ZEUHL

"It means what it is" - quote from 'The Prisoner' (1960).

How do you pronounce it? I MEANT IT RAY? Don't try to understand it, experience it and it will understand you.

New Magma! What else needs to be said? Incredible album that absolutely floored me and took me by surprise, as I am a newcomer to the group, only having heard online tracks and owning the one live album. I was totally spellbound by the ingenious music which at times sounds like the soundtrack to your worst nightmare, and at other times like a beautiful princess waking from an enchanted sleep. Nothing comes close to this. Magma have outdone themselves, if that were possible. In any sense of the word, masterpiece is the only way to rate this awesome epic album. So much to recommend it but the main thing that can be said is that the album mesmirises you from the moment those haunting strains begin, to the funeral procession at the end. I won't pretend that I understand any of the concept, but it is thought provoking and quite ethereal to immerse yourself in the Magmaverse, that is otherworldy and sinister, perhaps bordering on the macabre. The battle between good and evil is prevalent and heavy handed but it works as a monstrous thematic device to encase this compelling high strangeness.

Christian's vocals are spellbinding but his drumming is the main drawcard and they are off the scale, metronome shaking metrical patterns that I have never heard. The deathly dark choral voices are chilling and yet beautiful, and it is impossible to forget some of those relentless chants that build and build until they explode into nothingness, there are silent moments that are maddening and one must have infinite patience to withstand the high impact time signatures, and let us not forget those off kilter lyrics. I love the way Magma simply defy logic and break every rule in the book, whilst still maintaining some semblance of order. That is Zeuhl of course, that has become integral to the band and in fact encompasses what they stand for, after all they invented the genre. As soon as the album ends I had to listen again and then I completely found myself reliving the music but hearing it differently. It feels Wagnerian or even Brahms but so tender and guaranteed to haunt the listener.

On each listen something new is gained. Incredible! Listen to that vocal intonation on track 2! It is mind blowing. The dark bass passages absolutely pummel the senses. Am I exaggerating? No, there it is again, that throbbing pulse that just drones like nothing else. Oh, those heavenly female vocals. What is she saying? It has entered the conscious and now it doesn't matter anymore, it is enchanting and hypnotic, causing tears to fill my eyes. How could music like this exist? I leave this review to immerse myself back in the music.

This is one of the albums recommended to all Zeuhl newbies. So I went ahead and bought this album.

Easy listening, it ain't. That Dun album is far more accessible than this album. The opening track Eskaton is almost opera with some insane jazz and marching band rhythms thrown in. Zeuhl in other words and pretty similar to what Magma is doing. Attente is a typical piece of Zeuhl. Ecoute has a good jazz theme as it's major asset. Pitie is much more a pastoral piece of music than a Magma clone. Le Cri is also a good jazz/zeuhl song.

My gripes......... Nothing really. Maybe the Zeuhl genre is a bridge too far for me. Jazz and Post-Metal is OK for me. Zeuhl.......maybe not. I still think this album is good though. Ecoute, Eskaton, Le Cri and Pitie is for me the best tracks here on an album I have spent a lot of time on. I do not fully understand Attente and I have some problems grasping the whole Zeuhl genre. That is my problem and not Eskaton's problem because 4 Visions is in essence a very good album. I give this album three stars and reserve my rights to come back and up it to four stars if I finally grasp this Zeuhl thingy.

3.5 stars

Can I do this?

Can I review this intimidating creature? I have no idea what it really means. And not because the language is not English. I listen to foreign language vocals every single day and while I don't know what the words mean, I can often understand the emotions the vocalist is conveying. Not here. I find the secrets mostly impenetrable. Do I like the music? Does it move me? I honestly couldn't tell you. I often feel differently about the album on different days, something which doesn't happen often for me. I suspect that outside of the Magma fan base, one's tolerance for an experience like this has more to do with situation/surroundings and state of mind/mood. Listening to it while writing is somehow stimulative. Listening to it in a darkened bedroom can be creepy but effective. Listening in my car during rush hour makes me want to kill other drivers.

