TRILOGY

"Trilogy" is three of the classic Magma albums featuring "Live" from 1975, "Udu Wudu" from 1976, and "Attahk" from 1978, and it is packaged beautifully with cyborg front cover and attractive booklet. I had to grab this as I only had one physical CD album out of the three and so for me it was worthwhile as a Magma Kobaian. Although I had heard these tracks many times on digital format, there is something refreshing about hearing them on a remastered CD format. It is almost impossible music to describe but it really seeps into the system in an almost hypnotic way that is captivating and powerful. Call it Jazz Fusion, Zeuhl, Psych Prog and ambient darkness, and you might be close to describing this way out hyper music. Returning to this music is like returning to another universe; it is immersible music to soak the senses.

CD 1 "Live" This live Magma was my first journey into their universe and I was stunned at how chilling this music can be; a cross between Celtic chanting druids and Gregorian monks in a dark cathedral mixed with jazz rhythms. I found it hard to grasp and a little disturbing on first listen. Then it kind of grows on you like fungus. You tend to blend in with the music and surrealistic approach like osmosis.

Each track is unique and impossible to remember. None of the tracks are designed as real songs. 'Kohntark' is the magnum opus like epic, so large it is in two parts. The ominous menace of the music is immediately apparent and ferociously original. The unfriendly atmosphere is captured in this live document, not unlike attending a funeral at times. It lurches forward and an unsettling cadence sets in with repetitive chanting and off kilter, out of sync guitar. At times the music is really like having your head drilled with nails and it goes on and on relentlessly.

The drums lock in after about 8 minutes and it breaks in to a kind of African metrical pattern. The female choral vocals are loud and dominant by Stella Vander, as nutty as anything from Gong. There is a violin by Lockwood that is unbearable at times as it screams across the soundscape Magma create, especially 13 minutes in. It has the capacity to chill the marrow of your bones. The vocalisation is entirely fictionalised garb from an alien world, comparable to albums with the same trademark vocal style such as 'MDK'. The minor chords are heavily utilised in order to disturb the ear with admirable effect.

'Kobah' is definitely my favourite track on the album as it features beautiful psychedelic chanting and is a reasonable length that does not meander for decades but tells its ambiguous story and gets out. 'Lihns' is very strange again with a heavy melody but not a highlight by any means. 'Hhai' is definitely a Hhai-light that has an excellent hypnotic effect, almost mesmirising and you hardly notice the 9 minutes have passed before the next track begins. 'Mekanik Zain' features a rather quirky 7/8 rhythm. The ethereal bass and violin are masterfully executed. In fact the entire album is bass heavy. In conclusion, this live album deserves its cult following, and at first were not my taste but then I began to acquire the taste and could not get enough of them.

CD 2 "Udu Wudu" "Udu Wudu" follows on from a slew of excellent Magma albums and has some more accessible tracks and one outstanding track. There is still the quasi-human Kobaian language that Magma addicts have all come to know and love. However, gone is the uniqueness of the sound and the first half is rather mediocre in comparison to the wild inventiveness of previous Magma albums. There are still some excellent passages of jazzy Zeuhl such as with 'Troller Tanz' with it's whimsical melody, and Vander's high pitched screeching and the choral voices typical to Magma. 'Zombies' is also a standout track with stunning dissonant jazz overtones and chaotic percussion.

The best track, is the 18 minute epic, 'De Futura'. The use of high pitched synthesizer on this creates a new Magma sound. There is a uniquely futuristic atmosphere with the added synth tones and it is a welcome change to the album. Vader is a man possessed on percussion and trumpets, sax, flute, and bass compete and battle it out for much of the epic. At one point the instruments drop out and Jannik Top's fuzzy bass solo takes over. It is one of the high points of the album and played aggressively perfectly augmenting the dark atmospheres. The hypnotic groove works well with the percussion and outer limits spacey effects.

In conclusion, the one epic track elevates this to a worthwhile listen, but it is not to the level of previous Magma, and less consistent in terms of innovation and musical excellence.

CD 3 "Attahk" "Attahk" is a conclusive quality album after a number of excellent albums in the 70s. By the time 1978 rolled around Magma had cemented their reputation as pioneers of the Zeuhl sound. Drummer extraordinaire and visionary Christian Vander is back with a vengeance on this album but he lost the incredible bass guitarist Jannik Top and thus a lot of that deep bass resonance is missing.

The spacey Kobaian language is still a component and this album features perhaps some of the more amusing chants I have heard in Magma. At one point I can hear what sounds like "I am the seatbelt, I am the seatbelt, I am the seatbelt, I am the seatbelt ." The screaming sax, ominous piano crash, creepy off kilter spinning jazz spasms fused with peaceful flute are all part of the wonderful Magma experience. Some of the chants sound peculiarly like odd English phrases such as "an Amanda, cinder riff, so we live in dust we are, soon as I sing this song in Victoria, body laid to rest, hai hai hai se soudia suva. Turn the bodies saw you. Our butts are black."

There is a delightful twin sax melody line on the second half, which is a vast improvement, and some deliriously weird time sig changes with Vander screeching like a parrot caught in a blender. The chanting grows in intensity towards the end of the album as does the atonal jazz patterns. I have no idea what song I am listening to on this as they all blend together, but it sounds terrific.

"Attahk" is not a Magmasterpiece but I enjoyed returning to this form of Zeuhl. I believe, after this album, the music for the revolutionary band became less cohesive and not up to the incredible standard. That is, until the astonishing brilliant "Emehntehtt-Re" in 2009.

In conclusion, "Trilogy" as a compilation of three classic Magma albums, is a great starting point for newbies to Magma but is still packaged well for the more experienced Magmanites. It is cheaper to buy these three albums in one package, and the booklet is attractive enough to draw you in. I particularly like the cover, though it is unique without the Magma logo. Charly labels seem to be churning out a lot of Magma and noticeably do not include full remastered albums with bonus tracks. There are no bonus tracks at all and the live album is missing some material in the same way it was on Charly's release of "Live". However, all that aside, these are still 3 terrific albums, not the best of Magma by a long shot but nevertheless excellent music to wrap your ears around and indulge in the Magmaverse of this incredible spaced out band.