MAGMA [AKA: KOBAÏA]

If you were wondering why a band would release their debut album as a double then all would be made clear after hearing this amazing music. From the outset Magma unleash their unabashed iconic weirdness onto an unsuspecting listener. It is beautiful, trippy, ethereal, chilling and at times disturbing. I have been well and truly initiated into the Magmaverse over the years so returning back to their debut is a therapeutic experience. One must expect a high quality musicianship with dollops of experimentation and wild leaps into fanciful Kobaian language; an alien language that does not exist. The debut does not disappoint in this regard though it has to be said this is a rawer Magma with less chanting and focus on conceptual themes.

There are fathoms of beauty with scintillating flute on such tracks as 'Sohaia', 'Thaud Zaia' or sections of 'Muh' that may almost be mistaken for Ian Anderson's style. The mesmirising beauty is encapsulated by lengthy gentle passages of woodwind and sax. These sections are cataclysmically broken with sharp jolts of guitar and the ever present percussion.

Vander is a man possessed drumming manically on such brilliant pieces as 'Muh', 'Kobaiah' and 'Aina'. There is a full blown jazz feel throughout the album and time changes that jar the senses. There is not as much choral singing or high soprano work as on subsequent albums but that makes a pleasant change.

There are the trademark Magmamoments of spine chilling terror such as on the ominous 'Stoah'. Vander's creepy screeching is unsettling and the ominous low drones on woodwind generate a sense of trepidation for the listener. The yelling section sounds like Hitler having a nervous beakdown. Then a massive low drone is heard followed by minimalist piano that gains in tempo and breaks into a 'Jaws' rhythm. Vander's opera singing ensues and then crunching piano follows the melody. The sax enters the soundscape, often going off on its own tangent like a renegade instrument.

The dissonant atonal "Sckxyss" is typical Magma that permeates all their albums, bizarre well sung vocals with theatrical dramatis personae coming from Vander, and very complex twisting musicianship.

On 'Naü Ektila' there is at first beauty and then the beast takes over. There is an outbreak cacophony of sound with all musicians blazing and colliding against any semblance of melody. It reminded me of Van der Graaf Generator when the saxes began roaring. A stunning track that exemplifies everything great about prog rock.

The final track of the album is the insanity called "Müh" and it chops and changes from ambience to out of control jazz. It slices around a strange metrical figure and then changes its mind to come blindly running into a wall of sax and a gun blast of guitar clashes.

So ends an incredible debut and it effectively set the scene for the Magmasterpiece albums to follow, and the legion of fans that would become enraptured with their unique brand of music.

Share this MAGMA review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to AtomicCrimsonRush
• Report this review (#603277)
• Buy MAGMA music online with PA partners
• Show all MAGMA MP3/Stream
• Go to MAGMA page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Magma [Aka: Kobaïa] page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for MAGMA related discussions