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MY MAGNIFICIANT INSTABILITY

Dagmähr

Eclectic Prog


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Dagmähr My magnificiant Instability album cover
3.24 | 27 ratings | 6 reviews | 4% 5 stars

Good, but non-essential

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Studio Album, released in 1997

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. In Every Failure
2. Paradox #1 for two pianos
3. Destiny
4. Just In Words
5. A I'aube de ...
6. Leaving For Paris

Total Time: 42:18

Line-up / Musicians

- Mathieu Lassard / vocals, guitars and bass pedals
- Yves Hallee / bass guitar
- Pierre Massicotte / keyboards
- Phillippe Lachance / drums and percussion

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
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DAGMÄHR My magnificiant Instability ratings distribution


3.24
(27 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(4%)
4%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(48%)
48%
Good, but non-essential (41%)
41%
Collectors/fans only (4%)
4%
Poor. Only for completionists (4%)
4%

DAGMÄHR My magnificiant Instability reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Sean Trane
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog Folk
3 stars As often because of my Canadian youth, I take notice of bands coming from Canada and I bought this CD after a short listen. This has got all of the ingredients to make for a great album but after repeated listening , I have problem seing a clear direction in here. Musically , we are in a modern-prog influences much like Discpline's Unfold Like Staircase. The point of such a group is rather difficult to see (well we can be a bit leniant as this is a first oeuvre), but I fail to see where the album is heading. Lack of a clear musical propos, tt probably will come with the following ones. But this is a good but not great debut album.
Review by Cesar Inca
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Debut album by the excellent prog act Dagmähr: their sound combines a clear sense of melody and an intense expressiveness, over a foundation of cleverly inspired compositions and intricate rhythm signatures. Performances are very solid and energetic, without reaching an exaggerate level of aggressiveness; on the contrary, the band prefers to exercise a certain amount of constraint in order to build an adequate sense of tension. Their major influences are "Red"-era KC, second-era VdGG, "Moving Pictures"-era Rush, and Fish -era Marillion (in fact, in their early days, they used to cover material from these three bands, mainly). But it's not copy-and- paste what you find in this album, but a particular approach to all these sources instilling them into a modern sound, a sound sustained on a tight, precise rhythm section and enhanced by effective melodies, riffs and solos on guitar, organ and synth. To state it simply, the repertoire comrpised in "My Magnificient Instability", is a perfect sample of all the musical aspects already mentioned. Tracks like 'In Every Failure' and 'Destiny' serve as appropriate statements of the band's progressive direction: prog complexity, inventive compositions, a well balanced sound production. 'Just in Words' is also a ver ygood song, though not as notable as the two I've previously mentioned. All in all, the highlight is the closing 16-minute suite 'Leaving For Paris', which comprises lots of diverse musical motifs, mood and tempo shifts - in many ways this is some kind of mixture of the emotional density of 'Incubus', the reflective enthusiasm of 'La Rossa', and the evocstive mystery of 'Red Barchetta'. A short string section guests occasionally on a few tracks, not for symphonic purposes, but to add subtle colours that help to increase the sense of passion that is so inherent in the band's material. There is even an exclusive string section performance for 'A l'Aube de...', which kind of serves as a prelude to the dynamics exposed in 'Leaving for Paris'. Before that, the brief, somewhat bizarre grand piano duet 'Paradox No. 1' lays a bridge of academic exquisiteness between tracks 1 & 3. Overall balance: an excellent addtion to any good prog collection, and certainly, one of the most interesting prog recordings for the late 90s.

Review by erik neuteboom
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars This is a Canadian five piece band featuring some guest musicians on classical instruments. Their musis intricates me, it contains elements from King Crimson (Fripperian guitar), Peter Hamill (vocals) and Genesis (keyboards) but in general Dadmahr has an original progrock sound. The focus is on singer and guitarplayer Mathieu Lessard, he delivers powerful, often a bit agressive guitarwork. The use of instrumens like the violin in "Every Failure", a violin-cello duet in "A l'aube de .." and piano (short but strong in "Paradox for two piano's) gives the music a strong classical undertone. The final composition "Leaving for Paris" is Dagmahr at its best: a dynamic climate featuring all progrock ingredients, the 'grand finale' is in the vein of mid-Genesis with compelling guitar and keyboards, SPLENDID!
Review by Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars 3.5 stars. An excellent debut from DAGMAHR. I would have liked to have seen this band live because of their extended solos and the heaviness that breaks out from time to time. Guest cello and violin on this one as well. Vocals are okay but they don't really add to their sound, if anything they take away at times. I like this album though.

