FOCUS

very few bands can actually make a technical wankfest sound good. gordian knot, at war with self, dream theater (certain albums), atheist, and king crimson can conquer this endeavor, just to name a few. but, to give this review a point, cynic should also be added to that list. if you can get past the electronic or death vocals (depending on your preference), you'll notice that each member of the band is very techincall proficient, and that if nothing else, compliment each other perfectly. you see, cynic is one of those groups that find the thin line of balance between "sounding good" and getting too self-indulgent with their instruments. pick any one track from this album, and you'll see what i mean. all the instruments weave in and out with each other, forming some ethreal reality of sound that you can easily get lost in. they manage to also add in intelligent, insighful lyrics, as well as the digital and death vocals that i previously mentioned. if atheist pioneered death-jazz, cynic perfected it. for that, i will give this album a 5/5 . . .