Mekanik destruktiw kommandoh

A singular musical achievement that absolutely belongs on the list. This is as prog as it gets. How prog you say? So prog it's sung in a fabricated language. There are many good live versions of this on Spotify. The 1974 Marquee version is quite rousing, despite not having the best sound quality, but I particularly recommend the 1976 Reims version for the over the top guitar solo towards the end of the piece. Fucking bonkers.

Oh! That's my modest contribution to the user list alright. Christian Vander's mind must be quite the maze. At the death of John Coltrane he wanted to create something to honor him and that was the birth of Zeuhl. There's some jazz in there, for sure, but it's heavily mixed with wagnerian opera and outer space military rythms under the prog rock stamp. One of the craziest albums I've ever heard and a concept that spans over their whole discography. It's something I think everyone should hear at least once, even if it's clearly not made for every ears. Hope you enjoy it!

Mekanik destruktiw kommandoh is a fantastic rock opera by Magma. This sounds a lot like a piece of minimal music (Philip Glass, Steve Reich) on steroids with rock instruments. The vocals in a fabricated language that sounds mystical and sometimes quite funny. Something that should have been on the original list.

This is the kinda prog rock bullshit that one should aspire to. Why not make an album in a made-up language? That's the dedication other prog rock acts should aspire to. And you know what else? They are concise!! It was a brisk 40 minutes which is perfect. Musically I found it fine. This is the kinda stuff that the OG list needs more of. Weird French progrock from the 70s. My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 4/5 Should this have been included on the original list? Yes.

I’ve had many music friends rave about Magma, so it was fun to hear the hype realized on this insane LP. Short but sweet for a prog effort, yet manages to fit in so many different facets and worlds that kept me enthralled throughout. Could’ve done without the screaming near the end, but it does make sense within the context of the LP. Just something so different and unusual from the standard fare on the user list, great listen and a stellar add!

Well that was quite something. 4 stars.

Hah, yeah - this is some bonkers prog and I'm here for it.

Mega classic, great choice… but not their best!!!

It took be about 5 minutes to go from "Oh jesus christ a french prog rock album from the 70s in a made-up germanic language?" to "wait this is kinda fun". It took another 5 minutes to go from that to "nevermind this thing fuckin' slaps"

Gillar det här. Inte toppbetyg men nära på. Roligt när man upptäcker något nytt.

This was great. Definitely the best type of prog. Reminded me of Jesus Christ Superstar. Rocks for sure.

This is exactly why I like this user generated list. This is a record I will never listen to again but I know I am a little richer for having heard it.

As a certified goofy bullshit music enjoyer, I have to pay respects to one of the classics of the goofy bullshit music scene. French over-the-top jazz/prog concept album about literally who the fuck knows sung in a fake language. Wagnerian orchestra going absolutely nutty. How do you even come up with this in 1973. Strong 4/5.

Well, that's something, innit? Wagnerian, sure. And 33rd-best all-time French rock album sounds about right, too. The more orchestral and operatic side of prog. Also, only possible in the '70s, probably, and while it sounds a bit new and different now, was likely more normie-level of weirdness/ambition/overreach then. No need to add to list proper but pretty good fun to hear and be introduced to so thx, recommender.

What do you know about Zeuhl? Christian Vander, founder of the band Magma, conceptualized Zeuhl as an avant-garde style of jazz fusion that embraced fantastical, mystical elements of science fiction. Depending on what weirdness you find in Zeuhl, you might encounter the hypnotic rhythms of krautrock, the technicality of prog rock, or the epicness of western classical music. Regardless, many stylistic origins can be traced back to the french band Magma, who has become largely synonyms with the genre of Zeuhl. Outside of a few other French bands who got sucked into Magma's orbit throughout the '70s and '80s, Zeuhl would find itself to be quite popular in Japan starting in the '90s. Outside of those two countries, you'd be hard-pressed to find much zeal for Zeuhl. Huzzah! Mekanik destruktiw kommandoh (MDK for short) is about as grandiose as they come: big sweeping movements with operatic singers and a lot of instrumentation. Credited musicians on this album reaches a crisp dozen, with a half-dozen more credited for engineering this thing. Despite sounding so massive, it clocks in at just short of 40 minutes, making it a fairly digestible experience. And thank god too, because I don't think this album needed to be any longer than it already was. Past a certain point, bands that attempt to sound this epic can come across as self-aggrandizing. This is not helped by all the made-up lore surrounding Zeuhl which, if we're being frank, isn't really necessary for listening to an album like this. Ideally, it should be able to stand on its own two feet, and it does, kinda. It's certainly interesting enough to warrant a decent rating, but I don't think I was mesmerized by it in any capacity. MDK just has a lot of unearned moments that try to impress the majesty of its sound. To me, it was mostly fluff, but at least it was competent fluff. CONTENDER FOR THE LIST: Too niche, too weird!

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Mekanik kommandoh

Kinda my thing

Well, it's not like anything else I've listened to recently... bordering on Outsider art (maybe more than bordering?) Did I like it? I didn't dislike it... Certainly I am uncomprehending (and sounds like it is canonically incomprehensible, right?) I appreciate the extreme wierdness and dedication to an extraordinarily singular vision. But I am bound to say, at length I found it fairly exhausting.

This sure is something special. Kinda had a hard time listening it through, but I applaud the originality

space. prog. jazz? This at least provided a journey.

Space travel jazz is a genre I didn't know I'd like.

I don’t mind the nonsense, but, honestly, it was kind of boring. Didn’t excite. It was fine, though. Unique and unlike most submissions. Good choice. 3/5

Zeuhl (Zeuhl is a music genre that is a hybrid of jazz fusion, symphonic rock and neoclassical music). No me gusta. Saca de quicio. Un 2.

This gives off vibes of “I’m tired of making great music, how about something weird instead. I didn’t really enjoy it, but it was certainly unique.

This was wild. I can't really say I liked it - vocals are a bit much (more than a bit, actually - they actively detract and distract from some imaginative prog) and I feel like I would have boosted this a full star if there were more instrumental-only passages. But it's certainly something incredibly creative and weird (often the same thing?) - I do like the early-70s production; there's a warmth and clarity you just don't hear anymore for a million reasons, and it's not too far off from a bunch of jazz-rock-prog-fusion albums/acts I do like. YMMV for sure on this one and honestly after I settled in I ended up appreciating it more as it went on, except for those ridiculous vocals wtf. Kinda made it tough. Probably could have been in the book, though; this album was a bit of a weird-ass breakthrough somehow and the book needed a few more non-English albums anyways. --------- Couldn't find on Apple Music - found on youtube here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTspHdkHn6DmES8V0l9lbUuEzp80linxB&si=gnfPJcA81K9R8Hgx -------- 5/10 2 stars IMO: Belonged in the book? Yes.

Couple of problems here - 1. Not on Apple Music 2. French 3. Nonsense

I don’t know what this was and I don’t want to know.