THEUSZ HAMTAAHK - TRILOGIE AU TRIANON

Magma play the entire Theusz Hamtaahk trilogy for their 30th anniversary show with a 14 piece band. And it is simply stunning. The music is transcendent, well recorded and very well served by this larger Magma ensemble. The core of bass, drums, keyboards and guitar are augmented by a horn section for certain parts and Stella Vander and other vocalists play occasional keyboards as well. The guitarist is quite good in his solo spots. But the bassist is absolutely incredible. I don't know his name, the line-up listings provided by ProgArchive are for Magma's first live album not this DVD. Klaus Blasquiz is unfortunately not on this DVD nor is Bernard Pagnotti or Didier Lockwood. The players (all their names are listed in Kobian on the DVD) though are excellent. Christian Vander may be fatter and grayer but he hasn't lost anything in the drumming department. He's absolutely consumed by what he is doing, no flies on him. The staging of the various musicians is also interesting. At various times the vocalists will move to the sides or the front depending on the music. It's a simple but effective dramatic device. The lighting also adds greatly to the atmosphere, running from bright red to deep blues. The filming and editing are both excellent with good rhythmic editing and plenty of closeups on all the musicians involved. As a bonus you get an extras section that contains interviews with various Magma members spanning Magma's entire career. Unfortunately it's in french and mine is kind of rusty though I understood most of what was said. All in all this is an excellent package and an absolute must have for the Magma fan. It can be pricey but its worth every penny.