Traced in Air

Last updated
Traced in Air
Cynic - Traced in Air.jpg
Studio album by
Cynic
ReleasedNovember 25, 2008 [1]
Recorded2008 [2]
StudioBroken Wave Studios,
Los Angeles
Genre Progressive metal
Length34:17
Label Season of Mist [3]
Producer Paul Masvidal, Warren Riker
Cynic chronology
Focus
(1993)		Traced in Air
(2008)		 Re-Traced
(2010)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Blabbermouth.net 9/10 [6]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal 8/10 [7]
Sputnikmusic5.0/5 [8]
Terrorizer Magazine 9.5/10 [9]

Traced in Air is the second studio album by the progressive metal band Cynic. It is the first album since their 1993 debut Focus .

Contents

History

Cynic disbanded during the fall of 1994 while working on a new album. On January 17, 2008, Cynic resumed musical activity and Paul Masvidal said he wanted to complete the project after the Reunion Tour. It was originally believed that Cynic would be working with Jason Suecof of Capharnaum fame. However, Warren Riker (Down's producer) was working with the band. Tymon Kruidenier was then announced as a hired replacement for guitarist David Senescu. Kruidenier also handled the death growls for the album.

On July 19, 2008, Cynic announced through YouTube that the album's name is Traced in Air. [10] The release date for Traced in Air was pushed back to November 17, 2008 in Europe, and November 25, 2008 in North America. [1] All album artwork was designed by Robert Venosa. [11] A remixed version of the album, Traced in Air Remixed, was released on September 27, 2019. The remix was produced by Adam "Nolly" Getgood, and featured new bass tracks from Sean Malone. [12] The growled vocals of Kruidenier were also mostly removed from the remixed version.

Style

In 2008, drummer Sean Reinert gave an update on the second studio album and its musical style in an interview with Metal Hammer saying:

Yeah we got tons and tons of stuff lying around man from '94 [1994] to the present day man, it's gonna be great. Everyone can expect something stylistically the same as Focus but more upbeat, energetic and most important of all, pretty god damn brutal! I mean we're gonna mix in Bullacake by Niche Dexplicit into one of our songs but will be using real scary riffs and solos and more savage growling as well as Paul's robotic vocals and keyboarding. Basically all the shit which was there on Focus is all gonna be there with this new one too. But with some new things bundled in and a bit more brutal. It's gonna be good

—  Sean Reinert

Paul Masvidal announced in 2008 in an interview with Kerrang! magazine that the band were including two unreleased songs from when the band were working on the album in 1994, into the album.

In July 2008, Blabbermouth revealed Masvidal had this to say on the album:

We've been on an amazing journey discovering this new music and soon it will be yours. Expect the unexpected. The album is an intensely concentrated mosaic of internal and external energies, from the deepest peace to the purest aggression. There's an acquired taste that comes with a record of this density, but once your ears wrap themselves around the language at work, everything falls into place and suddenly you'll feel a sudden urge to sing, scream or maybe even cry. The album has a beginning, middle and end. The story will reveal itself after numerous listens and then you may not want to let go. Besides Reinert and I, Tymon brought some new life force and magic to the record with fierce growling and poetic guitar sensibilities. Malone also did a fine job with the low end, grooving away with Reinert in a pocket land from hell!

—  Paul Masvidal [13]

In 2008, Loudwire magazine ranked Traced In Air as #2 in the 10 Best Metal Albums of 2008. [14] The first track and the last track of this album juxtapose each other by being exact opposites, both different philosophies of time. Nunc fluens, Latin for "flowing now," is the belief in time and the flow of it through an eternity, never beginning nor stopping. Nunc stans, Latin for "abiding now", is the belief that time itself doesn't exist, and that any distinctions between now, before and the future have either fallen away or don't exist. [15]

In 2018, Decibel Magazine ranked Traced In Air as #4 in the Top Ten Metal Reunion Albums. [16]

In 2019, Dominik Böhmer of the blog EverythingIsNoise.net wrote: [17]

"Where would we be without Cynic? Where would Cynic be without Traced In Air? I don’t want to imagine that world. 2008’s LP by the crown princes of progressive metal set the high watermark for progressive metal in the new millennium, one that has arguably still not been surpassed."

