Cynic

Originally emerging from the fertile Florida death metal environment that also produced Morbid Angel, Obituary, Deicide, and Death, Cynic set themselves apart through a fusion of highly skilled death metal with experimental progressive elements that occasionally approached jazz fusion. The group formed in 1987 when vocalist/guitarist Paul Masvidal joined forces with guitarist Jason Gobel, bassist Mark Van Erp, and drummer Sean Reinert. After bassist Tony Choy came aboard, they tracked a succession of demos that largely reflected the death metal and thrash leanings common to the regional scene. In 1991 the members paused activities so that Masvidal and Reinert could contribute to Death’s album Human, at which point Choy left to join Atheist. Reassembling the following year with bassist Sean Malone, they secured a deal with Roadrunner Records, which characterized them as “the most famous underground band yet to record an album.” Their landmark debut Focus appeared in 1993 and introduced a pioneering strain of progressive thrash distinguished by exceptional technical command, spontaneous improvisation, and imaginative composition. Guest singer Tony Teengarden, who had supplied additional vocals on the record, accompanied them on a European trek supporting Pestilence that ended abruptly when that band dissolved; Cynic themselves disbanded soon after returning to Florida.

The musicians resurfaced in 2006 for select live dates and, two years later, issued the long-awaited follow-up Traced in Air, an album that shifted emphasis toward a more conventional progressive aesthetic. A pair of EPs, Re-Traced and Carbon Based Anatomy, surfaced in 2010, followed by the archival compilation The Portal Tapes in 2012 and the full-length Kindly Bent to Free Us in 2014. That release marked the final Cynic appearance of founding drummer Sean Reinert, who exited the following year. After a series of temporary percussionists handled touring duties, Matt Lynch assumed the drum position in 2017 and first appeared on record with the 2018 single “Humanoid.”

Reinert died suddenly in January 2020; bassist Malone died by suicide in December of the same year. In late spring 2021 the band recruited Los Angeles-based British multi-instrumentalist Dave Mackay to handle keyboards and bass, and he debuted on the November release Ascension Codes, confirming the group’s full evolution into progressive music.