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Magma - Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh CD (album) cover

MEKANÏK DESTRUKTÏW KOMMANDÖH

Magma

 

Zeuhl

4.29 | 1161 ratings

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Fitzcarraldo
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars This is a very Teutonic-sounding album, due both to the Kobaian language that the band's French founder Christian Vander (percussionist and composer) concocted for the purposes of his ambitious multi-album musical project, and to the music being reminiscent of German composer Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana". Kobaia, by the way, is supposed to be a planet of spiritually enlightened humans who left Earth and formed a new civilisation. This particular album tells the story of the Theusz Hamtaahk (Time of Hatred).

Apart from the superficial similarity to Orff's music, the music on this album also has clear jazz-rock influences. There is a lot of repetition within tracks, both in the melody and in the choral chanting, and in my opinion the music is less sophisticated than many would have you believe. Nevertheless the overall effect is pleasing and I do not find the album difficult listening. The repetition is almost hypnotic in places.

From the perspective of Progressive Rock history, MAGMA is an important band; indeed the Zeuhl genre came into being with MAGMA (the word Zeuhl is a Kobaian adjective meaning 'celestial'). I believe fans of Progressive Rock will find the detailed sci-fi concept (with its strong spiritual message) interesting, and the music itself progressive and enjoyable, although this album is not one that I would say is essential from a musical point of view. If you enjoy Orff's "Carmina Burana", jazz-rock fusion and Wagnerian opera then you will probably like this 1973 release. It's not something that I personally would rush out to buy, so I'll give it 3 stars (Good, but non-essential).

Fitzcarraldo | 3/5 |

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