Wil Lewellyn of Treblezine.com listed Traced In Air amongst the 10 Essential Sci-Fi Metal Albums: [18]

"The album is sonically heavier than Focus, but no less overt in its prominent jazz influence, with tracks like “Evolutionary Sleeper” showing they could defy time and be the band from the past and a band from the future at the same time." – Wil Lewellyn

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Nunc Fluens"2:56
2."The Space for This"5:46
3."Evolutionary Sleeper"3:35
4."Integral Birth"3:53
5."The Unknown Guest"4:13
6."Adam's Murmur"3:29
7."King of Those Who Know"6:09
8."Nunc Stans"4:13
Total length:34:17

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death (metal band)</span> American death metal band

Death was an American death metal band formed in Altamonte Springs, Florida, in 1984 by guitarist Chuck Schuldiner, drummer/vocalist Kam Lee and guitarist Rick Rozz. Death is considered to be among the most influential bands in heavy metal music and a pioneering force in death metal. The band's 1987 debut album, Scream Bloody Gore, has been widely regarded as one of the first death metal records, alongside the first records from Possessed and Necrophagia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Reinert</span> American drummer (1971–2020)

Sean Landon Reinert was an American musician. He was the drummer for the rock band Æon Spoke and the drummer and cofounded the progressive metal band Cynic along with Paul Masvidal until leaving the band in September 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Choy</span> Musical artist

Antonio Choy is a Cuban-American electric bassist. He was a session musician for some well-known technical death metal bands such as Atheist, Cynic and the Dutch band Pestilence. He is known for his use of the Slap & Pop playing technique, along with two-handed tapping. He was also the founding member of the Grammy nominated Latin pop group named Area 305.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Malone</span> American musician (1970–2020)

Sean Malone was an American musician who played primarily fretless bass guitar and Chapman Stick. He was most famous for his work with progressive metal band Cynic, in which he developed a strong partnership with the drummer Sean Reinert. Malone and Reinert played on several records together outside Cynic, making them one of the most favorable modern progressive rhythm sections. Malone also did a number of session jobs for various bands and musicians.

<i>Human</i> (Death album) 1991 studio album by Death

Human is the fourth studio album by American death metal band Death, released on October 22, 1991, by Relativity Records. The album marked the beginning of a major stylistic change for Death, being more technically complex and progressive than the band's previous efforts. The lyrics are more introspective when compared to the gore-based lyrics of Scream Bloody Gore and Leprosy or the social commentary on Spiritual Healing. This new style would continue to evolve on all following Death albums. This is the only album to feature Cynic members Paul Masvidal on guitars and Sean Reinert on drums, both 20 at the time, and the first to feature bassist Steve DiGiorgio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Masvidal</span> Musical artist

Paul Albert Masvidal is an American musician, best known as the guitarist, singer and a founding member of the progressive metal band Cynic. He has remained a continual member in Cynic for nearly three decades and has developed numerous other projects including Æon Spoke, Onward with Love, and Masvidal. Masvidal was ranked in Loudwire's 66 Best Hard Rock + Metal Guitarists of All Time and 50 Best Metal Songwriters of All Time.

<i>Focus</i> (Cynic album) 1993 studio album by Cynic

Focus is the debut studio album by American metal band Cynic, released September 14, 1993, through Roadrunner Records. A remastered version of the album was released in 2004.

Aghora is a progressive metal band formed in 1995 by guitarist Santiago Dobles. In 2000 they released their first album, Aghora, recorded and produced by Santiago Dobles and Dan Escauriza in 1999, Miami, Florida. The album featured Sean Malone and Sean Reinert, both members of Cynic. The band released its second album, Formless in 2006, which was produced by Santiago Dobles and mixed by Neil Kernon. in 2019 Aghora released their 3rd album Entheogenic Frequencies which was recorded, mixed and produced by Santiago Dobles. The album features Gustavo Dobles on keyboards, Matt Thompson on drums, Alan Goldstein on bass, and Santiago Dobles on guitar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordian Knot (band)</span> American rock band active 1998–2020

Gordian Knot was an American rock band directed by bass guitarist Sean Malone. At times its shifting lineup included Steve Hackett of Genesis, Bill Bruford of Yes and King Crimson, Ron Jarzombek from Watchtower and Spastic Ink, as well as Jim Matheos of Fates Warning, several of Malone's former bandmates from Cynic, and John Myung from Dream Theater. Sean Malone died on December 7, 2020.

