KINDLY BENT TO FREE US

Well, the Cynic have come back!! "Kindly Bent To Free Us"(KBFU) follow the previous "Traced in Air" after 6 years. Judging from the final result, the waiting has been well paid, because Paul Masvidal (Vocals, Guitars, Keys, Synth), Sean Malone (Fretless bass, Chapman stick) and Sean Reinert (Drums and Percussion), have performed a very good job. Who knows Cynic knows also they are one of the reference band for the tecnical death metal (together with Death, Atheist, etc.), but during the years the band has explored other aspects and sounds, with the basic style of Cynic always present. With these premises, let's say that KBFU is not like the previous full-lenght; first of all, the growly style for singing has disappeared, so we are quite away from the masterpiece "Focus" (the last year was the 20th anniversary). Maybe this aspect will be not well accepted from someone of the old fans, but is to take in account that in the last releases (The Portal Shape ? EP 2012, Carbon-Based Anatomy ? EP 2010), there's no growl. but as said before, the band is exploring other sounds and musicality. This aspect doesn't means that Cynic are giving a bad album, but rather a different album, as usual from Cynic in each full-lenght release. Speaking more properly of music, there's a lot of different atmospheres and influences, from jazz to fusion till the "new age" in some passages, but the progressive roots are never abandoned and this is the "trademark" of the entire album. The best "episodes" in my opinion are the first track "True Allucination Speak" and the title track (the drum patterns is very nice), just to clarify the ideas. The first part of the album for me, is the best, reminding some 70's prog composition, and the most musical rich part (specially the first 3 songs). The remaining songs are also interesting, as "Moon Heart Sun Head" with 2 atypical guitar solos considering the context, but very interesting for who plays guitar. A special mention goes to Reinert behind the drums, and also to Sean Malone with the Bass Guitar creating a great sound and performance!! I think that as all the great albums, KBFU is an album that need more listenings before to be understood, appreciated. Even if is not a masterpiece like "Focus", KBFU is a modern progressive album that will make happy many progressive music fans. Enjoy!