Label Cynic as a metal band it’s at least ignorance. They grew out of that box pretty quickly and although they merged technical death metal and influences with jazz and progressive rock elements, their music was always something special and different. “Kindly Bent to Free Us”, their third full-length album, it’s a flawless mixture of modern sound and classic, progressive rock flavor with some jazzy reflections. Have some sort of King Crimson and Pink Floyd type of timeless and shiny (brilliant 🙂 ) feel.
The current line-up consist of veterans Paul Masvidal – vocals & guitars, Sean Reinert – drums & percussion and longtime, mainly studio collaborator Sean Malone – fretless bass, chapman stick.
Engineering by Jason Donaghy (Rob Zombie – Hellbilly Deluxe 2), mixed by R. Walt Vincent (Pete Yorn, Liz Phair, Tommy Keene and Jonathan Elias’ The Prayer Cycle), mastered by Maor Appelbaum (Adrenaline Mob, Sepultura, Halford, Armored Saint, Cathedral , etc), featuring the art work of Robert Venosa (among other works, the pre-sketches and conceptual design for the movie Dune), “Kindly Bent to Free Us” it’s a psychedelic sci-fi trip.
Tracklist:
1. True Hallucination Speak
2. The Lion’s Roar
3. Kindly Bent To Free Us
4. Infinite Shapes
5. Moon Heart Sun Head
6. Gitanjali
7. Holy Fallout
8. Endlessly Bountiful
For some might be a disappointment that they did not return to their death metal roots, but “Kindly Bent to Free Us” really feels – and sound – like a natural evolution. Everything it’s tight and in its right place, extremely technical, but still explosively soulful. Cynic is one of the pretty rare cases where technicality did not kill the heart of the music and not replace the content with the form.
The music it’s perfect, the sound maybe it’s not fat enough, I feel it’s a little bit too crispy and linear (maybe over-compressed), eventually not dynamic enough. Sound pretty digital, lacking the warm, dynamic analog feel. It’s maybe just me, but it’s bothering me, decreased the listening pleasure to some extent.
Mandatory. Buy it or steal it, Cynic worth it!!!
Cynic – Official Site
Cynic – Facebook