<i>Emergent</i> (album) 2003 studio album by Gordian Knot

Emergent is the second and last album by American progressive rock band Gordian Knot, and is the only album apart from Focus to contain all original members of Cynic.

<i>Aghora</i> (album) 2000 studio album by Aghora

Aghora is the self-titled debut album by progressive metal band Aghora, released on March 24, 2000. "Jazz-metal" is another style commonly associated with this band. The album features Sean Reinert and Sean Malone from Cynic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dååth</span> American heavy metal band

Dååth is an American death metal band from Atlanta. Their music incorporates styles such as death metal, industrial metal, and some traces of gypsy jazz.

Jason Göbel is an American guitarist, best known for being a member of the technical metal band Cynic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cynic (band)</span> American progressive metal band

Cynic is an American progressive metal band formed in Miami, Florida by Paul Masvidal in 1987. Masvidal original served solely as the band's guitarist, but later took over as lead vocalist and chief songwriter. Cynic incorporates elements of progressive rock, alternative, and metal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Æon Spoke</span> Alternative rock band

Æon Spoke is an alternative rock band from Los Angeles. It was created by members of Cynic and former members of Death, Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert, when they relocated from Miami to Los Angeles.

<i>Cosmogenesis</i> (album) 2009 studio album by Obscura

Cosmogenesis is the second studio album by German death metal band Obscura. It was released on 17 February 2009 by Relapse Records. The album debuted at No. 71 on the Top Heatseekers chart.

<i>Re-Traced</i> 2010 EP by Cynic

Re-Traced is an EP by the technical metal band Cynic. It is composed of four re-interpretations of songs from their album Traced in Air, as well as one new song. It was released through Season of Mist on May 17.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The New Dominion</span> Dutch death metal band

The New Dominion is a Dutch death metal band from Tilburg, formed in 2006. While their style is originally rooted in Scandinavian death metal, The New Dominion has consistently incorporated progressive and technical influences into their riff oriented compositions.

<i>Carbon-Based Anatomy</i> 2011 EP by Cynic

Carbon-Based Anatomy is an EP by the progressive rock/metal band Cynic. It was released through Season of Mist on 11 November 2011.

<i>Kindly Bent to Free Us</i> 2014 studio album by Cynic

Kindly Bent to Free Us is the third studio album by the progressive metal band Cynic. It was released on February 18, 2014, and is the final Cynic album with Sean Reinert, who left the band in September 2015 and died on January 24, 2020, as well as the final Cynic album with Sean Malone, who died on December 9, 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 Cynic's Traced in Air Date Pushed Back to November: News @ Blabbermouth.net Archived 2008-12-29 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ Cynic Interview @ lordsofmetal.nl
  3. ↑ Cynic Sign to Season of Mist. News @ metalstorm.ee
  4. ↑ Bowar, Chad. Cynic - 'Traced In Air' heavymetal.about.com. Retrieved on 2011-05-03.
  5. ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo. Traced in Air allmusic.com. Retrieved on 2011-05-03.
  6. ↑ Alisoglu, Scott. Cynic Traced in Air (Season of Mist) blabbermouth.net. Retrieved on 2011-05-03.
  7. ↑ Popoff, Martin; Perri, David (2011). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 4: The '00s. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 100–101. ISBN   9781-926592-20-6.
  8. ↑ Hanson, John A. Cynic Traced in Air sputnikmusic.com. 2008-11-18. Retrieved on 2011-05-03.
  9. ↑ Dec 2008
  10. ↑ Traced in Air preview on YouTube
  11. ↑ "Cynic's Traced In The Air Available For Download". Roadrunner Records. October 30, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  12. ↑ Blabbermouth (2019-08-14). "CYNIC To Release 'Traced In Air Remixed'". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  13. ↑ "Cynic: New Album Title, Release Date Revealed". Roadrunner Records. July 25, 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  14. ↑ DiVita, Joe. "10 Best Metal Albums of 2008". Loudwire. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  15. ↑ "ETERNITY" . Retrieved 2010-08-19.
  16. ↑ "The Top Ten Metal Reunion Albums". Decibel Magazine. 2018-02-09. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  17. ↑ Böhmer, Dominik (2019-02-16). "A SCENE IN RETROSPECT: Cynic - "Traced In Air"". Everything Is Noise. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  18. ↑ Terich, Jeff (2019-10-17). "10 Essential Sci-Fi Metal Albums". Treble. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.