Artist: Magma
Label: Seventh Records
Released: 1973
Rating: 4.6/5
How many people can you say single-handedly invented an entire genre? Not many. Christian Vander is one of them. The development of that genre (zeuhl) started with this album. After two more jazz-flavored releases, it was time for a change. Mekanik Destruktiw Komandoh is the third part of Theusz Haamtahk, a sort of Kobaian Holy Bible. I’ve heard quite a few comparisons between MDK and the so-called Klingon opera. I’m a pretty big Star Trek fan, but I don’t remember ever hearing excerpts from any Klingon opera in any episode, so I can’t say if the comparison holds up.
Why would this album be like an opera? Simple. This is where Magma’s famous layered vocal arrangements show up for the first time. Vander’s wife comes to her husband’s aid together with a female choir, Vander himself has a much more noticeable role as a vocalist, and Klaus Blasquiz is as reliable as ever. Plenty of people find Vander’s voice annoying, and if you listen to the previous two albums, it’s obvious why. On Kobaia and 1001° he screams a lot more, but this time he mostly switches between his famous falsetto and normal singing.
Even though the superb vocals are front and center this time, the other instruments aren’t neglected. There are great repetitive keyboard parts throughout (sometimes Vander plays them himself) that simply melt together with the vocals. For the most part you hear a Rhodes electric piano. Bassist Jannick Top played for Magma for the first time, but his bass is a bit more restrained here than it would be later. It’s not as aggressive, more laid-back, but no less accomplished for it. The guitar was never the main thing in Magma, and that’s the case here too. It rarely comes to the fore, mostly just adding a little something to an already rich sound. One trademark of MDK is the trumpets, which sound like fanfares announcing the arrival of nobility. And honestly, that’s pretty much what they’re doing, since they announce the arrival of a prophet. The other wind instruments are a bit less noticeable, but they contribute to the final product too. The excellent percussion work from Vander and Blasquiz also deserves praise: vibraphone, bells,… And finally, I absolutely can’t forget the master himself, hiding behind the drums. Vander once again drums like his life depends on it: sometimes jazzy, sometimes very rhythmic and easygoing, but always in his own polished style.
On this album it’s clear that Christian Vander has become the boss. He sings more, the songs sound different, and the structure and style of the compositions are different too. The story about the planet Kobaia also takes on a different, spiritual, metaphysical air here, which shows in the vocal, almost psalm-like style.
Magma is known for being repetitive. That means the melodies often repeat and the songs go around in circles. But that doesn’t make the tracks boring, since the melodies keep building and the arrangements are always different too. If you’re a zeuhl fan, you fall in love with this quality, and soon these chants and psalms burn into your memory and become part of you.
The melodies are far more developed, but still not to the extent they’d be on later releases (Wurdah Itah, Attahk). So even though this is supposed to be a classic, it could still have been a better record. The production itself also sounds weak, as if the microphones had been set up in another room. A remaster would undoubtedly do it a lot of good.
Before MDK, the lineup saw major changes for the first time. Some members weren’t happy that Christian Vander had taken complete control of the creative process, and they left. But others soon came along and more than adequately filled the gaps. Producer Giorgio Gomelsky clearly did the right thing when he put Vander in charge.
To many, Mekanik Destruktiw Komandoh and Magma’s music in general are boring, but those who embrace Vander’s vision are richly rewarded. Zeuhl is all about infectious melodies that might repeat a lot, but are so good that they pull you in and don’t let go. I’ve also heard demo versions and live recordings from before the release, and the album could very well have continued in the style of the previous two, but the stars had other plans. Vander decided to go in a different direction, away from jazz-rock. He clearly wasn’t happy with the early drafts, so this is quite a different beast from the earlier versions. Definitely the right call. One of the most important albums in their discography and one of the most important albums in progressive rock.
Lineup
– Christian Vander: drums, vocals, organ, percussion
– Jannik Top: bass
– Klaus Blasquiz: vocals, percussion
– Jean-Luc Manderlier: piano, organ
– René Garber: bass clarinet, vocals
– Claude Olmos: guitar
– Stella Vander: choir organik Kommandeuhr (choir)
– Muriel Streisfeld, Evelyn Razymovski, Michele Saulnier, Doris Reihnardt, Stella Vander: choir
– Teddy Lasry: brass organik Kommandeuhr (head of the wind section), flute
Production
Giorgio Gomelsky
Track List
1. Hortz Fur Dëhn Stekëhn West 9:34
2. Ïma Sürï Dondaï 4:28
3. Kobaïa Is De Hündïn 3:35
4. Da Zeuhl Wortz Mekanïk 7:48
5. Nebëhr Gudahtt 6:00
6. Mekanïk Kommandöh 4:08
7. Kreühn Köhrmahn Iss De Hündïn 3:14
