Ann Arbor, MI-based Mazinga draws its inspiration from garage punk and comic books, playing in a self-dubbed style of "maximum cosmic punk." Formed in 1995, the band (who take their name from a Japanese cartoon robot) have played regionally and released a series of 7"s and an album, 1999's self-titled Mazinga, through small indie labels Reanimator and Spasthmatic. Sounding like punk pioneers MC5 and Radio Birdman, Mazinga features fast tempos, dissonant guitar work, and argy-bargy live shows. In 2001, drummer Don Blum left the band to join the Detroit-based Von Bondies and was replaced by Mike O'Reilly the following year. The band split briefly in 2003 before reforming in 2006 with new drummer Alex King. An EP, Curses of a Thousand Dying Suns!, was issued later that same year.