Endless World

Blazing from the land where the sun doth riseth, the warrior princesses of Cyntia soar across the stratosphere on winged steeds of pinkish hue, raining unyielding sparkles and prismatic rays of light upon the darkened realms of misanthropy. Channeling the power of magic through musical instrumentation, Cyntia create metal through logarithmic notation and the formidable endowment of unbridled consonance. Endless World is the embodiment of not just the emanation of mere 'sound', but the underlying efficaciousness of positive reinforcement by means of harmonized note-play between each band member's respective weapon of choice. Together as one, Cyntia's Endless World provokes self-reflection through transitions between the aggressiveness of distorted harmonies and majestic chord progressions insinuating concepts not unlike 'hope' and 'freedom'.

Released under the appropriately entitled BrightStar label, I gathered if nothing else that the production qualities would be crystalline, precise and with emphasis on the sharp guitar tone. For Endless World, guitar and keyboard work as linear projections angled upwards in enantiomeric fashion until these sound waves eventually bisect. Drums and bass cross horizontally at differing points on the Y axis, resulting in the formation of a "trapezoid of sound". Equidistant from each vertex of this polygon, vocals blast forth as a conical design along the z axis towards the listener's eardrums with merciless intensity. With each instrument cleanly discernible, a heightened state of awareness is established through unmitigated clarity and the lack of miasmic coagulating of the sine-wave frequencies.

Each musical piece beguiles with carefully constructed passages emanating power, glory and without question, love. Musicianship is technically more than proficient, dispensing a dextrous elegance conducted from each master of her instrument. The divine Yui, in particular, offers a multitude of cogent guitar riffs and delectable licks with exuberance and ardor. Ayano's fleet of fingers across the keyboard teeth are as noteworthy as her blue quizzical hair. Not content to simply exhale planer washes of backdrop for atmospheric purposes, she skillfully interjects and interacts with the guitars lofty ambitions. Even the bass player fills voids with positive imbibed soloing at opportune moments, and glorious stick-wielder Kanoko provides the solid baseline pulsations behind her sizable kit armored by Zildjian shields.

Song structures offer shifting variations of form and texture, loosely rooted in glittery 80s mainstream metal, yet driven forward by symphonic power metal's accelerated thrust of tempo and vision. Slow to mid-paced numbers provide harmonious layers augmented by choruses involving vocal participation from the whole of Cyntia's entourage. The crushing of negativity is accomplished through the willful fervor of magic by major chord progressions, while lyrically Cyntia's affirmation of the sense of "self" is achieved unbeholden to monotheistic religions which arguably deride the "self" for the sake of shame and hive-like thought. Cyntia embodies a celebration of the individual spirit, presented most dynamically through the faster propulsive works such as "Through The Fire And Desire", igniting within the hearts of the adventurous the will to flourish.

Saki's aural dispensing of the Japanese lyrics provide a unique challenge to the discerning metal enthusiast, embracing a clean delivery, yet enhanced with a commanding lilt capable of instituting nausea and possible minor brain contusions from her somewhat irreproachable shrillness. It may be deemed confrontational in tone to the recipient of Saki's melodic diatribes, but it remains a key ingredient concerning Cyntia's brazen sensory assault. Perceptions that her skills as an accomplished enchantress, bequeathed with a physique, visage and attire that naturally arouses the cerebral cortex and promotes elongation of the male appendage, supersedes her singing aptitude do exist, but without those pipes capable of bringing hardened Merzbow fans to their wobbly knees, Cyntia would remain an incomplete force of might against the dwellers in darkness who shun sanctity, cheerfulness and proficient hygiene.

After the arousing Run To The Future EP, Cyntia's debut full length prevails as a relative triumph, channeling each celestial artists' techniques and flair to embellish their creations with a sense of majesty that retains an inclusive zest rather than an imposing authority. The novice listener may not be initially prepared for Endless World, but through time and wisdom, an understanding can be drawn as to the uplifting accomplishments this effort entails against the grain of mass-produced thought by means of expressing concepts through tonal measurements. As philosopher Gottfried Leibniz once stated, "I hold that the mark of a genuine idea is that its possibility can be proved, either a priori by conceiving its cause or reason, or a posteriori when experience teaches us that it is in fact in nature". An experience with Cyntia brings the 'possible' to light.