Probably more accurate than saying "I like it" would be to say I appreciate it, and very much so. It is amazing music. This continuous 39-minute endurance test pummels the listener with repetitive waves of building tension, the "background" aura of the music always sounding similar, while the foreground of the beast is decorated with wild vocals and horns. It is the vocals that are so mind blowing here. This goes beyond just elaborate construction, it is almost pathological how much time and effort must have gone towards getting the female operatic chorus just perfect. The chants, the wails, the off-setting male guttural sounds, all blended over intense music into this cacophony which sounds like a soundtrack for life beginning again in the muddy pools of a post-apocalyptic planet. Or perhaps the soundtrack for a killer walking to the gallows. Or maybe a kid furiously pumping the pedals of his bike as he heads to the field to beat up another kid he's been jousting with. Occasionally there are brief respites where the incessant vocals fall away or simmer in volume, giving you but a moment to catch your breath, before they return in earnest and perhaps with driving electric guitar behind the vocal line to emphasize more power. It can be exhausting or exhilarating, again, I believe having as much to do with how you feel than anything else. I love how comments from other reviewers have ranged from "sexy" to "addictive" to "sick and somber" to "perfect" to "not music" to "an excerpt from a 1930s fascist rally" and finally to my favorite, "a rant following a nervous breakdown---I even smell burnt almonds." Put those comments together in your head and you'll have some idea what you're in for.

I've wracked my brain trying to figure out how to adequately review such an album as this and ultimately failed to capture it. But perhaps the less said the better. Sometimes a person simply needs to hear the music to experience it. It's an amazing accomplishment and despite being one I don't always enjoy, deserves the high rating for its audacity and true progressive spirit.

We've all heard about these so called "lost classics" being unearthed and all the hype that goes along with them,only to find out after we get the recording that there was a good reason for it being lost in the first place.Thankfully there are exceptions to this rule.And this is certainly one of them.RIALZU are from the French island of Corsica located between France and Italy.At the time of this recording there was a movement in Corsica to protect their language and culture.This album which uses the Corsican language became an important part of this movement.There is no doubt the band was a fan of MAGMA although other than the start of the first track these guys really have their own sound.The original album was just over 30 minutes long and 1,000 copies were distributed in Corsica only.So if you own one of these in good shape you can get up to a thousand dollars for it.So that is why this recording was so unknown until the re-issue on cd recently.By the way Greg Walker raved about this and i now know why. "U Rigiru" which means "The Circle" opens with outbursts of sound that come and go reminding me so much of MAGMA.Violin before a minute then the tempo picks up with guitar.Again this has a strong MAGMA flavour to it.Organ and piano become prominant,bass too until the music stops after 3 1/2 minutes.This is calm and atmospheric until the violin comes in before 5 minutes.Vocals after 6 minutes.It's still pastoral.The vocal melodies really sound like a female so i'll pretend they are.A fuller sound before 11 minutes and we get some male vocal melodies too.Another calm as the music stops after 12 minutes.A drum solo then follows.It picks back up with deep male vocals after 14 1/2 minutes.His vocals actually sound like a mellotron.Female vocals too.Great finish! "I Lagramanti" opens with spacey winds and eerie vocal melodies.Drums after a minute.A calm before 2 1/2 minutes but it's still windy.It kicks in with violin,organ and drums after 3 1/2 minutes.The guitar joins in.Nice bass too.The vocals are powerful before 4 1/2 minutes but they stop a minute later as angelic female vocal melodies arrive.The organ continues.Violin after 6 1/2 minutes as it picks back up with drums and bass.Male vocals return then those female vocal melodies also kick back in around 9 minutes.Winds and those mellotron-like vocals end it.Nice. "A Mubba" is a great Fusiony tune with piano and drums standing out.Guitar 1 1/2 minutes in.Male vocal melodies take over then the guitar returns. So that's the original album and for me a definite 5 stars for it.Two live bonus tracks are included which i would give 4.5 stars to.Yes they're excellent. A must for Zeuhl fans out there.

I've held off for two months before reviewing this, making sure that the five stars I've awarded it is accurate. I've now heard Ëmëhntëhtt-Rê about five or six times and each time I listen to it, it just gets better. A lot of Magma can be quite oppressive and difficult to take in one sitting. This is the exception, and it really is superb!

