‘WANNA START A METAL BAND?’ Magna Sonus will be among those rocking at Decadent Cabaret 44.

“I don’t wanna be another notch in your belt,” bellows Magna Sonus frontman (and bass player) Josh Hammes-Murray on the superlative track “Notches” from their recently recorded debut, Outcasts. And while this is the kind of swagger we’ve come to expect from many a rock ‘n’ roll act over the years, it’s also the band’s raison d’etre: a defiant, spike-studded fist in the face of all life throws at us.

And life has thrown much at the fledgling three-piece since Hammes-Murray and former Orestus drummer Enricho “Rico” Santino Poehls started jamming together in 2018 in what Hammes-Murray originally thought would be “a drum and bass band.” COVID-19 happened, and, while in lockdown, former Desolatevoid/current Giants of Midgard guitarist Brent K reached out to the duo: “Wanna start a metal band?” However, the pandemic was just the first of several hurdles for the newly christened Magna Sonus (whose name translates from the Latin as “loud sound”). “My mom passed, and then Rico injured his arm,” shares Hammes-Murray, who’s seated at his computer in the band’s jam room where this interview is being conducted.

Their sound has evolved into what (Brent K) describes as "radio friendly modern rock." Now, before some of you chuck this article across the room, you should know, given the band's pedigree, you're not about to hear, say, opener "Peggy," a raw tune about addiction, in heavy rotation on the local rock station. It's gnarly and gritty music in the vein of Motorhead, Black Sabbath, and Monster Magnet.

But arms and hearts do mend, and momentum has been building thanks to sweaty, kinetic performances at Nebula Fest Vol. 1 in 2023 and Decadent Cabaret 43 in 2024. And the band is excited to finally drop a physical release of Outcasts on the public at the end of the month at Decadent Cabaret 44. The six songs were recorded at 14:59 Studios in Minneapolis under the meticulous ear of Will Maravelas, himself an accomplished musician with quite the heavy metal CV, who helped Magna Sonus assemble an impressively tight collection of songs.

Despite Brent K’s initial drive to “start a metal band” with Hammes-Murray and Poehls, their sound has evolved into what he describes as “radio friendly modern rock.” Now, before some of you chuck this article across the room, you should know, given the band’s pedigree, you’re not about to hear, say, opener “Peggy,” a raw tune about addiction, in heavy rotation on the local rock station. It’s gnarly and gritty music in the vein of Motorhead, Black Sabbath, and Monster Magnet. Magna Sonus songs are often mercurial: manifesting as standard verse-chorus fare before suddenly tilting off kilter, like the radiant “stop-what-you’re-doing-and-check-out-this-guitar-solo” in “Vampires” or when epic and emotive closer “Final Fix” changes rhythm and morphs into a kind of heavy metal polka in its final third. And it all works! Outcasts is a trove of such aural delights.

I ask them what the future holds, but the band resists indulging such prognostications, choosing to focus on the present moment, instead. Given the fraught road traveled since their inception, one can’t blame them for wanting to bask in the afterglow of success and leave tomorrow to itself. “Someday we’ll be another notch in life’s belt,” Hammes-Murray grins, “but not today.”

Catch Magna Sonus at Decadent Cabaret 44 (which promises 35% new and first time bands this year!) and snag their CD Outcasts while you’re at it.

Decadent Cabaret will run Thursday, Feb. 27, through Saturday, March 1, at Brickhouse Pub & Grub (2233 Birch St., Eau Claire). Magna Sonus is scheduled to play at 7:30pm on Friday, Feb. 28. Learn more about the annual musical extravaganza at decadentcabaret.com.