Magna Zero - The Great Nothing 
Release Date: Out Now
'The Great Nothing' is the debut album from LA outfit Magna Zero and it is as ambitious as it is expansive so if you're going to give this one a listen then be prepared to give it your time and attention (and I urge you to give it more than a go). 'All Must Go' gets us going with a slow build of layered and delayed guitars that soon settles in to a groove with the bass and drums to create a sound that is somewhere between Tool and Incubus with a stream of consciousness vocal performance. On 'Endure' the rhythm section takes centre stage with a moody stand off going evolving into a full on psychedelic wig-out. 'The Singularity' is a more chilled out (or blissed out) affair with sprawling guitars which leads in to 'Under the Dirt' which has a more garage rock-meets-spaghetti-western vibe with the galloping hooves motoring between the pinging bass and rasping guitars.
This is the kind of record that keeps you guessing and surprising you at every turn with 'Oblivion' being the next example as the sludge-rock riffs and thunderous drums blow your face off before they even say hello. By comparison, there's a quieter start to 'Step Into The Light' which feels like a Doors-esque ballad and then 'Eat You Up' goes all demonic dive-bar on our collective asses with a David Lynch meets Queens of the Stone Age vibe. The moody soundscape of 'Behind the Sun' suggests that these guys might have a future writing dystopian soundtracks for futuristic movies while 'We Are All' has a slightly more grunge-opera sound with swirling guitars and churning bass set to a more prog structure.
The sludgy sound is back on penultimate track 'Dark Matter' which lurches and drags itself through the neon-lit darkness like a Nick Cave inspired chainsaw massacre protagonist. The album closes out on 'Walking To Nowhere', a track which takes a full seven minutes to unfold and the result is a swirling, agony-strewn set closer of a tune that will leave you second-guessing your senses and trying to regain your sense of stability. This is an awesome (in the traditional sense of the word) album which will leave you reeling, rocking and dazed but all in the best way possible. Like I said though, give your time to this one and it will reward 100 fold.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/magnazeroband
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