INFINITY WITHIN THY CONSCIOUSNESS
Emerging from the fertile Florida
death metal scene of the early nineties (
Death and
Morbid Angel are among the other notables of this movement), Cynic were renowned in underground circles for their unique and organic blend of intense
death metal and warm, progressive
jazz fusion. Cynic brought this seemingly paradoxical mixture to creative and virtuosic heights rarely attained by any groups in
jazz or
rock, smashing the constraints of genre to create unparalleled and groundbreaking work. After recording only one proper album (1993's superb
Focus), they dissolved into the obscurity of
session work. The shockwaves of their legacy still ripple through the modern
death metal scene; today's crop of mindshredding death/fusion bands, typified by
the Dillinger Escape Plan, walk much of their path directly over Cynic's scorched and enigmatic footprints.
Lyrically, Cynic proved every bit as mind-expanding and unpredictable as their instrumentation. Although their early demos were fraught with
death metal cliches and critiques of social ills, they began to take inspiration from
Eastern philosophical thought as their vision widened. Songs like
Veil of Maya (
Veil of Maya / Balance every joy with a grief / Dual scales of Maya / Earth's unending law of polarity) brought an aspect of mellowness and scope unprecedented in
death metal, with a hint of
prog-rock nerdom to tie it all together.
(Most of the following information comes from Jeff Litvak's excellent Cynic website at www.cynicalsphere.com)
PANORAMIC VISION IS UNDEFINED
Guitarist
Paul Masvidal and drummer
Sean Reinert would form Cynic in 1987, and remain the group's essence until its eventual breakup. At this time they were far from their eventual mission statement, focusing on ferocious
death metal (influenced by bands like
Venom,
Posessed and
Kreator) alone; although instrumental agility was plain from their earliest demos, the genre-mingling group interplay that would become their trademark was nowhere to be found. Adding bassist
Mark van Erp (later of
Monstrosity) and friend
Jack Kelly on vocals, they recorded a self-titled
demo in 1988.
Jack Kelly left in 1988, prompting the first of many lineup changes.
Paul Masvidal took on vocal duties, and
Jason Gobel was brought in as second guitarist. Their second
demo,
Reflections of a Dying World, incorporated
thrash and even
punk elements; as well, their influences widened here, as they began to turn away from their brutal death contemporaries and towards
jazz and
fusion artists such as
Weather Report,
Frank Zappa and
Chick Corea. This newfound sensibility was reflected in a leap in technical prowess, which would only become more pronounced later.
Mark van Erp soon left the band, to be replaced by
Tony Choy (later of
Atheist and various Latin fusion groups). They recorded a third
demo, self-titled as well, in 1990. As they aggressively toured the Florida area, acclaim began to spread through underground circles, and they were approached by
Roadrunner Records (notable for
Type O Negative,
Sepultura,
Obituary and
Deicide, among others) in 1991.
At this time, their sound had crystallized into an extremely technical and listenable blend of
progressive and
death metal, although they didn't consider themselves a death band as such.
Roadrunner financed a fourth and final (self-titled)
demo; for the first time, their unique qualities were absolutely distinct. Two of the three songs on this
demo would end up, in altered states, on their LP
Focus.
A CELESTIAL VOYAGE
Rather than immediately record a full-fledged album, the group honed their skills with
session work for other
Roadrunner musicians.
Paul Masvidal and
Sean Reinert played with
Death mastermind
Chuck Schuldinger on his LP
Human (1991), also contributing their songwriting skills to this spine-splinteringly classic album.
Tony Choy worked with
Atheist and
Pestilence, and
Jason Gobel played lead on
Monstrocity's
Imperial Doom LP. This session work heightened their popularity remarkably, prompting
Roadrunner to call them "the most popular
underground act to never record an album".
For unknown reasons, their plan to record a full-length record immediately after working with
Death fell through. Instead,
Paul Masvidal and
Sean Reinert accompanied
Death's European tour for the rest of 1991. They attempted to record an album in October 1992, but that plan was cancelled when
Hurricane Andrew destroyed their rehearsal space (Jason Gobel's house). Their plans were scrambled once more when
Tony Choy left to play bass with
Atheist full-time. After numberous bassists, they settled on
Sean Malone, an employee of the studio where they had recorded their demos.
