Putting your creative process into words is difficult, especially if you’re as forward-thinking as CYNIC. But after 30+ years, weathering hurricanes, teenage angst, homophobia and the tragic loss of their legendary rhythm section has given Paul Masvidal sage-like insight into the band’s celestial voyage.
Paul recently touched down at Audiotree Studios to talk about his journey. He and his interstellar bandmates also performed songs from Cynic’s groundbreaking discography, including “Adam’s Murmur” off the newly re-issued Traced in Air.
Watch CYNIC on Audiotree From Nothing: : https://youtu.be/u57fh-IVOQo
Download and Stream: https://lnk.to/ATFN-Cynic
Order Traced in Air on black and colored vinyl: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/CynicShop
Traced in Air changed the game for Cynic, much like their landmark album Focus did years before. The band’s precedent-setting fusion of progressive music and mind-bending spiritual lyrics took the listener on an entirely new journey, solidifying their place as boundary-pushing pioneers.
Traced in Air is now being reissued on vinyl by Season of Mist.
Available formats
12″ Vinyl Gatefold (Black)
12″ Colored Vinyl Gatefold (Pink, purple and white marbled)
Praise for Traced in Air
“On the basis of Traced in Air, more so than its 1993 predecessor Focus, Cynic should be understood not so much alongside any metal bands but along with the radical harmonic progressives in the last 45 years of pop and jazz: composers like Milton Nascimento, the Beach Boys or Pat Metheny.” – The New York Times
“Where would we be without Cynic? Where would Cynic be without Traced In Air? I don’t want to imagine that world. 2008’s LP by the crown princes of progressive metal set the high watermark for progressive metal in the new millennium, one that has arguably still not been surpassed.” – Everything is Noise
“The album is sonicaly heavier than Focus, but no less overt in its prominent jazz influence, with tracks like “Evolutionary Sleeper” showing they could defy time and be the band from the past and a band from the future at the same time.” – Treble Zine, who listed Traced in Air among the 10 Essential Sci-Fi Metal Albums.
“As liberally and recklessly as the term “progressive” is regularly applied to any sort of rock music that breaks with conventional genre templates, there are certain bands and albums for which it still feels not only necessary, for lack of better definitions, but actually appropriate. Cynic and their 1993 watershed, Focus, are a perfect case in point. … In short, those expecting a mere sequel to Focus will be mildly disappointed (but should have known better), and those worried about Traced in Air’s altogether brief, 35-minute length should rest assured that it is easily offset by the sheer density of strange and beautiful musical nuances layered within, and the time required to absorb them all. And ultimately, the album does Cynic’s legacy justice precisely because it challenges the listener to comprehend, by opening more doors than it closes and posing more questions than obvious answers — and what could be more “progressive” than that?” – All Music
