Re-Traced

It's nice that Cynic's comeback didn't end with one album and another long break, but what's the point with releases like "Re-Traced"? Why they change something that worked in the original? These are the questions that bother me every time I have the opportunity to listen to this album (and yet it doesn't happen that often). I would understand such a form of release, if it came out much after the premiere of "Traced In Air" (under the pretext of super-curiosity) or simply as a bonus to the basic version of this disc. Oh but no! The band (or Masvidal himself - as I maliciously guess) decided to stick to the ideas of that album 2 years after the premiere of "Traced...".

This is what "Re-Traced" is for the most part - a five-track ep, which consists of 4 songs from "Traced..." and one previously unreleased song from that session. But what's all the fuss about? Oh, about "new" arrangements of songs from 2008 - even lighter and fully oriented in pseudo-pop-alternative style (?). At least that's how I see it! In practice, it means more or less this: no specifics, getting rid of everything like prog metal and even more emphasis on making Cynic's music into mediocre Aeon Spoke. So the growl disappeared, the whole cd was dominated by sterile, clean singing, most of the guitarists gave up playing distortion, well!, even the rhythm section was clearly stumbled here.

Only the main melodies (by instruments), lyrics and (bearable) vocals have been preserved, the rest of the components are a completely different and unlike Cynic's style. "Re-Traced" is just something like bad b-sides album. Certainly nothing that could reasonably be published as a separate Cynic cd! It's enough to launch the first "Space" to see how weak the material is here. You might think it's a completely different band! Eighties-like loops at the beginning, soft guitars, weak melodies, breakdown in the type of Imagine Dragons - no shit it does not fit anything (even more to the topic of my profile, but nevermind). I don't want to elaborate on the rest of the remakes, because they are just as poor and devoid of any ideas, which were not lacking in the original versions. Even the alleged attraction here of "Wheels Within Wheels" - although the most specific - seems to go nowhere, as if it were just an outline of something more serious.

As a result, "Re-Traced" is not suitable for any use - I do not find one in it. It defends by production, guitar solos, jazzy drumming by Reinert or bass by Robin Zielhorst, but that's all in plus. Against the background of "Traced..." (not to mention "Focus") such "advantages" seem like a mockery of the biggest Cynic fans. Because I suppose that's what this bizarre release is aimed at.

Originally on: https://subiektywnymetal.blogspot.com/2021/04/cynic-re-traced-2010.html

I might be in the minority of Cynic listeners who actually found Traced in Air to be a superior effort than the band's intricate debut experimentation (Focus), but the difference in quality was only a pinpoint margin. There were myriad complaints of the band's newer direction, which was admittedly far less metallic than their 1993, and not nearly as explosive, but I think anyone expecting the Floridian fusionauts to write a repeat performance after 16 years might damn well border on delusional. Yes, they were going to change, massively. Just look at anything the members were involved in throughout the gulf, and wonder how Traced in Air managed even the slightest traces of familiarity after such a disjointed history.

For the ensuing Re-Traced EP, Cynic have gone even further into the introspective terrain they plotted out with the 2009 full-length. Do not expect much in the way of new material, though, for four of its five tracks are mere re-interpretations from that album, and wimpier versions at that. Seriously, Cynic have gotten so tranquil here, so arguably 'emo' here that one wonders why they don't just change the band name and have a go at mainstream radio. I'm all for exploration and experimentation, mind ye, but this is just a taming of the shrew, a softening of the core. Next to this, Traced By Air is positively storming. They've even taken the minimalism and watering down to the song titles, so "Space" is an electro lite retread of "The Space for This", "Integral" an acoustic/organ translation of "Integral Birth", "Evolutionary" an indie rock doppelganger for "Evolutionary Sleeper", and so forth.

Sadly, these alternate takes, while flexing the band's 'sensitive side', are nowhere near as compelling as their full-length counterparts. The clean vocals sound too wimpy in this context, wimpier even than any of Anathema's diversions from their roots. The one newer track, "Wheels Within Wheels" is superior due to its novelty and denser use of bass and overall instrumentation, but it too seems like a Pitchfork indie pick of the week. I've no aversion to Cynic writing a softer track, but these are all too forgettable. Hopefully, this is just for kicks and the band won't be pursuing such impaired avenues in the future. I can't imagine who would want to listen to this, it makes Death Cab for Cutie sound brutal.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Back in the day, if my early-onset Alzheimer’s-stricken brain will allow such trips down memory lane, CYNIC brought about a new face to the antisocial death metal underground. Rather than emitting noise for the sake of violence, these guys took the death metal thing into that like-it-or-lump-it “technical” category, where ability and craft overtake the original caustic madness. They and their stylistic contemporaries in ATHEIST and MR. BUNGLE were avant-guardians back when such tendencies were relegated mostly to performance artists and black-clad art fags, proving that there COULD be strange music to be had in metal that is all deathly, to differing degrees of success depending on who you ask.

