This June 27th marks the official release of Magnum Dopus, the explosive debut solo album from ZED bassist and underground mainstay Mark Aceves.
Written in the aftermath of his father’s death and the tragic loss of close friend and bandmate Sean Boyles, Aceves poured every ounce of grief, resilience and hope into nine blistering tracks to help people move, scream, and heal.
“This isn’t a vanity side project, it’s a battle cry,” he explains. “I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel; I’m trying to light it on fire and ride it into the apocalypse with a crooked smile. The songs on this album come from my heart, and it’s written with love, man. It’s for the fighters, the dreamers, and the beautifully broken. It’s loud. It’s real. And it’s just the beginning.”
Fans of Zed will be especially pleased to hear that Aceves hasn’t strayed too far from the raw and raucous grooves of his Bay Area brethren. A fireball of punk defiance, stoner swagger, and rock-and-roll soul — like a backstreet clash between QOTSA, AC/DC and The Bronx – Magnum Dopus is a raw cathartic blast of rebellion. From the gut-punch opener and Boyles tribute ‘The True and Indisputable Meaning of Rock and Roll’, to the defiant dancefloor anthem ‘Still Ain’t Dead’, the bittersweet ‘Love in the Time of Apocalypse’, and the poignant closer ‘For My Children’, the album is a riot of pure emotion.
Messy, honest, and unflinchingly human, Magnum Dopus by Aceves combines infectious hooks, heavy riffs and lyrics that bleed with meaning, and is released 27th June on I:AND:I. Pre-order here.
Ahead of the release date we asked Mark about 3 releases that have played a big part in his musical upbringing.
Motörhead – Motörhead
When I was fourteen I lived in the outskirts of a Texas city called El Paso, but I went to high school in downtown, which meant my parents would often pick me up hours after school ended. To waste time, I would walk to the record store downtown and since I was always broke I’d permanently “borrow” cassettes that caught my eye (Sorry Star Records, RIP!). One day I lifted Motörhead’s self-titled due to the awesome album cover and the opening song just hooked me in right off the bat. The perfect mix of 70s punk attitude and energy with the loud heavy handed crossover metal sound that we all love. And that voice, all whiskey and razor blades. It blew my fourteen-year-old mind!
The Cure – Kiss me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
As a kid I was a diehard metalhead and punk. But I was also a secret fan of bands like The Cure and The Smiths. I discovered the Cure when a girl I knew told me to give them a try. I wasn’t disappointed. Every song was a lush soundscape, every song was a different musical journey, nothing sounded the same, yet it all went together. Robert Smith has a catalogue of incredible pop songs that are just hook after hook after hook. The entire band of this era were amazing and unstoppable. Every song on this album offers something special and it’s not just the hits.
The Bronx – IV
Probably one of my favourite bands that have come out in the past twenty years. They perfectly mix punk/hardcore with rock and dare I say, a pop sensibility? The song ‘Youth Wasted’ alone is worth the price of admission! They have a knack for writing sing-along anthems that just stick in your head for days without being annoying. They have a great sense of humour too and don’t take themselves too seriously as you can see from the video.
