MEKANÏK DESTRUKTÏW KOMMANDÖH

I bought this album solely based on hearsay. My first experience with Magma was Üdü Wüdü, which was essentially bought on impulse. After reading an intriguing biography and some reviews, I determined that Magma was definitely a band I needed to hear. While the consensus was that Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh was the group's masterpiece, Üdü Wüdü was the album I was able to get my hands on first. It was a difficult release to get into (I will expand upon my thoughts upon reviewing that album), but it did enough to keep my interest in hearing he rest of the catalog. Also, I had gathered that the album I chose as my first experience with Magma was quite different from the album I had initially wanted to hear. A month or two later, I received my copy of MDK. Not knowing at all what it would be like, I popped it in my CD Player...

WOW! What unprecedented innovation! This is so original, and extremely difficult to sum up in words. What we have here is a very tight musical core, with a unique sound rooted in jazz and rock, with operatic vocals (comparable to Carl Orff) on top. The vocals are all over the place; they sing, chant, yell, etc. It is very interesting and often amusing; I can get a laugh out of some of this stuff, whether it was meant to be comical or not. There is mainly one man doing the vocals, but there are some vocal contributuions by other men. Along side them is a small female choir. The instrumentalists all do very well. The arrangements are so tightly constructed; all of the players function together as a single unit most of the time, meaning there isn't much room for standout parts or solos. It is a very complex piece, that incorporates odd times, polyrhythms, tempo shifts, etc. and requires a great deal of focus.

Vander (the mastermind of the group) is an excellent drummer and songwriter. He single- handedly wrote this piece, and invented a sound of his own with this album. Every fan of progressive music, or creative music in general should at least give this album a try. I guarentee it will surprise you. It will most certainly take a while to get the full effect of the song/album, but that is practically a given with all intellectual music. The only disclaimers I have here are: 1) The lyrics are in a made up language (Kobaian), if for some reason that is a deterrent for you, don't bother. 2) The piece takes a little while to really get going, so if you've gotten as far as obtaining this, don't be so skeptical three or four minutes into it- just hang in there. Not all will enjoy or appreciate, but there is no denying the innovation.