And though I’d been out of the loop regarding them, I took to this little EP face-first just to get as much of an idea as to what they’re all about as possible…

There’s always been a part of me that takes to the unknown like a bulimic to an open buffet; strangeness in music, if perfectly utilized, makes for an absolutely fantastic listen…but on the other side of the coin, strangeness in the wrong hands could very well lead to an aural disaster the likes of which only Pete Townsend can attest to. The former of these two evils works wonders with a band like THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION, with the latter relegated to the cringe-inducingness of PRIMUS and local noise-makers SERPOIDS, and when it comes to this latest CYNIC, it goes for the synapses with the subtlety of its bleeding-heart prog tendencies enveloping the listener like an invisible force, mist-like and damned serene. Taking the progressive rock sound sans the unnecessary egotism and sandwiching it between an electronic/techno backbone and sparse layers of distorted metal leads, “Re-Traced” is the kind of thing that demands a keen ear to listen to and appreciate. Truly not for everyone, CYNIC’s latest is miles away from their grim roots, and for all the positivism any appreciative listener would espouse, the overall product sounds akin to an experiment rather than a cohesive collection of sound. Song structures are rendered jagged and sewn together, veering off into another proverbial highway lane with nary a warning time and again, and the heavy guitar lines, artificial synth dabblings, layered drum usage and warbled singing that permeate within seem to be doing their own thing in their own little world, making it hard to keep up with the song as each successive second passes. Melding electronic music with rock or metal is already a daunting task, done so successfully on only rare occasions as shown by the likes of AYREON and RAMMSTEIN, but this time around CYNIC haven’t hit the nail square on the head, making for slightly confounding listens, and songs like “Space”, “King” and “Integral” teem with good ideas and a few tasty progressions, but ultimately the confusing manner of the arrangements don’t do such ideas justice. Guess I wouldn’t consider myself part of their do-or-die fan base after all.

In the end I can’t say I was completely thrown by CYNIC’s latest offering. There’s a time and place for this kinda thing, and maybe if I gave their earlier discography a fair shake I’d be able to appreciate this more. But until then, I think I’ll pass.

I wasn’t really sure what to think when I found out Cynic was going to be reinterpreting four of their songs from their masterful Traced In Air album for this EP. I was even more unsure of what to expect when I heard the previews, which appeared to be significantly mellower and less metal than the originals. I was excited to hear the studio version of ‘Wheels Within Wheels’, which I had only heard the live bootleg so far.

As it turns out, Re-Traced makes for an interesting, if brief, listen. It’s weird to hear Cynic revisiting these songs, which seem so familiar, and turning them into something completely different. On the other hand, it is kind of nice to hear Paul Masvidal’s voice set free of the vocoder effects that dominated Cynic’s previous two albums. And the songs themselves benefit from the new concepts applied to them. The melodies are, by and large, the same, but they are given a new life in these versions.

‘Space’ (a reinterpretation of ‘The Space For This’) kicks things off and immediately sets the tone, with most of the heavier elements stripped away. There are some electronic elements present here that weren’t on the original, glitchy little 8-bit sounds providing percussion beneath some clean guitar. ‘Evolutionary’ (reinterpreting ‘Evolutionary Sleeper’ replaces the growling intro and heavy riffing with acoustic guitar, focusing more on the song’s soaring melodies. ‘King’ (‘King Of Those Who Know’) keeps the clean guitar, but lets drummer Sean Reinert and new bassist Robin Zielhorst carry the song, even throwing in some distorted guitar and vocals toward the end. And ‘Integral’ (‘Integral Birth’) goes almost entirely unplugged, just acoustic guitar, subtle keyboards, and harmonized vocals from Masvidal and guitarist Tymon Kruidenier.

And then there’s ‘Wheels Within Wheels’. While it’s certainly the heaviest song on this EP (mostly courtesy of some pummeling double bass from Reinert toward the end of the song), it’s still rather mellow and might have seemed out of place on Traced In Air. It does contain more standard Cynic instrumentation, but it still showcases the softer side of a band who recently on tour started leading its audience in yoga poses.

Cynic will be hitting the studio after the conclusion of their current American tour to record their next full-length album. Whether this is an indication of what the new material will sound like, or just a welcome bit of experimentation, you can consider me among the many eagerly anticipating another album.

Originally reviewed for The Number Of The Blog: http://thenumberoftheblog.com/2010/05/14/fucking-mellow-album-reviews-cynic-re-traced/