Today's music related subject is on the topic of Magma, the french prog band that - besides inventing their own language - released a couple of excellent albums in the 70's. I first heard Magma in my mid-teens (some 20 years ago or so), a time when I was heavily into all sorts of progressive rock (starting with Marillion and going back in time from there to discover the REALLY good stuff). Well, Magma was not my cup of tea, to put it mildly. I hated what I heard. I didn't understand any of it and quickly went back to listening to Genesis and Rush. After that I didn't listen to Magma for 20 years, only to re-discover their 1973 album Mekanik Destruktiw Komandoh about a year ago. I still wasn't convinced, but something about the music intrigued me and I soon listened to it every day. The intricate vocal and horn arrangements, the mix of prog with jazz and contemporary classical music - all great stuff. The next step was getting Kohntarkosz and Magma Live and then I was hooked.
Check out this version of MDK, from a show in Paris in 2006:
Seriously powerful stuff indeed. Besides looking stark raving mad, Christian Vander is still an authority behind the drums. It's not extremely tight, but the groove and energy certainly makes up for it.
And speaking of mad-looking drummers, here's Magma 1977 - De Futura. Vander kind of reminds me of that guy in the Cronenburg film "Scanners" right before his head blows up.
Pretty scary stuff if you ask me:
Talk to you later,
Per