MEKANÏK DESTRUKTÏW KOMMANDÖH

Oh boy, my 300th review! Like my 100th, and 200th review, I elected to review an album from my top 10 list. You know, to share my opinion on what I believe to be the best of the best in terms of music. And today, the lucky 3rd place in my favorites of music goes to Magma's own 3rd place, that being Mekanïk Destruktïẁ Kommandöh, or MDK as I will call it throughout the rest of this review.

Now as with Yes and Genesis, I have a bit of a personal history with Magma, maybe a tad too personal. I won't go too much into my history with the band, but in late 2021 I was flat out obsessed with the group. I practically listened to any album they have released that was available on Spotify, just being entranced in their weird and wacky world of zeuhl music. I have more than cooled down in my obsession with the band after a bit, but every now and then I will go back to their music with open ears. Truth be told, I still absolutely love this band no matter what, I will continue to love it, and, on top of that, I will forever see MDK as the magnum opus of weird progressive rock music.

Unlike my previous reviews of these masterpieces, which all had at least one large epic that bumped up my feelings for the record considerably, MDK, in its whole, IS the epic. It's one of those albums where it is one large song, just split into multiple songs. Honestly speaking, I think MDK is the best at this front, and this ain't bias talking. I genuinely think the record nails the whole effort of making an album long song. Each track on here has their own charms, and their own climatic effects on my psyche that, on their own, they excel on every aspect of what I crave in zeuhl music. But, as a whole, these songs manage to create a whole experience that is magical.

The instrumentation and vocals are also just immaculate. You have the lovingly weird Kobaïan vocals and methods that the singers, mainly Christian Vander, promotes. The brassy, almost apocalyptic sounds that zeuhl has in the dozens. And a general flow throughout each track that makes the music feel all the more conceptually inclined. While I know many may find these sounds to be a bit too weird, I think that is the charm Magma rightfully holds. They may not be as weird as, say, Art Zoyd or even their Japanese little brother of Ruins, but Magma owns their refined avant-gardeness with pride. They care not for conventions of rock or jazz music, nor do they care for if they will ever appear on a radio ever. The only thing they care about is making the weirdest, most trippy experiences possible, and also to refine them into more interesting sounds.

This is evident as to how this record came out after their second record of 1001 Degrés Centigrades, which, while still zeuhl, was a lot more based in jazz fusion and a more traditional rock flow. However, MDK explores a sound that fits way better into the vision of what zeuhl should be, a more orchestral, brass based version of what they did before. It all evolves into something that I think firmly is within its own thing, and I fully believe it works perfectly. This is a once in a lifetime record, since everything just fits together with zero hang ups or different expectations. You aren't gonna get jazz fusion, at least not in a traditional sense, nor a traditional prog rock, or jazz rock experience. You are gonna get ZEUHL. MDK is zeuhl in its purest state. It is the absolute zero in this amazing and weird musical genre, the basis if you will.

It is not a surprise that Vander is proud of this record, as he practically remakes it whenever he can in live shows, his own records, and or even releasing an older version of the music in the 90s. I'd be too if I made something this good. While I do think the live albums are a discussion for another day, MDK in a live setting works just as well as the studio version. The versions of MDK on Retrospektïw, Magma Reims 1976, and Trilogie Au Trianon are my favorites, maybe I might consider them masterpieces in their own rights too. My personal favorite is the one from Retrospektïw, as it has this bass solo from Bernard Paganotti that has a bit of a call back to De Futura, another s-tier Magma track. Not only that, but it also has that amazing opening that feels so dramatic and heavy, that it turns MDK into not only a musical expression for me, but a full blown epic.

I could go on all day, though I think I'd be scraping the bottom of the barrel for my love on this record if I continued any further. Where Close To The Edge made me fully fall in love with progressive rock music, and Foxtrot made me fall in love with the epics they propose, MDK is where my love of the different, more avant-sides of the progressive rock house fully bloomed into a point of no return. Of course, I fully believe everyone should at least listen to this album once, as it is just amazing. I love Magma with my whole heart, and I doubt that love will waver throughout my life. If it ever does, then I probably got brainwashed.

There is no prog, only zeuhl.

Best tracks: All of them

Worst tracks: N/A