There's plenty of vocals on this one. Christian Vander's drums and voice sound just like he did over twenty years ago which is surprising as the guy must be a fair old age. This time new recording technology makes the whole album sound crystal clear. It's still quite intense and dark sounding - as you'd expect from a Magma album - although there's not that much on it that you'll be whistling to yourself afterwards. It's not that kind of album. It just sounds right and doesn't have the cheesiness that MDK had - that one always reminds me of the musical 'Jesus Christ Superstar'!

2009 was really quite a crumby year in terms of new music which makes this all the better, coming from one of the 'Old Guard'. It's a step up again from the K.A. album in 2004 and they still sound like no-one else.

Oh, and check out the Stockhausen type ending with spooky vocals which fits perfectly in a creepy kind of way. Long live Magma!

Another excellent release by Magma, this is quite different to MDK, as vocals aren't the most important thing here. I would say that this album relies heavily in the mood that causes. One can't help but to fall in the vortex of this jazz influenced band. Especially during the epics, which almost obviusly are the best part of the album, my favourite part being the change that happens in part 2, as we change from a soft organ atmosphere to crazy vocals effortlessly. Anyway the rest of the tracks are very good indeed.Ork alarm uses a cello through all the song to create a feeling almost intoxicating in nature, it evokes (at least for me) the image of a march or something like that. And Coltrane Sundia, as the title suggests, it's a piece dedicated to Coltrane. It's a gorgeous piano song, that might seem not to fit with the rest of the album, as this is not nearly as dark as the other songs. But it's a fantastic closer nevertheless. Keep in mind before listening to the music, than Magma it's not an easy band to understand. It took me a lot of listens to truly understand this album. I would not reccomend starting here(although I did) in your Magma journey.

I came into this album after hearing ANGHERR SHISSPA first. I was amused at the (slightly) more accessible tone of the music and various RIO moments in the songs; those that travel in the other direction will wonder where the guitars went and where the fusion elements came in.

Koenjihyakkei is a band that is not easy to get into; I remember spouting on my ANGHERR SHISSPA review of how this album should be the first Koenjihyakkei one acquire should you be interested in the band. If you don't have much affinity for fusion, then that could be true. However, one must have a little leniency towards some avant-garde things; otherwise the effort is futile.

This band can be a novelty of sorts; in fact, after about a year of intense listening, I feel that the novelty of NIVRAYM has somewhat worn out. There's only so much crazy riffing, superfluous keyboard lines, over-the-top drumming, furious polyrhythms and bizarre words that I can take. Hearing the first two Koenjihyakkei albums after this put this point in perspective; NIVRAYM introduces little new things into the Koenjihyakkei sound.

There are some ''classics'' here that are worth listening to like the title track, ''Axall Hasck'', ''Vallczeremdoss'' and ''Lussesoggi Zomn''. It's still great for a Koenjihyakkei introduction, but once other albums enter the library, NIVRAYM is nothing more than a backburner album, even if it's still awesome.

Last words: As a mini-epic, ''Gassttrumm'' is rather weak.

A masterpiece, in a strange and unlikely way.

Vander's visionary and genius is very slighty brought to the frontline here. MDK had 7 tracks, but let's just ignore them, because this is an endlessly moving piece of music (and you don't want to pronounce all the track's name, do you?). The repetitive piano chords, virtuoso drumming, complex arrangement and the highly operatic vocals sung entirely in Kobaian (which divides the opinion of proggers here: some thought it was annoying, while others praised it brilliantly) gives soul and power to their music, called Zeuhl by the fans.

But, strangely while it was a turmoil of piano, drum and high choir voices, this is, in another strange way, catchy. This is where Vander cast his magic spells. His brilliancy secured Magma's place and MDK legendary in their own ways.

Overall, no debates 5 stars from me.Period.

— First review of this album —

What a strange, undefinable music. Need to say that this is my first "Runaway Totem" release I've tasted and to be honest, I don't really know what to think. Which is bad, because I mostly do know. Um, so we have ubiquitous music, this can be a good thing, don't worry. First track, Alle Sorgenti di Kronos quite a disappointed me. Full of thin narrating line, atmospheric sound which unfortunately failed to provide prog masterpiece. More like experimental occasional jamming to me from some Liquid Tension-like group. Second one, Aevum is better, because it gives to us, listeners some things where we can hook on. It (have to admit that also certain parts of first song. After all, it's over 20 minutes of music), uses complex layering structure, where music graduates towards the end in every part (see tracklist).

