ËMËHNTËHTT-RÉ

They say you can't teach new tricks to an old dog, but from my personal experience I can say this well known aphorism is not always truth. For more than three decades I've been a Symphonic Prog hardcore fan, it's true that I also loved some albums from other genres, but always some limits, normally I loved a Fusion or Avant album from a determined band, but the rest of their discography hardly caught attention, so even when I love several releases from diverse genres, very unlikely loved almost all the discography of a non Symphonic band.

But things changed, about 5 months ago when I re-discovered MAGMA through a Facebook K.A. video, bought that album and became an instant fan, since then I managed to grab all their releases and never found one less than satisfying, "Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré" is not the exception.

Some friends which who I join very frequently to watch DVD'S ad listen music of Prog artists, don't share my addiction for MAGMA, most of them think the band is too repetitive, but I believe that this variations over the same theme are the central and most impressive achievement of "Ëmëhntëhtt-Réª", the capacity of the band to slowly move from one passage to another through continuous repetitions with subtle deviations. Instead of radical changes, they opted for some form of progressive metamorphosis that can be enjoyed step by step if we try not to loose an instant of music.

Surely it's not as magnificent as K.A. (Well, very few albums are remotely in that level), but MAGMA'S latest release is not too far from it's predecessor. Again the epic sound that seems a Progressive Rock soundtrack for an epic movie, makes me feel some weird emotion I didn't felt since I heard "The Musical Box" for the first time, simply impressive.

This time "Emmanuel Borghi's" piano is better than ever, mixes the strength of keyboard wizards such as "Rick Wakeman" or "Keith Emerson" with the sober classical sound of "Par Lindh" a delightful touch of Jazz and a lot of masters like "Wagner" or "Karl Orff"

The choirs are as always impressive from start to end, as usual "Stella Vander" and "Isabelle Feuillebois" are impeccable and the fantastic contrast with "Hervé Aknin" is something almost mystical, this singers of the few that are able to take me from a combative mood to tears of emotion, their skills are beyond any doubt.

Last but not least "Christian Vander" who's frenetic vocals and peculiar drumming are always the center of attention for most of the fans.

I won't even dare to make a song by song review, because it would take me several pages just to describe the six minutes of "Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré", but I must say that if I have to choose one song I would go with the versatile "Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré II", a 22:25 minutes epic where I feel they show the magnitude of their skills and the flexibility of their sound. But in general terms, the whole album is outstanding.

As in K.A. I have no problem with my "Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré" rating, even when I accept it's not as impressive as the previous release, it's almost a masterpiece that deserves a special place in any musical collection, so 4 stars it is (Should be 4.5).

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