At this point in Cynic’s illustrious career, it is unlikely they are going to do anything but follow their own muse. If you are living in the past, and only care about a seminal release like Focus, then you miss the point the band made with that bold musical statement, all those years ago. Granted, every band in this business is measured against their “best” and most popular work. Old-school fans always talk of the pedigree of the principles as members of Death, as if their development as writers should stay frozen in Carbonite forever. However, if you have followed them, you are aware of the hiatus the members took away from the band, and the phenomenal comeback that was Traced In Air. Cynic is a band free of conventions and certainly lives to satisfy their own passions, nothing more. Along the way they have influenced everyone from Opeth, to Between the Buried and Me, and even Animals As Leaders. If you care about the path of an artist, and the transformational power that art has, then this band is still one you ought to study.
Kindly Bent To Free Us (Season of Mist), is a unique experience unto its own. The chemistry between Paul Masvidal, Sean Reinert and Sean Malone is an undeniable combustion of deft progressive rock and metal sensibilities, with clever songcraft. Kindly Bent… is catchy, uplifting and musically intricate in ways Cynic has never been all at once before, but always were capable of. It is a mature album, written from real life experiences to pull from, and less of the angsty, strained attempts at prog mastery some of the modern bands get bogged down in.
The opening sound of ‘True Hallucination Speak’ is a harsh, jarring screech; an alarm which is a portend of things to come. A real awakening is coming, ready or not. The ominous clean picked guitar tones that bring the track to life in a wash of tension soon reveal its gift with a swelling, modulated vocal sample. When the bass and drums come in with a climax, the track lifts off, and it totally sounds like a Cynic record ought to sound. From Reinert’s syncopated beats, to Malone’s bristling bass, the track, they compliment the cool riffs. Masvidal’s singing, which has really become a powerful instrument in its own right. The chorus soars musically without being over the top, and the triple-tracked guitar solo is a triumph. Like a speech from Dr. Timothy Leary or Carl Sagan, some tripped out knowledge is coming your way, and it’s up to you to willfully dodge it, or sit still patiently and absorb it. A great way to kick things off.
The most surprising track on the album is ‘The Lion’s Roar’, with its ebb and flow dynamics and poppy chorus. It might be a turn-off to people looking for something more brutal with their morning coffee, but it is going to be hard to ignore those toe-tapping grooves and sweet melodies for long. Next follows the title track, which is a prog-rock masterpiece of the highest order. With heady sonics and heavy emotions, the track is a gem. The urgent interplay of the band just pulls and pushes the song in all kinds of directions, until the mellow refrain returns again and again like mantra. ‘Infinite Shapes’ is another chameleon-like track that undergoes a lot of changes. Fans of Masvidal’s axe-work should take note of his solos, especially his synth-guitar solos on this album. They are a throwback to the likes of Alan Holdsworth, Adrian Belew, and Andy Summers and other legends from progressive music history.
‘Moon Heart Sun Head’ and ‘Gitanjeli’ are a little more on the other side of the introspective spectrum, but both have some deep moments in them. ‘Moon Heart Sun Head’ could be mistaken for a lost Tool song over several verses, and certainly those guys are influenced by Cynic too. Masvidal’s glorious vocals sitting in the pocket are allowed to actually carry the song for a spell, quite the feat against this backdrop.
‘Holy Fallout’ is the finest track on this offering. Starting out with that familiar vocoder-treated sound and some chiming guitars, the track grows and grows more fierce, yet stays restrained in the moment of each second. The song just comes at you in waves of mini-movements, building out slowly over almost seven minutes. A stellar guitar solo, easily one of Paul’s best ever, caps things off before shape-shifting again. Also, if Cynic ever wanted to write its ‘Pink Floyd’ tribute part, they did so with the elongated outro. ‘Endlessly Bountiful’ closes out the album proper with a lullaby of jazzy, calming notes. Kindly Bent To Free Us is a journey of the self, and towards self-awareness. This is a message more people need in their lives, looking forward, as they reflect inward.
8.5/10
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Keith (Keefy) Chachkes