Review: CYNIC – “Traced In Air”

Cynic – “Traced in Air” [Seasons of Mist] … the legendary Floridians reunite after 15 yrs for their followup to 1993′s Focus: one of the templates for Jazz-Metal fusion … with 3/4 of the lineup intact (guitarist Jason Gobel is not here) they have deftly recorded a logical progression from their debut … thematically similar (spirituality, transcendence, etc) with all the dynamism expected … there are some changes, particularly in the vocal dept, where the vocoder is scaled back (giving the clean vox a Porcupine Tree sound) and death growls are now minimal and complimentary … a veritable force of nature, chronicling aspects of our being both primal and visionary … to not list as a Best of 2008 is criminal … FCC OK … Try *2*, 3, 4, 5, 6, *7* … 1 and 8 serve better on an album listen … 2008Nov11

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