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Led by Christian Vander, the drummer and visionary mastermind of the group, Magma is one of the most influential bands from the first half of the 1970s, and practically the only French ensemble to have had a certain significance in the progressive scene.
The tracks are sung in Kobaian, the language of the planet Kobaia (a tongue that to the ear sounds like a mix of German, Hungarian, and something else that's hard to describe).
"Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh" is a cross between Wagnerian music, jazz-fusion, progressive, and opera. Incredibly, it works. Odd times rule the roost; it seems to me, in fact, that there isn’t a single track that doesn’t feature a seven-eight time signature, at least for a few bars; the dual vocals make the music operatic at times and schizoid at others (and often both simultaneously).
The best song, in my opinion, is "Ima suri Dondai", four minutes that synthesize the main characteristics of Magma: the strange use of the voice, the Teutonic epicness of the music, and that relentless seven-eight time signature that we drag with us to the end of the album.
It’s not the kind of record that can be appreciated on the first listen, but anyone aiming to put together a serious collection of rock albums shouldn’t overlook "Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh".
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By caesar666
Magma was an extraordinary group that profoundly renewed the language of rock music.
At the end of the listening, one is left stunned in front of such otherworldly beauty.
