Christ Superstar'!

2009 was really quite a crumby year in terms of new music which makes this all the better, coming from one of the 'Old Guard'. It's a step up again from the K.A. album in 2004 and they still sound like no-one else.

Oh, and check out the Stockhausen type ending with doom laden vocals which fits perfectly in a creepy kind of way. Long live Magma!