The LA-based rockers Magna Zero decided to take us on a unique journey with their debut LP The Great Nothing. Unleashing the trio power, Magna Zero engages in a set of multi-layered structures, all bonded by deep emotions and high energy. Let me tell you more about it.
The Great Nothing opens with the spacey psychedelic intro of All Must Go, promising a fuzzy groovy ride through the realms of psychedelia and its stoner/sludge younger siblings. It has a mellow flow with haunting atmospheric landscapes and DEEP FAT BASS in a chill flow that smoothly carries the listener to the next song. Keeping up with their streaming pace, Endure comes next as Magna Zero cement their reverb-y dreamy sound with hypnotizing vocals and extremely fluid melodies with tight bass and drum lines that control the song’s relaxing chill pace, while the dipped-in-fuzz guitars lead its smooth dynamic shifts. Steering towards a more progressive sound with bigger and brighter melodies comes The Singularity. They push hard to produce a solid enjoyable progression, powerfully mixing their elements and flexing their writing skills and musicianship without losing their core sound as they keep on reminding you with it through licks and melodies. Unleashing their sludgy heavy side, Magna Zero will get you off your seat with Under The Dirt.
They boosted their sound to a heavier and more energetic one by introducing some bluesy rocking riffs, intense sharp solos, pounding jazzy drumming, and hard punching bass to their mix, all in a subtle punk-ish attitude and escalating progression that spiced things as we move nearly towards the middle of the record. Oblivion hits next with dense doomy vibes that were purely shaped by its slow heavy flow and deep hard-hitting groove. It has a more classic stoner doom sound but, with Magna Zero‘s melodic tendencies, extremely unexpected licks and solos, and insanely good drumming. Showing their diverse writing, the trio shifts into a more emotional direction in Step Into The Light, where they engage in a melodic, soft structure with subtle orchestrations and laid-back composition, which suits the record’s dynamic flow at this point. With a cool build-up and killer eargasmic chorus, Eat You Up comes next. It has a deep hypnotizing groove with a great hooking sound and haunting melody, all bonded in an extremely dynamic structure that had me heavily headbanging.
I loved Behind The Sun’s spacey cosmic approach, especially how the bass takes the lead of the song’s rhythm leaving the guitar freely setting up the atmosphere, all topped by a captivating psychedelic vocal melody leading to an ending that offers emotional resolution. It kinda reminds me of Pink Floyd’s Set The Control For The Heart Of The Sun’s mood and vibes, it sent chills down my back. My favorite so far. Pushing their sound boundaries more as they get into a more groovy funk-ish area in We Are All while cleverly maintaining their heavily emotional atmospheric sound. We Are All is an epic progressive piece with diverse offerings and influences all mashed together with amazing writing, I’m amazed by its smooth flow and powerful twists and turns and how they were steered toward Magna Zero’s vision. Dark Matter kept the high energy going with its heavy sound and smooth flow, and I must say it holds one of the record’s coolest guitar works. Ending the journey on a high note comes Walking To Nowhere. A big-sounding energetic piece with well-orchestrated and arranged shifts with a touch of classic rock/70s progressive. Shifting through those sounds and moods showed Magna Zero’s musicianship and writing skills, as they created this seamlessly fluid structure that had me hooked and focused. Amazing ending!
The Great Nothing is one of those records that’s hard to believe that it’s a debut. Magna Zero shows seasoned writing, well-knowledge of their sound, and clear vision as they played around genres with zero care for boundaries or definitions, creating something special. I’ll always be looking forward to more from Magna Zero, keep on rocking guys. Cheers!