"In Every Failure" is my favourite, it features violin and laid back vocals to start then angular guitar, bass and organ take over and change the mood significantly.Great sound here. It settles after 3 1/2 minutes as reserved voacals, drums and organ take over. Soaring guitar 5 1/2 minutes in. Violin is back after 6 minutes as intricate sounds come and go. Pulsating organ as guitar returns heavier than before.Vocals before 8 minutes as guitar continues. Angular guitar 8 1/2 minutes in. It calms right down with violin after 9 minutes.

"Paradox #1 For Two Pianos" is less than 2 minutes of piano melodies. Impressive. "Destiny" opens with synths before turning heavy before a minute. Contrasts continue and we get a string quartet after 3 1/2 minutes. Angular guitar after 6 minutes. "Just In Words" opens with a vocal solo before a full sound comes in. Angular guitar after 3 minutes then it gets heavier with lots of synths. "A L'Aube De..." features the string quartet throughout. Not a fan. "Leaving For Paris" has a MARILLION flavour to it. This is the longest track at over 16 minutes. A real ride and different from the others.

Lots to like here but not enough for 4 stars.

Review by apps79
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Nice and overlooked band hailing from the centre of the Canadian prog scene,Quebec.They were formed in mid-90's with original mambers being Mathieu Lassard on vocals and guitars,Yves Hallee on bass,Pierre Massicotte on keyboards and Phillippe Lachance and drums.Their firsl album ''My magnificent instability'' came out in 1997 and seems like a tribute in both vintage and modern progressive rock scene.

From the opening minutes of ''In every failure'' you've got to admit that this is a talented young band.Violin strings blend with FRIPP-ian guitar hooks in a rhythmic manner,while vocalist Mathieu Lassard,though he doesnt sound anything like FISH,tries to present a theatrical and expressive way of singing with a succesful result.Throughout its way the track adapts a melodic symphonicism with careful used synths and guitar solos.''Paradox #1 for two pianos'' is a fine and short yet grandiose piano crescendo with a dark mood,leading to the excellent '' Destiny''.A weird mix of ABRAXAS-like Neo Prog with VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR twists is what you wil meet here.Powerful guitars and vocals mix with an obscure cello-based middle section to bring Polish band LIZARD to mind.Very original and highly creative music!''Just in words'' steps more into the Neo Prog territory with Lassard sounding a bit like ASGARD's Francesco Grosso.Vintage sounding keys,sharp synths solos and guitarsfull of energy and power offer another memorable track,filled also with spoken parts and great vocals overall.''A I'aube de'' is another short track with a sound close to JEAN PIERRE ALARCEN's early works on Classical approach.Symphonic Music dominated by the string section,which also reminds bands of the RIO/Avant movement.

It is true that an over 15-min. epic composition can be either a hidden trap or a majestic moment on a prog band's discography.And DAGMAHR did it quite well on the long ''Leaving For Paris'',where organ sounds and STEVE HOWE-like guitar chords will leave their place to a deep,atmospheric synth/guitar-driven with a evidentt MARILLION-esque flavor.It's time for Lassard to offer another memorable performance with his sensitive voice this time,accompanied by a heavy bass work,before the ghost of ROBERT FRIPP re-enters the scene and DAGMAHR mix it with well-crafted melodic keyboards and pianos.The track will close in a Neo/Symphonic way,based on a series of nice electric solos and the thrilling closing singing lines of Lassard.Well done!

This is absolutely fascinating and original music and ,in my opinion, DAGMAHR are capable of creating a future masterpiece for all the prog listeners out there.Purchase without second thoughts,this is a solid 4 star effort!

Latest members reviews

1 stars I sadly bought this album, thinking I was in for a treat. What a mistake... This band makes usual neo-prog music, which is typically boring. (Sorry neo-prog fans :D) The whole thing sounds just like usual neo-prog, which means the singer shouldn't be singing in the first place and there are lo ... (read more)

Report this review (#116912) | Posted by Turion | Friday, March 30, 2007 | Review Permanlink

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