Focus was finally recorded with the lineup of
Paul Masvidal,
Sean Reinert,
Jason Gobel and
Sean Malone, and released on September 14th, 1993. This
seminal album showed the effects of two years' creative simmering, and synthesized wildly disparate elements into something profoundly new. Sadly, this would be the high-water mark for this promising band.
Cynic next toured
Europe supporting
Pestilence, with the addition of singer
Tony Teegarden, who had previously growled the death vocals on
Focus when
Paul Masvidal was in danger of losing his voice. Although
Masvidal continued to sing the
vocoded "celestial" parts, a second singer was necessary for their live vocal duets. As well,
Teegarden played the keyboard parts, which
Sean Reinert was far too busy on drums to take care of. The tour was cut short when
Pestilence disbanded.
On their return to
North America, they toured the
United States in the summer of 1994, supporting
Cannibal Corpse. This time,
Dana Casley of locals
Demonocracy provided death vocals and keyboard accents. Because of an unknown conflict with their record label, they had to cancel a planned appearance at the
Milwaukee Metalfest.
They began recording a second album in the fall of 1994; before long,
Sean Malone left, citing creative differences. The unnamed second album was still incomplete when Cynic finally disbanded, unable to reach a consensus on any new musical direction.
HOW COULD I FORGET SUCH A REVELATION
Jason Gobel,
Paul Masvidal and
Sean Reinert soon got back together, forming Portal with on-again, off-again Cynic bassist
Chris Kringel and singer/keyboardist
Aruna Abrams. They recorded a self-titled demo in 1995, which went absolutely nowhere.
To this day, Cynic's members remain friends; Sean Malone and Sean Reinert have worked together on numberous projects. They played on self-titled albums for
Aghora (2000) and
Anomaly (1998), as well as on the
prog-metal supergroup Gordian Knot's
eponymous debut (1999) and
Emergent (2003). The track
A Shaman's Whisper on
Emergent marked the first time since 1994 that all four members of
Focus-era Cynic have appeared together on an album.
UNCONDITIONAL OMNIPOTENCE
Focus (September 14, 1993)
TRACKLIST:
1. Veil Of Maya
2. Celestial Voyage
3. The Eagle Nature
4. Sentiment
5. I'm But A Wave To...
6. Uroboric Forms
7. Textures
8. How Could I?
PERSONNEL
Paul Masvidal - Guitar, Vocals
Jason Gobel - Guitar
Sean Malone - Bass
Sean Reinert - Drums
Tony Teegarden - Vocals, Keyboards
YOU IMPATIENT WAYWARD ONE
Cynic (1988)
TRACKLIST:
1. Weak Reasoning
2. Once Misguided
3. Dwellers Of The Threshold
PERSONNEL:
Jack Kelly - Vocals
Paul Masvidal - Guitar
Mark Van Erp - Bass
Sean Reinert - Drums
Reflections of a Dying World (1989)
TRACKLIST:
1. Denaturalizing Leaders
2. Extremes
3. A Life Astray
4. Agitating Affliction
PERSONNEL:
Paul Masvidal - Guitar, Vocals
Jason Gobel - Guitar
Mark Van Erp - Bass
Sean Reinert - Drums
Cynic (1990)
TRACKLIST:
1. Lifeless Irony
2. Thinking Being
3. Cruel Gentility
PERSONNEL:
Paul Masvidal - Guitar, Vocals
Jason Gobel - Guitar
Tony Choy - Bass
Sean Reinert - Drums
Cynic (1991)
TRACKLIST:
1.) Uroboric Forms*
2.) The Eagle Nature
3.) Pleading For Preservation
PERSONNEL:
Paul Masvidal - Guitar, Vocals
Jason Gobel - Guitar
Tony Choy - Bass
Sean Reinert - Drums
*This version of Uroboric Forms also appeared on the Roadrunner Records compilation At Death's Door II, marking the first appearance of Cynic material on CD.