Cynic
Kindly Bent to Free Us
Season of Mist
2014
Cynic has managed to be considered a “significant, weird group”, with only one studio album under their belt in 1993. Since then they disappeared till 2007 when they returned and released a studio album in 2008. Now, 6 years later they are back with a new full-length release.
The billion dollar question: what does Cynic of the 10s have in common with the Cynic of the early 90s? Well, apart from the same members and the high technical skills, musically they are not what they used to be. To be specific, “Kindly Bent to Free Us” tends to become rather boring & tiresome after a while. The lack of inspiration is the main reason for that. The guys may be great musicians but that doesn’t necessarily go hand in hand with the songwriting talent.
The “popier”, mellower and less metal sound is another part for this fiasco as well. Why on earth do they present an easy-listening, melodic & rock side of theirs when their fans expect something else? Moreover, where are the prog metal, technical and jazz/fusion themes that Cynic is known for? Surely, you can find some here & there but that’s not Cynic’s trademark… it’s the opposite. Then again, the sound is a bit “claustrophobic” & muddy. The vocals do not work that good for me either. I think Cynic wanna be a prog rock, with various post-like, atmospheric, mellow & popy elements band. Something else other than what they used to be. That’s fine but the name should be changed as well. I can’t tell what’s next after this album. If they continue like this then they will be totally transformed on their next album. This ain’t close to what I’d been expecting from Cynic but no matter how you put it… it does lack creativity on the whole.
The billion dollar question: what does Cynic of the 10s have in common with the Cynic of the early 90s? Well, apart from the same members and the high technical skills, musically they are not what they used to be. To be specific, “Kindly Bent to Free Us” tends to become rather boring & tiresome after a while. The lack of inspiration is the main reason for that. The guys may be great musicians but that doesn’t necessarily go hand in hand with the songwriting talent.
The “popier”, mellower and less metal sound is another part for this fiasco as well. Why on earth do they present an easy-listening, melodic & rock side of theirs when their fans expect something else? Moreover, where are the prog metal, technical and jazz/fusion themes that Cynic is known for? Surely, you can find some here & there but that’s not Cynic’s trademark… it’s the opposite. Then again, the sound is a bit “claustrophobic” & muddy. The vocals do not work that good for me either. I think Cynic wanna be a prog rock, with various post-like, atmospheric, mellow & popy elements band. Something else other than what they used to be. That’s fine but the name should be changed as well. I can’t tell what’s next after this album. If they continue like this then they will be totally transformed on their next album. This ain’t close to what I’d been expecting from Cynic but no matter how you put it… it does lack creativity on the whole.