Cynic, Detonation -
When Cynic decided last year to hop on the let’s-reunite-without-the-original-line-up wagon, it was astonishing to find out that the music hadn’t aged. With original members Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert they proved at Graspop 2007 that they are still relevant today, even after 15 years. Now they’re touring the club circuit partly promoting their upcoming new album. At the Bosuil in Weert they played with yet again a different line-up. Surprisingly this time they have two Dutchmen in their line up.
First of we had to watch opener Detonation. This Dutch metal band reminds me a lot of the style At The Gates became famous with. Only the latter did it with way more interesting material. Yes, they played well, no argument there; it is just another faceless band with no proper sound or style. Such a unique sounding band like Cynic and having that kind of support act surprises me a bit.
Well, then Cynic came along and they conquered Bosuil. Their first and up until now only album Focus was released in 1993. This record is widely regarded as a landmark release of the metal genre. Paul Masvidal is quite the modest front man, he doesn’t show off with the fact that he is hailed as one of the best musicians there are around. He repeatedly asks the audience if the sound is all right, if they like the music. Even after the show he doesn’t hesitate to talk to various members of the audience. Drummer Sean Reinert also seems to have a great time as he is smiling almost every second of the gig.
There is no surprise that the entire first album was performed, including its instrumental ‘Textures’. The audience also was treated with a taster of the new album to be released at a later date this year. With the tentative title Traced in Air, no less than 4 new songs were performed tonight. They sound promising and it's really were they left of back in 1993. I noticed a bit less of the robotic vocoder vocals and more normal singing on the new material.
Last year’s gig at Graspop showed that the death growls duties were no longer handled by Masvidal and run on a tape in the background. A bit of a bummer for those who like things 100% live. This time around, it’s Dutch guitarist Tymon Kruidenier who deals with the grunts. He proves to be a worthy addition to the Cynic fold. They will be present at Progpower in Baarlo this year, so I’m looking forward to that festival.