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Magma - K.A (Köhntarkösz Anteria) CD (album) cover

K.A (KÖHNTARKÖSZ ANTERIA)

Magma

 

Zeuhl

4.24 | 765 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

DisgruntledPorcupine
5 stars Comeback of the millenium!

This was my first Magma and first zeuhl album. On my first spin, I was pretty astonished. I though to myself: "Is this music too intense for me? Are all these singers a little too over the top? Is a made up language a little too pretentious for my tastes? (which is saying a lot for a prog fan)" I put the album away for a while. A week later, I though "Oh what the hell? I might as well give it another shot." Luckily for me, it was better this time around. I started to really "get" the singing style and other things. Still, it was only about 3 stars. But in hopes of it getting better, I listened and listened and sure enough, it became a definite masterpiece. My mind was now open to zeuhl and I continued exploring. But enough about me, lets talk about the album!

A description of the music: The album takes off right away with "K.A. I." It is, like all Magma, a dark song with bombastic chanting and great basslines. The drumming is chaotic, but amazing. This is an amazing song absolutely full of highlights and great moments. The best on the album. "K.A. II" isn't quite as good, but is still amazing. Like the former, it is a dark song with loud chanting. This song is a little less in-your-face than "K.A. I," but is entertaining nonetheless. "K.A. III" is the longest, but weakest song of the album. But then again, thats saying almost nothing! It's still an amazing track with and the only one that opens with an instrumental section. A lengthy one, but still entertaining. This song is all great, but the only part that drags it down is the "hallelujah!" section. This part gets slightly repetitive, which is why it drags the song down. Still, it is an amazing song altogether.

PROS:

Vocals: The vocals could probably scare a first time zeuhl listener away as they did for me. But once you get used to them, they are absolutely impeccable. The way everything is sung and chanted makes you almost want to prepare for war.

Bass: Many incredibly catchy basslines in this album, my favourite of which is near the beginning of "K.A. I." The tone is also great and it doesn't fall behind the rest of the instruments.

Drums: The drums here are absolutely insane. Playing in very wacky time signatures and fast tempos all the time. It really catches your attention.

In-your-face: The way this music is so in-your-face makes it impossible to ignore and magnifys the emotions of the music. It's very effective.

CONS:

Repetitiveness: Most notably the "hallelujah" part of "K.A. III." There are a few parts and melodies that just drag on for a bit too long.

Song ratings: K.A. I: 10/10 K.A. II: 9/10 K.A. III: 8/10

Recommended for: Zeuhl-heads. People who have yet to discover zeuhl who are looking for a twist in their daily music.

My rating: 5 shining stars. This is the greatest comeback album of all time besides Godbluff, but Godbluff wasn't as epic since the wait wasn't too long, whereas K.A. was a 20 year wait.

DisgruntledPorcupine | 5/5 |

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