Also have to mention important fact that this music is quite extraordinary. You'll for sure feel like listening "how-to-done-in-different-way" Zeuhl, than you were used to listen from Magma. After all, you probably should have this fact on mind when listening such album, it's Zeuhl music, so rules are changed, sound is twisted to The Greater Good and we're happy, aren't we ? Last track then continues in similar tone as previous one.

4(-), interesting one, but certainly needs more listens to prove it's strength.

Consider an artistic masterpiece- the ceiling of the Sistine chapel perhaps. Now imagine a kindergartner with markers and crayons in her hands got on a scaffold and began marking on the ceiling. Avant-garde enthusiasts might consider that some manner of artistic improvement, or perhaps something academic, commendable, or even ironic; others will likely shake their heads and comment on what a shame it is. Such is nature of this album. While the music itself is incredible, even masterful in many places, the frenetic, operatic, and cringe-inducing female lead vocal completely ruins it. The most commendable aspect of this album lies in the rhythm section. Both the drumming and the bass are superb, and the tone of the latter genuinely appeals to me. However, as I mentioned, there's the matter of the vocals- one of the shrillest and most off-putting things I've ever heard. Her doubling nearly every melody is not only superfluous, but it's distracting and downright annoying. It's like being in the car with someone who sings gibberish at loud levels to a pleasant song on the radio because he doesn't know the words. I think I need some acetaminophen.

"Tziidall Raszhisst" Peculiar and frantic melodies run through the course of this first piece, extrapolated further with a tight rhythm section and emphatic piano chords. However, I would be a liar if I said this first piece was not memorable to me, or if I claimed it lacked clear melody, direction, and charm. The woman's voice easing up through the piano makes me wince- it's like preparing for a very painful shot from a physician. In that masochistic way, it's rather appealing.

"Rattims Friezz" I quite like the reed-and-percussion-led jazzy introduction. Long sustained vocal notes make it harder to enjoy though, almost as much as the bizarre synthesizer. The rambling male vocals are just as irritating. This is unfortunate, because the music is extremely good. The conclusion to the piece is far more peaceful and enjoyable though (the vocals at the very end notwithstanding).

"Grahbem Jorgazz" A barrage of vocals, piano and grandiose silliness, almost like a horrid version of the famous section from Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," begins the third work. This time the music is not good- it's loud, insufferable, all over the place, and discordant to a fault. The terrible vocals only exacerbate this.

"Fettim Paillu" Light piano and vocals bring in a change of pace. It does get faster and louder unexpectedly, and as expected, it's in the most ear-wilting way possible. The shrieking vocals paired with the cacophonic music only make me want to run screaming from the room. When it becomes quiet and jazzy, I'm happy to come back in, but it will only be but a minute.

"Qivem Vrastorr" With a slightly Medieval European series of melodies, this one contrasts high-pitched tones (the female vocal and woodwinds) with the lower ones (male vocals with bass and percussion), eventually blending them. The whole work is a mélange of aggravation- might as well stand in a preschool room when the children all find out that recess is cancelled forever.

"Mibingvahre" With chanting and percussion, this track begins more akin to some wild tribal ritual. While the rhythm section solos, the vocalists scream and shout in some discordant orgy that undermines what the other musicians are doing. This is one of the worst "things" I've ever heard.

"Angherr Shisspa" The title track is full of nonsense. Push a band and an opera singer down a flight of stairs and it may very well sound like this. After some clamorous shrieking, the piece becomes, without much of a transition (perhaps a good thing in this case) something far more accessible and actually a bit pleasant. After that, it's time for another trip down the stairs.

"Wammilica Iffirom" The last track features a hellish chorus of vocals. The keyboard work is interesting but lacks the context of the rest of the sound to back it up in any coherent manner. The bassist stands out a bit more, which is a welcome consolation, but still those damned voices haunt the hell out of the composition. Angst-ridden male vocals underlie some of the worst operatic screeching this album has to offer, like the queen of the harpies herself has come to entertain mere man.