Magna-Fi


Magna-Fi was a rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. It consisted of guitarist and lead vocalist Mike Szuter alongside his brother C.J. Szuter on guitar, bassist Rob Kley, drummer Charlie Smaldino, and, in their later years, guitarist Christian Brady. They are perhaps best known for performing "All Hail Shadow" on the Shadow the Hedgehog video game soundtrack, as well as their single "Where Did We Go Wrong", which was used for the NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup.

History

Mike and C.J.'s previous band, The Szuters, had found moderate success touring and releasing albums in Japan. However, their music seldom left the country, and the group essentially split after their third album in early 2000. The brothers, originally hailing from Cleveland, relocated to Las Vegas in 1997. Changes in lineup and sound marked the disbandment of The Szuters and the formation of Magna-Fi. While they would continue to perform as The Szuters for a period of time, the group had decided on their new title by 2002, at Smaldino's suggestion. The band was signed to Gold Circle Records, and their first album was due to be released under this label. However, just one day after the single release of Where Did We Go Wrong, Gold Circle's record label dropped out, cancelling the album's release. After releasing the album independently through shows, the four-piece would get signed to Aezra Records, a label distributed by EMI, in 2003. Magna-Fi's debut album on the label, Burn Out The Stars, was produced by Paul Lani.
In 2004, Magna-Fi appeared on the weekly concert series in Buffalo, New York, on Thursday at the Square along with Fuel and Seven Day Faith. The band at that time, for 2 months, was direct support for Fuel. In the same year, they appeared at the annual festival tour, Ozzfest. Afterwards, the band headlined their tour and became direct support for Sevendust for months after. They also made a return home for veterans show in North Carolina, after a sudden Sevendust cancellation.
At the end of a tour in 2006, they were in talks with Aezra about recording a new album, but these discussions ultimately ended with the quartet and the label parting ways, and the band decided to record their next release on their own.
After an argument with Charlie Smaldino and the ultimatum posed by Mike, CJ Szuter left the band mere weeks before the release of the second album. This was followed by the entrance of guitarist and vocalist Chris Brady, another Las Vegas native and long-time friend of the band. The new album, VerseChorusKillMe, was recorded and mixed by the band itself.
In 2010, drummer Charlie Smaldino, having not played with the other members for over a year, experiencing multiple rejections from record labels, and losing interest in the band, decided to hold a final show at Count's Vamp’d in Las Vegas. Following this performance, the group officially disbanded.
In 2020, Mike Szuter revived the "The Szuters" moniker for a solo project and released the album Sugar, then released The Devil's In The Details the following year.

Band members

Final lineup

  • Mike Szuter – guitar, vocals
  • Charlie Smaldino – drums
  • Rob Kley – bass, vocals
  • Chris Brady – guitar, vocals

    Past members

  • C.J. Szuter – guitar

    Discography

Magna-Fi released two albums, as well as individual tracks for video games.

''Burn Out The Stars''

Burn Out The Stars is Magna-Fi's debut album, and the only one featuring guitarist C.J. Szuter.

Track listing

''VerseChorusKillMe''

VerseChorusKillMe is the second and final album by Magna-Fi.
"Who I Am" was originally written and recorded for the Shadow the Hedgehog soundtrack, but was replaced with another song, All Hail Shadow. The band later re-recorded and re-used the song, albeit with altered leads due to C.J.'s departure.

Other songs

Singles

  • Where Did We Go Wrong
  • Where Did We Go Wrong
  • Down In It
  • This Life

    Unreleased songs

Magna-Fi recorded many songs that were never formally released, but have surfaced online in the years following their disbandment.