Cynic [2011] Carbon-Based Anatomy

Three years after their controversial album Traced In Air, Cynic are back with another piece of worldly metal fusion, pissing off diehard metal fans across the globe. Progressing in the worldly atmospheric tones that Traced In Air flirted with, Carbon-Based Anatomy is comprised of 3 new tracks, an intro, outro and an interlude, essentially creating a glorified three song ep. A noticeable difference in this release is that none of the tracks feature Paul Masvidal’s signature robot vocals, which to many seems like a blessing but I must admit I miss them. The tracks also aren’t nearly as heavy or groovy as the previous material, including Traced In Air, instead they are more soundscapey and melodic in nature; I don’t believe I recall a single harsh vocal being used once, instead there are layered vocals, Masvidal’s semisignature softspoken vocals and the occasional spoken word-esque parts. The non-musical tracks are interesting, the first being the opening track “Amidst The Coals”, features a female vocalist singing in some foreign worldly dialect. The third track “Bija!” follows this approach, featuring tribal percussion laid over more female singing and male tribal chanting. The outro, “Hieroglyph” is an ambient soundscape finisher with Masvidal faintly whaling in the background while a woman recounts a self discovery story of some fictitious being. As a whole it flows together, it just feels like something is missing.

Complaints? I get that this is an ep, but the bulk of this release just feels like total filler, and considering 50% of the release is comprised of innerludes and completely unrelated tracks, I would have been a little pissed if I actually spent money on this, I mean really Traced In Air was three years ago, one would think in those three years they could deliver something a little more promising. But hey, this could very well be a conceptual release for them, who am I to judge, I just know that if this were a meal I would need about 3 more of them to feel like I got my full helpings. Musically I don’t really mind the worldly direction the band is taking, but I kind of miss the robot vocals a tiny tiny bit. Overall it is one of those things you listen to to keep you entertained until the next proper release and never listen to again.

SHIT RATING: ALRIGHT