Magnit (Магнит)

Magnit (Магнит)

Detective (Д​е​т​е​к​т​и​в)

Nuclear War Now

***Though best known for their magnificent but obscure 1988 album День Гнева, the Soviet band Магнит’s earlier recordings show them in transition as they adopted a heavier sound and moved away from the prog-rock covers of classical pieces on their first self-titled recording. Amid the decline in popularity of classical music and the increasing influence of Western rock ushered in by the opening of the Soviet Union through Gorbachev’s glasnost reforms, Магнит set aside the classical covers in favor of highly technical, melodic hard rock and power metal compositions. Owing to their original release on reel-to-reel tape, the band’s two EP-length recordings from 1987, Детектив (Detective) and Слушай рок (Listen to Rock), were practically lost until their release on CD earlier this year by the Russian label GS Productions. Though classically trained and folk-influenced, Магнит exhibited an intuitive understanding of heavy music. Featuring tempestuous riffing, incisive lead guitars, ornamental keyboard and organ, and commanding vocal performances, Детектив and Слушай рок represent some of the best Soviet hard rock of the era. Unlike many virtuosic, classically trained musicians whose embrace of rock and heavy metal appears ostentatious and pretentious, Магнит did not use rock as a mere vessel to showcase their sophistication and skill. Instead, they channeled their talent and passion into music that was simultaneously aggressive, erudite, and emotive. There is a poetic valence to Магнит’s lyrics. Even a song like “Listen to Rock,” which extols the virtues of rock music, contains lines like “The thunderous ether is shaking the...

Magnit (Магнит)

Dies Irae (Д​е​н​ь Г​н​е​в​а)

Nuclear War Now

***Though active for just a few years, from 1985 to 1989, Магнит’s only full-length vinyl release, День Гнева, has since achieved cult status among fans of Soviet-era metal, bringing the band international recognition. As with most obscure rock and metal bands from the former Soviet Union, the details surrounding Магнит’s history are murky. Formed by keyboardist Alexander Bobrov, who primarily acted as the band’s art director and only occasionally performed on the recordings, Магнит evolved out of the Фантазия ensemble, which was associated with the Moscow Philharmonic and, since the mid-1970s, played traditional folk music before gravitating toward more popular sounds. Магнит emerged in 1985 as a symphonic rock band, performing renditions of classical pieces by composers such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Bartok, Prokofiev and Frescobaldi. The earliest incarnation of the band featured three keyboard players, accompanied by a guitarist, bassist, and drummer, all of whom were classically trained. Through the patronage of the Belgorod Philharmonic Society in St. Petersburg, Магнит recorded their first self-titled recording, consisting entirely of classical music played in something of a prog-rock style, which they self-released on reel-to-reel tape—then a common format in the Soviet Union. By that time, however, classical music’s popularity was on the decline as contemporary styles were gaining cultural momentum, causing Магнит to pivot toward a heavier rock sound, shedding and replacing some former members in the process. (All told, more than a dozen musicians contributed to the band during its brief existence.) In 1987, Магнит released Детектив (Detective), a four-song...