1973’s Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh by Magma delivered a progressive rock classic and also an epic piece of sci fi-inspired music that could be the soundtrack to the apocalypse.
What Is It?
Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh is the third album by the French jazz/progressive rock band Magma and it continues the epic Kobaïa saga that the group started with their first release. The overarching tale follows a group of humans that flee from a doomed Earth to another planet known as Kobaïa. On this new planet, the former Earth people–who call themselves Kobaïans–start up a new, idealistic civilization that is not tainted by the evil that had corrupted their former world. These Kobaïans would later return to Earth to proselytize to the people there and try to convince them to repent. But this fails and the Kobaïans leave that planet never to return. The album MKD picks up the story when the Earthman Nebëhr Gudahtt takes it upon himself to continue preaching the Kobaïan message, yet faces much resistance because the planet is in a period known as Theusz Hamtaahk (Time of Hatred). The Earth people decide to march against him, but as they do so they begin to question their own motives and purpose and eventually start to march with him on the path to spiritual purification which ends the Time of Hatred on the planet. However, you won’t be able to follow any of this story merely by listening to the lyrics unless you happen to know the Kobaïan language which was created by the band’s leader Christian Vander!
Artist: Magma
Original Release: 1973
Original Track Listing:
Side 1
1 “Hortz Fur Dëhn Štekëhn Ẁešt” 9:36
2 “Ïma Sürï Dondaï” 4:30
3 “Kobaïa Iss Dëh Hündïn” 3:34
Side 2
1. “Da Zeuhl Ẁortz Mëkanïk” 7:48
2. “Nëbëhr Gudahtt” 6:02
3. “Mëkanïk Kömmandöh” 4:10
4. “Kreühn Köhrmahn Ïss Dëh Hündin” 3:13
Legacy:
This album counts as a classic of the early progressive rock movement, but it should also be of interest to genre fans for delivering a dark, rock-fusion masterpiece that sounds like the soundtrack to some sort of epic, apocalyptic sci fi saga.
A Closer Look
Magma, which hit the scene during the 70’s progressive rock era, is not particularly well known in the United States even by dedicated followers of prog rock banner-wavers like Yes, Genesis, ELP, and King Crimson. The band was formed by virtuoso drummer Christian Vander in 1969 and put out a string of releases in the ’70s (and has since resumed recording in the 21st century). Vander claimed American jazz musician John Coltrane as a major inspiration for his group but he also had a “vision of humanity’s spiritual and ecological future” that had shaken him and driven him to the composition of his multi-part sci fi-tinged story. He created the Kobaïan language himself to tell the story and all of the band’s albums are sung in this language, even the songs that don’t contribute to Kobaïa saga.
Knowing that the Kobaïa story is rife with themes of spiritual purification and ecological harmony, you might expect a very different sound from the music. But be warned that Magma’s albums are not for the faint of heart as they have a very harsh and uncompromising approach that many will find hard to digest. The Magma sound is considered Rock in Opposition and has been termed Zeuhl (a Kobaïan word) which one reviewer has described as “what you’d expect an alien rock opera to sound like: massed, chanted choral motifs, martial, repetitive percussion, sudden bursts of explosive improv and just as unexpected lapses into eerie, minimalist trance-rock.”
MKD definitely epitomizes that description while also delivering the band’s most accessible recording. Yet despite the apparent spiritual themes buried somewhere in the Kobaïan language, the sound of the album seems to have little connection to the divine. A much more accurate description would be that MKD gives us the soundtrack to the Apocalypse. And we’re not talking some wimpy end of times here, like an asteroid wiping out the planet or an ecological disaster or even an all-out nuclear war. No, we’re talking fire and brimstone and Satan’s hordes and blood-curdling screams in the streets. And by the way, the Dark One wins this time around. Throw in operatic flourishes, martial hymns, driving beats, and the Muppets (the mean ones) stopping by to provide some backing vocals, and you have an album that delivers an edge-of-your-seat listening experience that will have you practically exhausted by the time it ends.
But it’s a good type of exhaustion, and you definitely know that you have listened to something after making it through MKD (Kenny G and Michael Bolton fans need not apply). Personally, I like to follow this one up with Jon Anderson’s Olias of Sunhillow (also a musical sci fi saga, more on that one at this link) because I find that the naivety and simplicity of that album provides the perfect counter-balance. Magma’s MKD may not be for everyone, but I’m sure that plenty of sci fi fans out there that will find much to like about it. Unfortunately, the band never produced another album that quite measured up to it in my opinion, but their catalog does have songs that come close here and there. Start with Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh, and then you can pick and choose through the rest of their output for other songs of interest.
The Story Continues:
And continues and continues and continues. If the story of Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh interests you, then there is plenty more where that came from. It actually got started with Magma’s first album (titled Magma and also Kobaïa in some releases), and continued with their second recording 1001° Centigrades. MKD wraps up what is referred to as Theusz Hamtaahk Trilogy, although the first two parts of that (Theusz Hamtaahk and Wurdah Ïtah) would not be released until later. Confused yet? It only gets more convoluted in the coming years. Overall, fifteen of Magma’s albums would contain parts of the Kobaïan saga, though they did not follow any linear story-telling format. There is also very little in the way of translations of the tale. But if you decide to teach yourself the language, please report back with a full account of the tale. You can read more about the story that was covered across their ’70s albums at this link.
Interesting Facts:
Kobaïan is considered a constructed language (devised by an individual or group instead of evolving naturally) and was created completely by Christian Vander. He claimed that the sounds of the language just came to him and Magma singer Klaus Blasquiz describes it as a “phonetic language made by elements of the Slavonic and Germanic languages to be able to express some things musically. The language has of course a content, but not word by word.” I have no idea how you can actually learn Kobaïan, though, short of lessons from Vander himself.
The Zeuhl sound that epitomizes Magma’s works has developed into its own musical sub-genre and dozens of bands have emerged to carry on in that style such as Dün, Eider Stellaire, Eskaton, Shub-Niggurath, ZAO, Bondage Fruit, Gestalt. Admittedly, though, those aren’t bands that we have seen frequenting the tops of the Billboard charts . . .
Where Can You Listen To It?
The album is available to purchase in MP3 format, but the vinyl and CD versions appear to have gone out of print and are fetching pretty high prices from third-party sellers. The full recording is also on YouTube if you want a sampling of what the music sounds like.
