ZËSS - LE JOUR DU NÉANT

It's been exactly 50 years, yes that's right, a whopping half of a century since the classically trained Christian Vander founded MAGMA which signified a vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future. The project that catapulted France headfirst into the progressive rock scene of the late 60s has become one of the most ambitious and enduring musical outfits in the entire world of progressive rock after having exposed an unsuspecting world to a completely new form of jazz-rock with classical underpinnings that narrates the tale of humans fleeing the dying Earth and relocating on a planet called Koba'a. With a self-constructed language and an entirely new musical paradigm tagged as zeuhl (Kobaïan for 'celestial'), Vander and an ever rotating cast of top dog musicians have left a legacy of excellent recordings that have only gained steam throughout the ensuing decades and left an indelible impression on the prog world. Here we are in 2019 and the Kobaïan Scene is still spreading its celestial joy.

While MAGMA's heyday may have been in the 70s, it's almost unbelievable how much new material is still trickling into the modern era that never found a proper recording during the time it was composed. This trend began all the way back in 2004 when archival material for 'K.A.' (abbreviation for 'Köhntarkösz Anteria') was finally completed to great critical acclaim and a de facto declaration of a triumphant return into the world of progressive rock as its popularity was finding a resurgence in the era of the internet savvy 21st century. While not as prolific as in the old days, MAGMA returned with more archival material on 2009's ''Ëmëhntëhtt-Rë' and then at long last released some totally fresh new material on 2012's 'Félicité Thösz.' While the ensuing years have found some interesting archival tidbits, both studio and live finding new life, a proper new album has been eagerly anticipated but all that waiting has finally come to an end. Lo and behold in the year 2019, MAGMA has finally released yet another slab of archival material that hadn't found its own closure in the form of ZËSS. LE JOUR DU NÉANT.

ZËSS translates to 'Master' in the fictitious Koba'an tongue and for the first time Vander utilizes his mother tongue French not only in the titular adornments but also in the poetic prose displayed throughout various segments of the album itself. LE JOUR DE NÉANT translates as 'The Day Of Nothing' which basically says that you are in for another nebulous and mysterious journey into the musical mind of one of prog's masters and that all you know for sure is that it will implement stentorian vocal choirs, magnanimous jazz-rock bombast and hypnotic bass fueled rhythms that ratchet up to climactic explosive rocket blasts of energy and then change around a few keys and scales and start the process over. While ZËSS does not disappoint in all these predictable expectations, this album is the most distinguished album in the band's entire canon, well at least since the funk fueled attempt at going mainstream on 1984's 'Merci.' MAGMA is back only this time not alone.

While ZËSS may be reaching back to the past to tie up loose ends, it clearly looks to the future and along for the ride comes the accompaniment of the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, which allows ZËSS to stand out as the band's most orchestral and symphonic as it tackles the usual jazz-rock zeuhl only transmogrified into a modern form of third stream jazz. Z'SS not only sounds timeless but literally is so. While composed in the 70s it was never quite finished but debuted as part of a live set in Bourges in 1979. It has also appeared on live recordings such as the archival sounds heard on 'Bobino 1981' and 'Les Voix Concert 1992 Douarnenez' as well as having been performed live during the 1980s with Vander's side project Offering but these performances only found extracts but at long last ZËSS has found resolution and stands on its own two feet and finds MAGMA revealing new aspects of itself and finding the much deserved resolution for decades of uncertainty.

In addition to the orchestral parts which give MAGMA a completely new stylistic makeover, another unexpected development was the fact that Christian Vander took the spotlight as the lead vocalist for most of the album but also in the process passed the baton of percussionist to Swedish drummer Morgan 'gren of Kaipa and Karmakanic. Of all the previous incarnations of the greater MAGMA family, only Vander, singers Stella Vander, Isabelle Feuillebois, Hervé Aknin and bassist Philippe Bussonnet make an appearance and while the classical orchestral parts are ramped up, the jazz aspects have been practically annihilated without completely surrendering to the newcomer's somewhat restrained presence. ZËSS delivers the usual MAGMA goods of connecting several tracks together with a thread of musical continuity with each one generating distinct variations from the others. Sounding much like any old MAGMA album of yore, 'Ẁöhm Dëhm Zeuhl Stadium' delivers the familiar vocal performances that slowly summon the Koba'an spirit guides to lead the listener to the promised musical lands.

Continuing past the introductions of the familiar, the new MAGMA takes a left field turn into an unexpected lengthy journey into the slow but steady tension inducing cyclical loops of a staccato piano delivering a gentle yet firm tinkling while Vander tells a story in French and works his way up to nonsensical scatting of some sort. This is the first album that implements both French and Koba'an into the mix along with the nonsensical wordless utterances. While the orchestral elements announce their presence early on, they merely punctuate the down times between beats and the like and don't really take off until the thunderous climactic outbursts on the third track 'Dï Ẁööhr Spra?er' where they seem to gain an equal foothold and then finally usurp the rhythmic drive with intense melodic counterpoints that engage in progressive rock time signature gymnastics despite exhibiting the timbres of a classical symphony. After a great deal of symphonic wankery, the opening vocalists return with 'Zëss Mahntëhr Kantöhm' and the by now established rhythm flow and almost post-rock melodic repetition only highly adrenalized finds new variations to express the dynamics and melodic possibilities.

