Cynic & Atheist - LPR, 7/6/2023 - Progressive Rock Music Forum

Nice man I'm so jealous, I saw Between the Buried and Me, Thank You Scientist and Rivers of Nihil a couple weeks ago. Great show, but I'd give it all up to see Atheist and it's unquestionable (pun intended) to me, one of my all time favorite metal bands.

The sun has left the sky...
...Now you can close your eyes

A couple nights ago I was witness to one of the most skullcrushing yet beautiful performances I've ever seen at the cavernous Le Poisson Rouge (LPR, and congrats on 15 years) as the twin titans of jazz influenced prog/technical death metal Atheist and Cynic took the stage to perform their legendary 90s era classics. In this they were joined by Kevin Hufnagel of Gorguts, who played a tender solo acoustic set as the calm before the storm, and local blackened death metal greats Hierarchy. Dedicating their set to the Old Gods, Hierarchy ripped through some of the finest and hardest BDM of my life, marshalled by the charisma, power, and humor of their frontman Tabotan. Their bassist Kimaris 66 repeatedly crossed and leapt the stage, freed by his instrument's wireless pickup, while their drummer Wraith managed to fatally puncture his own kick drum, necessitating a quick replacement.

Atheist were heralded by Floyd's "In The Flesh?" before beginning a set that both challenged the mind and immediately opened the pit, the only act that night to get myself and a few others moshing. After all it's just like the man himself Kelly Shaefer said that night: "We're the Van Halen of technical death metal!" They ignored their 2010 record Jupiter, instead digging all the way back to their Beyond demo from 1988 and rampaging through their greatest glories. Shaefer and his younger cohorts - especially bassist Yoav Ruiz Feingold - were energetic and feeling the crowd, with Feingold leaning into the onlookers and repeatedly exhorting us in the pit to circle and slam. At the end of their performance Feingold even held his bass out for some members of the crowd and I to pick at. Even then, Atheist's artistry and technical prowess were beyond question, an almost entirely different band bringing some of metal's best music back to life after 30+ years.

Cynic's set was, well, focused around their masterful 1993 LP Focus, which they played in its entirety. Watched over by portraits of the late great Sean Malone and Sean Reinert, another quasi-ghost band resurrected another vintage prog metal gem, trading the manic energy of Atheist for that more classically prog sentinel flavor, with the crowd now calmed, tight, and watchful. And yet Paul Masvidal was himself greatly animated, feeding off the vigor of the rest of the band and of the audience, kneeling before drummer Matt Lynch's kit and us enraptured fans as he played his music. This was a performance both top-notch and greatly emotional. Focus of course only makes up half a headlining set, so to round out the night Cynic switched gears to some of their newer material, played extra hard to match their debut's metallic crunch.

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dougmcauliffe Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: February 23 2019 Location: US Status: Offline Points: 3895	Post Options Post Reply Quote dougmcauliffe Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Cynic & Atheist - LPR, 7/6/2023 Posted: July 08 2023 at 09:09
	Nice man I'm so jealous, I saw Between the Buried and Me, Thank You Scientist and Rivers of Nihil a couple weeks ago. Great show, but I'd give it all up to see Atheist and it's unquestionable (pun intended) to me, one of my all time favorite metal bands.
	The sun has left the sky... ...Now you can close your eyes

UMUR Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: October 19 2007 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 3069	Post Options Post Reply Quote UMUR Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: July 08 2023 at 04:00
	Nice...I hope they take the show to Europe too, but I doubt it. These days few American bands of that size are able to tour Europe and keep the skin on their nose.
	Metal Music Archives UMUR on RYM

LearsFool Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: November 09 2014 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 8642	Post Options Post Reply Quote LearsFool Report Post Thanks(1) Quote Reply Posted: July 08 2023 at 02:25
	A couple nights ago I was witness to one of the most skullcrushing yet beautiful performances I've ever seen at the cavernous Le Poisson Rouge (LPR, and congrats on 15 years) as the twin titans of jazz influenced prog/technical death metal Atheist and Cynic took the stage to perform their legendary 90s era classics. In this they were joined by Kevin Hufnagel of Gorguts, who played a tender solo acoustic set as the calm before the storm, and local blackened death metal greats Hierarchy. Dedicating their set to the Old Gods, Hierarchy ripped through some of the finest and hardest BDM of my life, marshalled by the charisma, power, and humor of their frontman Tabotan. Their bassist Kimaris 66 repeatedly crossed and leapt the stage, freed by his instrument's wireless pickup, while their drummer Wraith managed to fatally puncture his own kick drum, necessitating a quick replacement. Atheist were heralded by Floyd's "In The Flesh?" before beginning a set that both challenged the mind and immediately opened the pit, the only act that night to get myself and a few others moshing. After all it's just like the man himself Kelly Shaefer said that night: "We're the Van Halen of technical death metal!" They ignored their 2010 record Jupiter, instead digging all the way back to their Beyond demo from 1988 and rampaging through their greatest glories. Shaefer and his younger cohorts - especially bassist Yoav Ruiz Feingold - were energetic and feeling the crowd, with Feingold leaning into the onlookers and repeatedly exhorting us in the pit to circle and slam. At the end of their performance Feingold even held his bass out for some members of the crowd and I to pick at. Even then, Atheist's artistry and technical prowess were beyond question, an almost entirely different band bringing some of metal's best music back to life after 30+ years. Cynic's set was, well, focused around their masterful 1993 LP Focus, which they played in its entirety. Watched over by portraits of the late great Sean Malone and Sean Reinert, another quasi-ghost band resurrected another vintage prog metal gem, trading the manic energy of Atheist for that more classically prog sentinel flavor, with the crowd now calmed, tight, and watchful. And yet Paul Masvidal was himself greatly animated, feeding off the vigor of the rest of the band and of the audience, kneeling before drummer Matt Lynch's kit and us enraptured fans as he played his music. This was a performance both top-notch and greatly emotional. Focus of course only makes up half a headlining set, so to round out the night Cynic switched gears to some of their newer material, played extra hard to match their debut's metallic crunch.