Magna-Fi

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Magna-Fi was a rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, active from 2001 to 2010. Their music mixes alternative metal, hard rock, and post-grunge. The lineup featured Mike Szuter (guitar and lead vocals), his brother CJ Szuter (guitar), Rob Kley (bass), and Charlie Smaldino (drums); later they added Chris Brady on guitar.

The Szuters previously led The Szuters, a duo from Cleveland who moved to Las Vegas in 1997. After some success in Japan, the band parted ways in the early 2000s and changed their name to Magna-Fi around 2002.

Magna-Fi’s debut album, Burn Out The Stars, was supposed to be released by Gold Circle Records, but the label dropped the project after the single Where Did We Go Wrong, cancelling the release. The band released the album independently and later signed with Aezra Records (distributed by EMI) in 2003. Burn Out The Stars, produced by Paul Lani, came out soon after.

In 2004, Magna-Fi toured with Fuel, played Ozzfest, and then supported Sevendust for months. They also played benefits and other shows before CJ Szuter left the band just weeks before the next album. Chris Brady joined, and the band recorded VerseChorusKillMe themselves, releasing it on December 17, 2006.

Highlights include All Hail Shadow on the Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) soundtrack and the single Where Did We Go Wrong, used in NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup. The track Who I Am was written for Shadow the Hedgehog but was replaced on the official soundtrack; the song was later re-recorded with CJ’s departure.

Magna-Fi disbanded in 2010 after lineup and label challenges. In 2020, Mike Szuter revived The Szuters as a solo project, releasing Sugar in 2020 and The Devil’s In The Details in 2021. Magna-Fi released two albums and several tracks for video games, with many unreleased songs surfacing online after the breakup.