Magica (band)

Lore & Background

Magica began in February 2002 when Bogdan Costea, then guitarist of the gothic metal band Interitus Dei, started a project to play heavy metal and melodic rock. The first album, The Scroll of Stone, was recorded in spring 2002 and released by Sigma Records in Romania. It tells the story of princess Alma, who loses her soul to a demon and must find the Scroll of Stone to break the spell. Despite little promotion, the album was well received by the media.

The second album, Lightseeker, was launched in October 2004 in France through Underclass Music. The band's first video, 'Bittersweet Nightshade', was completed in early 2005. Magica was featured in Metallian and Rock Hard magazines. In 2006, they toured Europe opening for several notable acts, including After Forever and Leaves' Eyes, though the exact combination of bands and dates is not consistently documented.

The third album, Hereafter, was released on October 19, 2007 via AFM Records Germany, with two videos: 'All waters have the colour of drowning' and 'Entangled'. In November 2007, vocalist Ana Mladinovici joined the Hellish Rock tour with Helloween, Gamma Ray, and Axxis for three months. Subsequent albums Wolves and Witches (2008) and Dark Diary (2010) were released through AFM. In August 2012, the band announced the album Center of the Great Unknown, also on AFM.

Reader's Guide

Magica is a Romanian power metal band that gained recognition in the European metal scene through consistent album releases and touring. Their debut album, The Scroll of Stone, established a fantasy narrative style that carried through later works. The band's association with AFM Records from 2007 onward provided wider distribution. Their 2006 European tour with After Forever, Nightmare, Apocalyptica, and Leaves' Eyes, as well as Ana Mladinovici's participation in the Hellish Rock tour with Helloween, Gamma Ray, and Axxis, raised their profile. Magica's discography includes six studio albums between 2002 and 2012, and they have been featured in notable metal magazines. The band has undergone several lineup changes, with Bogdan Costea and Ana Mladinovici remaining constant members. Their significance lies in representing Romanian power metal on an international level during the 2000s.

Did You Know?

• Magica was started in February 2002 as a project of Bogdan Costea, guitarist of the gothic metal band Interitus Dei.
• The debut album The Scroll of Stone tells the story of princess Alma tricked by a demon.
• In November 2007, Ana Mladinovici took part in the Hellish Rock tour alongside Helloween, Gamma Ray, and Axxis.

Origins & the Birth of a Sound

Magica was born in February 2002 from the creative restlessness of Bogdan Costea, who at the time was playing guitar in the Romanian gothic metal outfit Interitus Dei. Dissatisfied with the musical boundaries of that project, Costea wanted a vehicle where he could freely explore heavy metal and melodic rock — genres he personally loved. The result was Magica, a band built around that singular artistic impulse. Ana Mladinovici joined on vocals in 2002 and has remained the band's voice ever since, making her and Costea the only two members to span the group's entire history. Recording for their debut began in the spring of 2002, and just two months of work produced a complete album. The Scroll of Stone tells the narrative of a princess named Alma who is deceived by a demon, loses her soul, and must embark on a quest to recover the titular artifact — the only force capable of breaking the curse. Released domestically through Sigma Records, the record earned favorable media attention even though the band had virtually no promotional machinery behind it.

A Catalogue of Progressive Ambition

From their 2002 debut to the 2012 release of Center of the Great Unknown, Magica built a six-album catalogue that steadily expanded in scope. After The Scroll of Stone was produced in Romania by Sigma Records, the band crossed borders with Lightseeker, launched in October 2004 through France's Underclass Music. A turning point came in 2007 when AFM Records in Germany picked up the band, releasing Hereafter on October 19 of that year. Two music videos accompanied that record — "All waters have the colour of drowning" and "Entangled" — extending the band's visual storytelling. AFM continued as the label for Wolves and Witches (October 2008) and Dark Diary (2010), before the group announced in August 2012 via their Facebook page that Center of the Great Unknown would follow, again under the AFM banner. Along the way, Magica also produced a live VHS titled Live in Paris in 2005 and shot their first music video, "Bittersweet Nightshade," on February 10 of that same year. The trajectory shows a band that moved from a domestic, low-budget debut to a consistently released European catalogue over a decade.

Opening for Giants and the Hellish Rock Gauntlet

Magica's live career reached its most ambitious heights in the mid-to-late 2000s. In 2006 the band toured across Europe as support acts for a remarkable lineup of headliners: After Forever, Nightmare, Apocalyptica, and Leaves' Eyes. That string of dates placed a Romanian power metal group on the same bill as some of the most recognized names in progressive and symphonic metal. The following year brought an even more extraordinary opportunity. In November 2007, vocalist Ana Mladinovici was invited to join the massive Hellish Rock tour, sharing the stage with Helloween, Gamma Ray, and Axxis for three months of intensive touring. The band also earned coverage in two well-known metal publications, Metallian and Rock Hard, which helped cement their credibility within the European metal press. A 2005 live VHS, Live in Paris, documented one of their earlier European performances. Together, these touring and press milestones illustrate how Magica punched well above the weight class of a small Romanian act, consistently finding themselves in the company of genre-defining international bands.

The Enduring Core and the Revolving Periphery

While Magica's roster of supporting musicians changed frequently over the years, the band's identity has always been anchored by two constant figures: Ana Mladinovici on vocals and Bogdan Costea on guitar, both present from the very beginning in 2002. Around them, the lineup cycled through numerous bassists, drummers, and keyboard players. Early members included Valentin "ÎngerAlb" Zechiu on bass and Cristi "Beavis" Bârlă on drums, both departing in 2008, along with keyboardist Sixfingers who left in 2010. The 2008-to-2013 period saw rapid turnover: Sorin Vlad, Herman "Hertz" Heidel, Bogdan Avrigeanu, Sebastian Natas, Emilian Burcea, and Tibi Dutu all passed through. By 2016, Cristian "Baronu" Popescu settled in on bass, and Radu Mihai handled keyboards until 2019. The current drummer, Alex "Gomez" Dascaloiu, joined in 2021. This pattern of a stable creative core surrounded by a rotating cast of session and touring musicians is a hallmark of the band's operational structure across two decades.