1001° CENTIGRADES [AKA: 2]

Magma's second offering is a transitional album leading to the masterpiece. '1001 Centigrades' is Magma at their revolutionary best with 3 songs of powerful chanting and mantras in Kobaian alienese. It is the album that was released after a knockout debut and before "Mekanik Destructiw Kommandoh" which became the ultimate Magma experience, gaining a massive cult status over the years. Although the second album is not up to that standard there are still some extraordinary passages of music.

Christian Vander is psychotic on drums and vocals that range from operatic low vibrato tones to high pitched screeching. The album is the typical sound of Magma with avant-garde vocals and atonal jazz blasted out with irregular sax and asymmetrical orchestrations. As usual the band are a large cast of musicians that improvise and extemporise musical patterns to evoke dark alien atmospheres. The repetitive chanting is synonymous with Magma and it is a consistent feature on this early album. 'Rïah Sahïltaahk' is a side long epic with characteristic Magma murmurings and chants along with very strong tribal rhythms. At one point there is an outro with a clock ticking, heaving gasps, and moans exuding a rather creepy atmosphere.

'Ki Ïahl Ö Lïahki' features sensuous sax jazz tones, an off beat piano, and a pulsating bassline all in a different time signature. The dissonance and weighty denseness of the music is a specific trait to Magma and works well as the celestial operatic chanting begins.

The irregular percussion and high degree of hyper-jazz musicianship makes for a compelling experience. I would have liked more variation similar to the amazing debut, but this is still a ground breaking album foreshadowing the masterful music to come.