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Magna-Fi

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Magna-Fi
OriginLas Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Genres
Years active2001–2010
LabelsAezra
SpinoffsThe Szuters
Spinoff ofThe Szuters, Outta the Blue
Past membersMike Szuter
Chris Brady
Rob Kley
Charlie Smaldino
C.J. Szuter

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 (2005) 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

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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 Szuter brothers would relocate to Las Vegas the next year, marking the disbandment of The Szuters and the formation of Magna-Fi with new band mates and a shift in sound and tone. 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 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 (Megadeth, Failure, Mötley Crüe).

In 2004, Magna-Fi appeared on the weekly concert series in Buffalo, New York, 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 own tour and became direct support for Sevendust for months after. They also made a returning 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. This also marked the exit of C.J. Szuter and 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, after not playing with the other members for over a year, getting turned down by various record labels, and losing interest, decided to have a final show at Counts Vamp’d in Las Vegas. The group officially disbanded afterwards.

In 2020, Mike Szuter revived the "Szuters" moniker for a solo project and released an album titled Sugar.

Band members

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Final lineup

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  • Mike Szuter – guitar, vocals (2001–2010)
  • Charlie Smaldino – drums (2001–2010)
  • Rob Kley – bass, vocals (2001–2010)
  • Chris Brady – guitar, vocals (2006–2010)

Past members

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  • CJ Szuter – guitar (2001–2005)

Discography

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

Burn Out The Stars

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Burn Out the Stars
Studio album by
Magna-Fi
ReleasedJuly 16[citation needed], 2002 (Gold Circle Records, promotional only)

2003 (Self-released)

June 15th, 2004 (Aezra Records)
GenreAlternative metal, hard rock, post grunge
LabelGold Circle; Self-released; Aezra
Singles from Burn Out The Stars
  1. "Where Did We Go Wrong"
  2. "Down In It"

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

Track listing

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Gold Circle Records promotional release (2002) and independent release (2003)
No.TitleLength
1."When I Leave You"2:44
2."Where Did We Go Wrong"3:02
3."Down In It"4:11
4."Drown"3:50
5."This Life"4:15
6."TV Killed Me"3:54
7."Beautiful"4:06
8."Seconds, Minutes, Hours"4:25
9."My Heaven"4:25
10."Ex Ok" (Originally recorded by The Szuters for Last Band Standing, with a re-mixed version appearing on Not Quite at Budokan. This track only appears on the independent and Gold Circle Records promotional releases of the album.)3:25
11."Bradbury Heights"4:13
Aezra Records release (2004)
No.TitleLength
1."Where Did We Go Wrong"3:02
2."When I Leave You"2:44
3."Down In It"4:11
4."Drown"3:50
5."This Life"4:15
6."TV Killed Me"3:54
7."Beautiful"4:06
8."Seconds, Minutes, Hours"4:25
9."My Heaven"4:25
10."Bradbury Heights"4:13

VerseChorusKillMe

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VerseChorusKillMe
Studio album by
Magna-Fi
ReleasedJanuary 02, 2007[citation needed]
GenreAlternative metal, alternative rock, hard rock, post grunge
Length39:10
LabelSelf-released

VerseChorusKillMe is the second and final album by Magna-Fi.

"Who I Am" was originally written and recorded for the Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) 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 CJ's departure.

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Who I Am"3:26
2."Kiss It Away"3:07
3."Fall From Grace"3:40
4."Breaking Up"3:59
5."When I'm Awake"2:56
6."Fan The Flames"3:52
7."Miserable Failure" (titled "You Miserable Failure" on CD release)3:16
8."Someday"3:11
9."Dream Denied Destroyed"5:08
10."Save Me"4:17
11."Well Well"2:18

Other songs

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Singles

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  • Where Did We Go Wrong (2002, Gold Circle Records, promo)
  • Where Did We Go Wrong (2004, Aezra Records, promo)
  • Down In It (2004, Aezra Records, promo)
  • This Life (2005-03-07, Aezra Records, promo)

Unreleased songs

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

  • All The Right Words
  • American Airtime
  • Burn Out The Stars
  • The Curve
  • Don't Mean Nothing To Me
  • Ecstatic
  • Going Out
  • Hard To Find
  • Hearts And Minds
  • Heaven and Flies
  • Inside The Silence
  • Kick It Out
  • Me The Enemy
  • Misshapen
  • Obvious
  • Pay To Play
  • P.F.I.
  • Saved The Best For Last
  • Squint
  • Stop Me
  • Wayne (The Handgun Song)

In Video Games

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  • 2005: All Hail Shadow – released on Lost & Found: Shadow the Hedgehog Vocal Trax; pure hero story theme song on Shadow the Hedgehog. Another song titled "Who I Am" was originally recorded for the game when Sonic Composer Jun Senoue contacted Mike Szuter about writing a song for the game. Senoue later said that he wanted to write a song together with Mike, thus resulting in "All Hail Shadow".[1] The song later appeared on the 2007 album VerseChorusKillMe, but had new leads recorded to replace the original, because C.J. Szuter left the band and was replaced by Chris Brady.
  • 2004: NASCAR SimRacing and NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup included "Where Did We Go Wrong" as one of the selectable tracks. It is also in the 2005 release of the EA Sports NASCAR Racing arcade game.[2]
  • 2006: All Hail Shadow was covered by Crush 40 for the game Sonic the Hedgehog (also known as Sonic '06 or Sonic 2006).

References

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  1. ^ "Mike Szuter's Comment". YouTube. December 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  2. ^ "NASCAR 2005 CHASE FOR THE CUP: THE MUSIC". IGN. October 1, 2004. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
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