TRACED IN AIR

Wow. I have to say, I didn't really know what to expect when I picked up this album from my local FYE. However, there was only one copy left, and I had heard plenty of good things about Cynic, so I took a risk and bought the album prior to hearing any Cynical material. One of the best musical decisions I have ever made.

When I first listened to Traced In Air, I actually didn't care much for it. I'm not sure what I was wanting it to sound like instead, but the incredible originality of this music at first caused me not to enjoy it. Not because it was original, of course, but because it was so different from any other album in the genre. So, it was only until many months later when I decided to force myself to sit down and listen to the whole thing from start to finish that I finally understood what all the fuss was about. This truly is incredible.

My three favorite songs would have to be ''The Space For This'', ''Evolutionary Sleeper'' and ''Adam's Murmur'', though every single track on this record is brilliant. It has no weal point. Odd, really, since like I said I didn't understand why people dug it so much initially. Just goes to show that returning to music you may not have enjoyed on the first go 'round is highly beneficial, and almost insisted, especially with this genre of music.

So what makes it Progressive? Well, since it's Metal, I can understand this question being asked, but when compared to the rest of the generic Metal music that is out today, the originality of Traced In Air becomes clear. Instead of single note, palm- muted strumming constantly, the rhythm guitar duties are occupied just as much by Jazz chords, old-school Prog-Rock progressions and long periods of moody silence. In most typical Metal music being made right now, it seems the guitars are always present, and always playing in the same style. To the point when they begin to crowd the rest of the music. Not with Cynic. These guys have a very eclectic musical taste, and it shows very prominently.

Another feature commonly associated with super heavy music of this type would be the cookie monster-style growling vocal. Again, there is a nice mixture of high, soft and melodic singing along with what you would expect. So rather than dancing to only one tune, there are several directions these guys go in, and they do it quite frequently. This makes the music much easier to digest, and not nearly as overly-brutal or in-your-face as other Metal acts may be to some people. I strongly recommend this gem of modern Jazz-Metal (because that's what it is!) to anybody with an open-minded attitude about Metal. If you've been trying to get into this side of the music spectrum, but still haven't found the right outlet, this may very well be the record for you. Melodic, heavy, dark and beautiful, Cynic's Traced In Air is a wonderful contradiction of sound and attitude. All of these varied moods seamlessly flow together, and make this album a very worthy purchase for anybody willing to take a little walk into unusual heavy territory.

Happy Listening.

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