ATTAHK

Attahk is a Magma album that I had ignored because of my built-in scepticism against Prog albums from 1978. But as it turned out, I'm glad Magma proved me wrong again, this album doesn't show a band that was losing it, it's the sound of a band that stuck to their strengths but still continued to move forward through their unique universe.

The experiments with synths and RIO influences of Üdü Wüdüare mostly discarded, and they returned to the sound of MDK and Khöntarkösz: a dense journey full of prominent bass and drums, weird vocals, jazzy piano playing and the occasional brass instrument. And soundwise, they never sounded tighter really, I wish they had been able to record MDK with the same production standards.

The music is far more upbeat then their earlier works, at time it's even funky, invigorating, swinging and danceable. Despite these brighter flavours, I wouldn't call it more accessible, and certainly not more 'commercial'. It remains a challenging experience.

I enjoyed this album from the first listen, but even for an experienced Kobaïan like me, it has taken me quite a few spins to fully absorb and appreciate it. As usual Magma delivered a rich album, with many layers to discover: the intricate compositions, the vocal harmonies, the crazed drumming, the frantic bass guitar and so on. I'm really curious now how that other low-rated Magma album will become me...