Mαgmα - Attαнк (1978)

Behind this ugly and oppressive looking cover lies some of the most compulsively listenable WTF material ever committed to record...and that's saying quite a bit, considering this is Magma we're talking about.

A French avant-garde jazz rock outfit founded in the late 60's by drummer extraordinaire Christian Vander, this ensemble spawned from its combination of operatic spieling and free jazz flexibility a genre known as "Zeuhl", or in layman's terms, celestial jazz opera punk where people are singing in an alien language.

Hence, the music inside here is nearly impossible to describe without severe generalizing, as it pushes envelopes even by this band's usual standards (AKA, lots of crazy energy, dissonance and odd rhythms in constant battle, choral vocal chanting, etc. etc.). However, a severe funk influence has permeated the usual diagnosis of cosmic insanity these guys get associated with. Therefore, from one point of view, its possibly the most accessible thing Vander has had the fortune to be involved with....and possibly all of you (once you get it yourselves) as well.

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Universal Totem Orchestra - The Magus (2008)

Universal Totem Orchestra are a rare breed indeed - Italian, yet Zeuhl. Much like bands such as Magma or Univers Zero, this band plays avant-rock with touched by opera, jazz and dozens of other fascinating sonic flagellates to flesh out divine excursions and choral coalitions. What distinguishes this bunch even more than the genre they choose to indulge in, however, is a very strong grasp of melody and romance within their performances compared to the freakish and generally angular atonal tendencies of other Zeuhl bands. The vocals and use of sax, for example, is definitely different from most of their competition. The result? A unique, yet transcendental 6-track listening experience. Especially for those of you who have a jazz fan buried deep inside your flab.

Sorry about the lack of postage on Turkey day by the way -- I was probably coma'd due to massive quantities of delicious munchies.

Listen Here - "Les Plantes Magique"

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The Great Tyrant - There Is A Man In The House (2008/2010?)

Now HERE be a real one-of-a-kind bonefied musical goldmine for you asshats, and one that happens to be local to the city I grew up around! The Great Tyrant were an experimental and ridiculously amazing guitarless trio from Ft. Worth, TX, made up of vocalist Darron Beck, drummer Jon Teague and the recently deceased bass virtuoso Tommy Atkins, whom all together specialized in brilliantly blowing the minds of anyone who walked into the bar they happened to be jamming at with their phenomenal synthesis of Zeuhl, Scott Walker theatrics, doom metal mania and a healthy dose of meat-tearing synth-punk atmosphere to complete the picture.

This is a six track, 39 minute monstrosity of an odyssey where you are faced with surreal onslaughts of audio that could one day change the world. As the blogger who got his lucky, grubby paws on it originally pointed out, this music has no true sonic peer. There are influences, passing recollections of bands we might have heard in the past, but nothing more than that: The Great Tyrant is an entity in and of itself.

Get lost in this masterpiece and sacrifice a cow to the cosmos for giving this band the means to record. Mother Earth is a better, darker place for it. R.I.P. Mr. Atkins!

Listen Here - "There Is A Man In The House"


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