K.A (KÖHNTARKÖSZ ANTERIA)

How's this for a surprise story; Magma returns after a near 20-year dormancy period, and they produce a contender for the best Zeuhl experience ever. It gets even more incredible if you were a Magma fan before hearing the album (as I was) and discovering that K.A. has so much in common with the 70's Magma works, it's as if they never took a break.

K.A. is short for Kohntarkosz Anteria, and the music has a strong connection to the '74 classic Kohntarkosz. The organic nature of the compositions in Kohntarkosz is mixed here with the strong choir work that made MDK a Zeuhl classic. In essence, K.A. sounds like the halfway point between MDK and Kohntarkosz, so any classic Magma fan would not be disappointed with this release.

Part 1 has the most in common MDK with it's many different choir-led themes in the first five- odd minutes, great enough to be considered a modern Zeuhl classic. The second half is more embryonic and heavy (for a bit) then soft. Part 2 chiefly revolves around one operatic figure but goes through several morphs and configurations that could only be described as Zeuhl. Part 3 begins with spooky, spacey synth thingys gradually building in intensity until we get the scary apocalyptic type of music only Magma could deliver; the kind that subversively scares you.

MDK will always be THE classic Magma album. But with the way the album is structured, how it morphs and shapes throughout and how powerful the compositions sound, this is already worthy of ''classic Magma'' status despite not yet being ten years old (at the time of writing). It's what we all want out of a Zeuhl album.