The album continues with an infinite variety of vocals, orchestral punctuations and ever changing time signatures however in the end ZËSS is really one very long track that only occasional deviates from the basic rhythmic groove that sustains itself for lengthy runs and when all is said and done, it sounds like that the excerpts of the original workings were merely padded out with a variety of tricks and trinkets without adding any substantial changes to the underpinnings of the composition, however MAGMA has always been about lengthy roundabout ways of milking rhythmic drives and letting the melodic melodramas spiral into uncharted territories and in that department ZËSS successfully follows the logical flow of the band's past trajectory. Upon conclusion, i doubt ZËSS will go down as MAGMA's crowning achievement but it is in no danger of tarnishing this mighty band's long lasting legacy either even if by chance this happens to be the end of the long and winding road for a 70 year old Christian Vander who may or may not have other life endeavors to tend to before his final exit to the great Koba'an Scene in the sky. While all that futuristic talk is uncertain, one that that is clear is that MAGMA have delivered yet another stellar slice of musical mojo into their fields of fecundity and for any of the true fans already indoctrinated into the fan club, ZËSS will not disappoint one little bit.

This album was quite the stylistic detour for Magma. On many Magma albums, such as K.A, Christian Vander's voice is used sparingly. His voice appears a few times, but he is mostly the drummer. On Zëss (Le Jour Du Néant), he is the lead singer and doesn't play drums. Instead, a Swedish drummer named Morgen Ågren, provides the percussion. I don't know much about him or his band, but I've read that he's a very technical drummer. Unfortunately, Zëss doesn't require him to be much more than a metronome.

Zëss is another composition that has existed in the Magma catalog for decades before this studio recording. While this may not be the definitive version, it is good to contrast with other live performances of this song. The addition of an orchestra (provided by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra) is a good touch that separates this album from others in their discography. This, along with the fact that the album flows like one 38 minute song, makes it sound much more like a symphony. This is a very minimal and streamlined album, and it rewards patience. For that reason, I couldn't throw it on anytime and always be enjoying it like other albums they have produced.

The album starts with an ominous string and vocal arrangement. This section is the opening fanfare, and lasts for 5 minutes. From there, we go into a minimal 2 chord piano and percussion theme. Christian narrates in French over the music. This does not change for 6 minutes, and this is kind of where the album loses me a bit. It's the least musically interesting part of the record. Thankfully, a switch to the Kobaïan language brings the string section back, and we get the first instance of a motif that will exist throughout the rest of the album.

The language seemingly changes from Kobaïan to something that is unrecognizable. The main takeaway from the vocals is the repeated "Ëhmëhmöh nëhmëhsïn". This culminates in a final 15 minutes of chaos, beauty, and resolution. The segment at the end, titled "Dümgëhl Blaö (Glas ultime), is a different ending that is unique to this version of Zëss. A quiet piano leads into call and response vocals between Christian and the rest of the singers. The word "om" brings the album to a close, suggesting that there is peace after everything that has come before.

In the Kobaïan lore, Zëss represents the end of the universe and everything that has ever existed. This makes the album seem like a final farewell. If this is the last Magma album, I wouldn't mind. They have had an excellent run, lasting for 50 years. Zëss was never going to be my favourite Magma song or album, but I'm glad this exists.

Magma are the founders of the zeuhl genre. Over the span of their 50-year career, they've been remarkably consistent in both their strange character and high quality of output. Strongly rooted in jazz and heavy on hypnotic jamming, their studio recordings were often taken to new heights in live settings, such as the version of "Köhntarkösz" on their album Live/Hhaï. Live performances have also seen epics be debuted and developed before reaching a studio album. Their 2009 album Ëmëhntëtt-Ré began life in the 1970s at live shows, and "?lag Tanz" was debuted live several years before it was recorded.  "Theusz Hamtaahk" as yet remains unrecorded in the studio. Zëss similarly began as a live-only epic in the '70s.

"Zëss" struck me as an odd choice for Magma to record. The live recordings I'd heard came off as long-winded, meandering, and repetitious, and this was a critique I'd seen elsewhere online. I think the band may have been aware of this criticism, so they enlisted the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra to add some texture and dynamism. Distinct to Zëss, band founder Christian Vander takes lead vocals over the span of the entire album. There are the usual female vocals in the background, but Vander remains at the forefront. He also does not play drums here, another first for the band.

The 37 minutes of Zëss are presented as one huge song, though there are seven distinct movements therein. It's also a big improvement over the archival live versions I'd heard. Magma have never been a particularly guitar-forward band, but the guitar is nearly muted on this album. Piano and the orchestra take center stage beneath Vander's vocals. Hearing just how naturally strings fit in with Magma's sound, I'm shocked the band had never attempted such an integration before.

Vocals on Zëss are presented both in French and Kobaïan, Christian Vander's invented language which has featured on every one of the band's albums (except Merci, but there's a reason no one talks about that album). The music flows smoothly over the course of the album. The orchestra lends a certain fluidity, and the jazzy percussion, while not Vander's, is befitting of the band.

As big of an improvement over the early recordings of this song as it may be, "Zëss" does still retain some weaknesses. It isn't able to fully escape all the tedium of those old recordings. Certain points on this massive epic begin to feel superfluous or needlessly extended. The barely-noticeable guitar hampered the band's ability to put some oomph behind the moments that were meant to be menacing. The orchestra certainly could add a creepy, spooky vibe, but a splash of something distorted may have helped drive the point home.

Zëss ties up some of the loose ends in the Kobaïa storyline that's run through band's music since their 1969 debut. (Or so I've been told. I'm not exactly fluent in Kobaïan.) I'd consider this to be Magma's second-weakest album, but their discography has been so incredibly strong (aside from the aforementioned Merci) that it's still good. There are some moments of monotony, and the lush strings may reduce some impact, but Christian Vander has demonstrated that he's still able to conjure up something weird and interesting half a century after his band debuted.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/08/19/album-review-magma-zess/