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Magma - Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré CD (album) cover

ËMËHNTËHTT-RÉ

Magma

 

Zeuhl

4.24 | 568 ratings

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siLLy puPPy
Special Collaborator
PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic
5 stars Christian Vander revived his MAGMA project at the turn of the millennium and tested the waters to see if his classic prog rock visions were still viable in the brave new world so he resurrected the never-ending tale of his Kobaian mythology and set out to complete the tales that were initiated so long ago. After the well received comeback album 'K.A.' which made a huge splash in prog circles with some even declaring the album the very best of the entire MAGMA canon, Vander took that as a green light to at long last finish up the third chapter of the Köhntarösz trilogy which began all the way back in 1974 with the 'Köhntarösz' album and revived thirty years later in 2004 with 'K.A.' This was obviously a major convoluted work of Shakespearean proportions and as nebulous as a library written in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs but Vander's vision was clear and the ability to record in the modern world had finally allowed the opportunity to bring the opus magnum to completion.

Drummer / composer / Kobaian-in-chief Christian Vander and his diva wife Stella are the only original MAGMA members to return from the distant past to bring new light to this epic cosmic soap opera but with the assistance of a new generation of outstandingly brilliant musicians, MAGMA conjures up one of the strongest albums of the band's near half century of existence. While the musical works only found completion with the release of 2009's tenth studio album ËMËHNTËHTT-RÉ, the extraterrestrial fairy tale had found its own mythological conclusion as far back as 1975 when all the characters and plot had been crafted and the initial stages of this album were in the works but put on the shelf due to the sudden shift of the musical world and the financial pressures of 70s album production. The origins of ËMËHNTËHTT-RÉ were actually present on the 1975 'Live / Hha' where the initial "'Ëmëhntëht-Ré (Announcement)' is combined here with "Rindë (Eastern Song)" from the 1978 album 'Attahk.'

For those who follow the mythology in a geeky Star Trek convention demeanor will already know that this saga of cosmic folklore narrates an ancient Egyptian pharaoh encountered by a modern day explorer seeking eternal spiritual enlightenment and the secrets of the entire universe unlocked or something of the sort and since the lyrics are all in the invented Kobaian language, you'll just have to take my word for it! For the rest of us who just enjoy the nonsensical liturgy presented in a never ending variation of Carl Orff's 'Carmina Burana' laced with an incomparable mix of jazz-fusion, progressive rock and the hypnotic trance inducing build up of minimalism, we are presented with one of Kobaia's greatest gifts to the musical realms of our humble planet and for that i'm eternally grateful :) While carved up into six tracks for the sake of labeling, ËMËHNTËHTT-RÉ is for all intents and purposes is designed to be experienced in its entirety from the first thundering percussive drive to the final spaced out ending 'S'h' as each track seamlessly connects to the next.

But it's in between where all the good stuff occurs. ËMËHNTËHTT-RÉ much like 'K.A.' which preceded it, is a bizarre amalgamation of spaced out choral sections engaging in the endless acrobatics of scaling to musical heights, reaching climaxes and then settling down to build up to the next. Add to that the virtuosic bass abuse that reaches unfathomable heights as it zigzags around like a free radical on steroids backed up by Vander's jazz-rock drumming prowess that enervates the listener just considering how this man's physical stamina has survived the punishing drive for all these decades. The music exhibits the classic MAGMA-esque ratcheting up effect with every cadence and crescendo milked to its maximum usage with the usual vocal trade offs that exist somewhere between an exotic space opera and the seedy jazz flavored speakeasies located in some back alley. Simple melodic runs get twisted and contorted in progressive time signatures run amok and the musicians hover in and out of sync creating a roller coaster ride experience that is unmatched in all of music history.

ËMËHNTËHTT-RÉ ultimately comes off as a classic performed by seasoned masters of their trade with not even a single flaw that hinders the impeccable progression across the classically infused score. Somehow every tiny detail is crafted with the utmost minutia fussed over to bring utter perfection to the mix. This album was released with an accompanying DVD called 'Phases' which shows the madman perfectionist Christian Vander scrutinizing every agonizing detail and cracking the whip to make every nanosecond of playing time implement the desired results. The video is designed to give a glimpse into the maddening conditions of an incessant studio session where a tiny thirty second segment can take hours to hammer into perfection. This is perhaps the most sinister sounding MAGMA release as if some Goth band decided to go classical but ended up with a jazz-fusion band trying to pull it off and in the end created the creepiest cosmic soundtrack the universe has to offer. This one was a slow burner for me but after a gazillion plays, it has revealed a never-ending display of musical diversity and virtuosity that presents one of the most ambitious space rock operas ever to be recorded. Another perfectly crafted album by MAGMA.

siLLy puPPy | 5/5 |

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