Cynic rise above metal on epic comeback album
James Lewis
Issue date: 11/13/08 Section: Lifestyles
15 years ago, a death metal band by the name of Cynic released a record that changed heavy music forever. "Focus" fused growling vocals with heavenly harmonics, utilizing jazz, extensive melodies, keyboards, and (perhaps most revolutionarily) singing vocals. But now, in a monumental comeback, the veterans Cynic have returned with the album "Traced in Air," an absolute musical masterpiece that transcends typical metal.
Rather than rehashing the material that once gained them fame, these titans of metal have evolved beyond death metal, using the double bass driven song structure and over the top technicality of bass and guitar to escape to some new realm of music entirely.
No longer does the band oppose elements of jazz and progressive with harsher sections of churning death metal, as "Focus" did, but they now fuse the two styles together beautifully. The drumming is the band's most obvious link to their former style, powerful, precise, and driven by pounding double bass.
The guitars and bass are breathtakingly technical, while still incorporating complex (yet catchy) melody. The keyboards provide an otherworldly, out of body feel to the music, but never overshadow the other instruments or the vocals.
As for the vocals, which previously seemed like a 50-50 death match between deep growls and robotic synthesizers, singer/guitarist Paul Misvidal has moved to a more constant approach, an enlightening croon of sorts. His voice brings to mind some great, ethereal being speaking from space, whispering to you the secrets of the universe.
Old fans of death metal may not share these sentiments because the band has all but relinquished their rasps and growls. Although the heavier vocals are present to provide a foil to the singing (provided by new guitarist Tymon Kruidenier), they have taken a substantially smaller role, probably making up only 20ish percent of the album's words.
In total, Cynic's new record shows us that the Florida based death metal band didn't just release one of the most innovative and progressive death metal records of all time. More importantly, they have returned with "Traced in Air," an evolution beyond the constraints of metal, crafting an intelligent record of complex melodies, intriguing synthesizers, and enlightening vocals.
Rather than rehashing the material that once gained them fame, these titans of metal have evolved beyond death metal, using the double bass driven song structure and over the top technicality of bass and guitar to escape to some new realm of music entirely.
No longer does the band oppose elements of jazz and progressive with harsher sections of churning death metal, as "Focus" did, but they now fuse the two styles together beautifully. The drumming is the band's most obvious link to their former style, powerful, precise, and driven by pounding double bass.
The guitars and bass are breathtakingly technical, while still incorporating complex (yet catchy) melody. The keyboards provide an otherworldly, out of body feel to the music, but never overshadow the other instruments or the vocals.
As for the vocals, which previously seemed like a 50-50 death match between deep growls and robotic synthesizers, singer/guitarist Paul Misvidal has moved to a more constant approach, an enlightening croon of sorts. His voice brings to mind some great, ethereal being speaking from space, whispering to you the secrets of the universe.
Old fans of death metal may not share these sentiments because the band has all but relinquished their rasps and growls. Although the heavier vocals are present to provide a foil to the singing (provided by new guitarist Tymon Kruidenier), they have taken a substantially smaller role, probably making up only 20ish percent of the album's words.
In total, Cynic's new record shows us that the Florida based death metal band didn't just release one of the most innovative and progressive death metal records of all time. More importantly, they have returned with "Traced in Air," an evolution beyond the constraints of metal, crafting an intelligent record of complex melodies, intriguing synthesizers, and enlightening vocals.
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