If you've ever seen Magma live, then there's a good chance you'll probably wonder just why it is that the band have consistently over four albums to date, failed to capture the strength and immensity of their concert performances on vinyl. One thing that could be much improved is the pressing, but there's something other than manufacturing perfection that's lacking here, and it's a missing ingredient that's hard to pinpoint.
'Köhntarkösz'
was recorded immediately following the departure of guitarist Claude Olmos,
and Brian Godding, late of the BLOSSOM TOES, plays all the guitar tracks here.
Maybe the newness of this association, made recording a little uncomfortable;
I don't know. Still, there's plenty of good music here, and it'd be churlish
to ignore that.
The title track is a more intricate version of the number with which the group open on stage; and begins with typical blitzkrieg flourishes from drummer/leader/composer Christian Vander who hurtles across his top kit with alarming speed, and beneath this ferocious snare-tom-toms-cymbal onslaught, bassist Jannick Top lunges upwards with sustained single notes that punctuate the music like a series of exclamation marks. And it's Top's composition, 'Ork Alarm', that is the most surprising feature of the record. Virtually a solo performance, it features the bassist over-dubbed on bass, cellos, piano and vocals and is chock full of otherworldly textures and insistent, accelerating rhythms. Imagine Penderecki attempting to write the sound track to "A Clockwork Orange" and you'll have a vague idea of the nature of this piece.
'Köhntarkösz' (the track) extends over on to side two, and then finally we're left with 'Coltrane Sündïa', a very beautiful dedication to one of jazz's most important innovators, and the inspiration-source for all Magma music. Had any other band recorded it 'Köhntarkösz' would doubtless represent a pinnacle of creativity. But for Magma, the surface is merely scraped.