Song history written by TimelandIsWacky
“Magma” from Ice, Death… is one of those songs you can’t miss. It’s a true fan favorite that always leads at least one person to say “that was the best performance yet.” The song focuses on the substance it’s named after, though it has an air of mysticism to it with descriptions of a “molten god” taking sacrifices and a “Self-Immolate” reference which ties it to the wider Gizzverse. That said, the music is where it gets its reputation. Its funky intro driven by Lucas and Cavs leads to mysterious verses and extensive jamming before erupting with one of the biggest climaxes to any Gizzard song. It’s a perfect encapsulation of what Ice, Death… is as a project.
Like all songs from the album, “Magma” is based on a specific mode. For this track the band chose the Phrygian scale. The lyrics were written by Stu, Ambrose, Joey, Cook and Lucas with the music being written and performed by Stu (bass/guitar/vocals/percussion/flute/clavinet/organ), Ambrose (keys/saxophone/percussion), Joey (guitar/bass) and Cook (guitar/keys).
The song made its live debut on 2022-10-04 at the Roseland Theater in Portland with a few other performances before the release of Ice, Death… on October 7th, 2022. After the album’s release, “Magma” would be in regular rotation for 2022 often appearing as a standalone towards the end of shows either as the second to last or last song — though there were exceptions such as 2022-10-21 where it came out of “The Dripping Tap” as the second song of the set. This placement largely remained in 2023 but it would start to appear in the middle of sets in the following years.
While the electric version still amazes audiences, Gizzard has experimented with it over the years. An acoustic version debuted on 2024-11-02. While not as heavy as its electric counterpart, it lays into its rhythm with a disco-like outro. An electronic arrangement of the song was first heard in soundcheck on 2025-06-09 but made its first official appearance months later on 2025-11-01. Typically paired with the Made In Timeland track “Smoke & Mirrors,” this version retains the song’s signature funkiness while switching instrumentation over to their Eurorack setup, though guitar could also be added to the mix.