CYNIC — Carbon-Based Anatomy (review)

CYNIC — Carbon-Based Anatomy album cover

EP · 2011 · Metal Related

4/5 · 2011-10-27
Time Signature

Box up my bones...

Genre: progressive rock/metal

After last year's experimental "Re-Traced", Cynic are back with another EP, and this time a more integrated conceptual one containing all original tracks. The overall style is softer than on both the legendary "Focus" and the equally legendary "Traced in Air", but more metal-relevant than "Re-Traced", as the style of the three major tracks on "Carbon-Based Anatomy" are more in the vein of 'Wheels Within Wheels' - the only original track on "Re-Traced".

The three tracks in question are 'Carbon-Based Anatomy', 'Box Up My Bones', and 'Elves Beam Out', all of which have the usual rich texture that characterizes Cynic's music in general, combining Sean Reinert's dynamic drumming with Paul Masvidal and Sean Malone's technically advanced and expressive playing. Unlike "Focus" and "Traced in Air", which are more on the metal-side, these three tracks fall somewhere in between rock and metal, but still have the unmistakable Cynic sound. Adding to the already rich soundscape of the album, electronic elements pop up every now and then (an example being the effects applied to the drums in sections of 'Elves Beam Out', which also appears to involve guitar synths in one of the solos).

The title track is probably the mellowest of the three but features some heavy guitars towards the end, while 'Box Up My Bones' has a big epic sound with choral arrangements, atmospheric synths, female spoken word and a Dizzy Mizz Lizzy-ishly distorted guitar, and 'Elves Beam Out' is more of a progressive hard rocker with many interesting details and some cool riffing.

The remaining tracks 'Amidst the Coals', 'Bija!' and 'Hieroglyph' are atmospheric pieces which include Native American chants and spoken word, sweeping synth arrangements, atmospheric effects and so on, and, while they definitely are beautiful and fit into the overall picture, I think they might strike some people as just being fillers.

In its own right, "Carbon-Based Anatomy" is a fine relase of very high quality (no surprise, since the Cynic guys are amazing musicians), but it does impress me as much as "Focus" and "Traced in Air" did, as "Carbon-Based Anatomy" lacks a lot of the elements that made me think that "Focus" and "Traced in Air" were really special and unique, groundbreaking releases - not just in metal, or in progressive music, but in the world of music in general. And, I do hope that the next full-length release from Cynic will have a more metal oriented-sound and feature growls (which are absent here) like "Traced in Air".

Still, "Carbon-Based Anatomy" is a very enjoyable listen and reconfirms that the Cynic guys are uniquely talented musicians.

more than 2 years ago
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UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

They are great tracks for sure, but the title track on this EP is what I call masterpiece material (great live too) and I don´t think those other tracks quite live up to that extremely high quality.

Time Signature wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I must say that, having experienced 'Elves Beam Out' live, my appreciation for that track has grown immensely. This also applies to 'Wheels Within Wheels' from "Re-Traced".

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Just re-read your review of this one Kim, and I agree with a lot of the things you say here. A really well written review in my book. I´ll post my own in not so long.