Magma
Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh

Magma was an extraordinary group that profoundly renewed the language of rock music. Their leader, drummer Christian Vander, is a "visionary" mind: influenced by John Coltrane, Karl-Heinz Stockhausen, and Richard Wagner, he invented with Magma a new language with its own syntax, namely “Kobaïan”, a sort of Esperanto for future generations. The entire saga of Magma is based on the science fiction story of the planet Kobaia, an untouched and pure place symbolizing the fulfillment of the utopia of the redemption of the human race, having distanced itself from an Earth that is now corrupted and hopeless. A mythical and mythological saga far from any kind of kitsch. The importance of the French group is enormous; essentially, Magma invented "Zeuhl", a Kobaïan term that identifies their style and the progressive French scene, among others, that recognized it. Important groups like Art Zoyd, Univers Zero, Dun, Zao and, in Italy, Runaway Totem and the Universal Totem Orchestra, the latter authors of a little gem like “Rituale Alieno”, are part of "Zeuhl". After their first album, the self-titled and grandiose masterpiece “Magma” (1970), an explosive mix of jazz-rock and progressive, the follow-up “1001° Centigrades” (1971) is another great work, but it is with “Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh” (1973) that Magma release their masterpiece.

“Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh” is a timeless album of absolute beauty. We are faced with music of power and originality still unmatched today. In this work, the influence of composer Carl Orff is strongly felt. It is not an easy album, especially compared to the classic romantic prog, but nonetheless, it is an apocalyptic and dark symphony of epochal scope. The concept is still based on the tales of the Kobaïans and on a dark message to be deciphered by a wise man. Basically, the album is composed of a single long suite, the third movement of “Theusz Hamtaahk“, whose first two parts can be found in “Tristan et Iseult“, a solo work by Vander, another gem of paramount importance but unfortunately not well known, and in “Retrospektiwe 1&2“. The first track, titled “Hortz fur dehn stekehn west”, is characterized by a nightmarish atmosphere and devastating strength: its structure is based on a repetitive piano riff on which unsettling male voices rise. Then, enter the powerful and warlike notes of the brass followed by the female choirs. It sounds like listening to a hallucinated and satanic version of the “Carmina Burana”. Everything is wrapped in a dark aura that heralds the imminent completion of Armageddon. In “Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh”, the extraordinary bassist Jannick Top, endowed with innovative technique, as can be heard in the epic “Ima suri dundai”, also plays. The whole second side is marked by a minimal and rigorous compositional structure in which female choirs with the voice of Stella Vander take over prominently. Guitarist Brian Godding also gets noticed – a former member of the psychedelic Blossom Toes, author of incisive solos that add further colors and nuances to the sound. At the end of the listening, one is left stunned in front of such otherworldly beauty.

“Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh” has not yet lost any of its subversive and innovative power today and is considered one of the cornerstones of all music.