ËMËHNTËHTT-RÉ

When a band that has been around as long as Magma releases a new album, one tends to temper expectations. I find there are, in general, three phases for a dinosaur musical act such as this; the initial creative period, the failed attempt at adapting to a changing musical landscape, and, finally, the attempt to re-capture the sound of the first period to appeal to those remaining fans, despite being completely out of fresh ideas.

On the surface, Magma fits this cycle perfectly. After their initial creative period they shortened the songs down and explored different genres ? without, to their credit, losing much of their intensity - for 1976's Üdü Wüdü and 1978's Attahk, before a lengthy break leading to their "sell-out" 1984 album, Merci, the black sheep of their discography.

It would be 20 years before another studio album, but that album ? 2004's K.A. (Kohntarkosz Anteria) ? also followed the script, with an excellent first track, but tailing off somewhat after that, especially the final track, which stretches about 8 minutes worth of ideas out to 22 minutes in length. It was better than what was probably expected, but fell short of Magma's peak period.

5 years later, we have Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré. Again, this doesn't appear to veer off the cycle, and the band in fact recycles material from several of their 70s studio albums as well as their live repertoire. Sounds tacky or uninspired? Well, it should have been. Thankfully though, this isn't the case.

I admit that I'm not too interested in the story behind Magma's "lyrics", and I'm often thankful that they sing in an invented language that allows me to concentrate on the music and melodies rather than stories of intergalactic warfare. It's clear, however, that Vander saw with this album an opportunity to incorporate tracks both from Üdü Wüdü and Attahk into the larger mythology and epic-scale structure of what is now the Kohntarkosz trilogy, with this album making up the final chapter.

Strangely, the material that gets rehashed here ? most notably Hhaï from 1975's Live/Hhaï, and Rindë from Attahk ? are tracks that never really did much for me in their original recorded versions. Here they are merged together and joined by an excellent rendition of Zombies from Üdü Wüdü, and Vander succeeds in making it appear as though this is how it was intended all along.

It is most surprising then, given the strength of the rehashed material, that the real highlight here for me is the third track, the cleverly titled Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré III. Containing all new music, this track is perhaps the darkest thing Magma have ever released and is an absolute monster of a track. The trademark chanting vocals, insane bass playing, manic drumming, all building up into a crashing crescendo of operatic singing, before winding back down and leading into the gentle Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré IV. This is an epic in every sense of the word.

If there is one weakness it would be the final proper track, Funëhrarïum Kahnt, which is 4+ minutes of repetitive deep chanting, sounding not unlike traditional Japanese Buddhist chants. It goes on for a few minutes too long, and I felt that the soft Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré IV track was a suitable conclusion after the chaos that came before it.

Even despite the minor criticism above, this album succeeds in a way that I never expected possible from a band that has been around since the dawn of prog, and much of the credit must go to Vander. Not just because he hasn't slowed down at all with age, but also because of the level of talent he has brought into the fold, bassist Philippe Bussonnet in particular. Jannick Top may be the prototypical Magma bassist, but they lose nothing with a talent like Bussonnet manning the instrument.

As a starting point for Magma I'd still recommend starting at MDK or their other material from around that period and working your way forward from there, if not solely to gain a better appreciation of the material included here on Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré. Just know that you're in for a big treat once you arrive here.