DEMO 1991

"Demo 1991" is the fourth demo recording by US technical/progressive metal act Cynic. The demo was recorded for and released by Roadrunner Records in 1991 and was initially only meant to be a promo for the label to decide wether or not they would sign Cynic (which they eventually did).

The demo features demo versions of "Uroboric Forms" and "The Eagle Nature", which would both be re-recorded and included on Cynic´s 1993 debut full-length studio album "Focus", and the third track "Pleading for Preservation", which is exclusive to this demo (although the outro section was used on "How Could I"). The demo versions of "Uroboric Forms" and "The Eagle Nature" sound a bit unfinished and doesn´t feature the vocoder vocals, which made them what they are on "Focus", but it´s still obvious how well playing Cynic are and how many intriguing songwriting ideas they had. They´ve moved from being a technical Bay Area thrash metal influenced act to being a technical/progressive death metal act and the style they play here is much more interesting and unique than what they had produced before. It´s interesting to note that guitarist/vocalist Paul Masvidal has also changed his vocal style and now delivers aggressive snarling semi-growling. This would be his one and only extreme vocal performance as he would stop performing extreme vocals after this demo, because he realised he was hurting his vocal cords.

"Demo 1991" is well produced, the performances are high level on all posts, and the songwriting is unique and intriguing. Cynic took the final step forward with this demo and cemented their position as one of the seminal technical/progressive death metal acts from the late 80s/early 90s. The demo is still a little rough around the edges, but you still get a good idea of the brilliance of Cynic. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

Cynic - 'Demo 1991'

Watch things take form.

This would be Cynic's last demo before they released their debut album Focus. This demo takes a novel direction from the previous outputs. The music has a higher tendency to their technical virtuosity then their trash metal beginnings. To point more of a finger on it; the music takes more of a root in straight death metal then thrash metal. Clearly; the band stays away from fast palm-muted power chords and more to complex riffs, and death growls rather than some low pitched screaming/yelling.

The early forms of 'Uroboric Forms' and 'The Eagle Nature' take region here. The band certainly took these tracks to the next level after two years of keeping quiet (do to many unexpected catastrophes'). The musical performance is high quality from each and every musician, as the guitars have ascended to a higher field of talent and composition, and the bass and drums have improved, but were certainly good enough. The quality of the demo isn't too shabby for the time period.

Better than just a fan item. I'd say this is quite a good addition for a jazz metal or a technical metal fan. This is still a rather short EP.

'Demo 1991' - Cynic (6/10)

At last, Cynic emerges.

'Demo 1991'- or also known as the 'Roadrunner Demo'- comes after a stream of three demos which each hinted at the talent and skill of Cynic, but were often too caught up in Death worship and poor recording quality to really make much of a lasting statement. Finally, now at the age of twenty-one, Paul Masvidal comes out with a demo that finally starts showing his band making music that treads out from underneath the shadow of Death and gets something more original going on. While earlier recordings could be easily likened to the style Death played on 'Scream Bloody Gore', Cynic takes a much more technical route with this one, and even features some mellow spacey guitar work; the likes of which would be more heavily focused on with the band's debut full-length 'Focus'. Virtually every aspect of Cynic's sound has been improved here, finally creating an experience that is musically worth returning to and listening again.

While most demos are plagued by poor recording quality, Cynic has finally achieved a sound that is still not perfect or even great, but is fair enough to not impede the music too much. Although it would have been nice to be able to hear the bass playing a little more, Cynic's studio production is fair enough here. The actual music here is also quite good, and Cynic is starting to develop a more unique sound in their riffs and technical instrumentation, although the robotic vocals that many associate with the band are still not heard here. Perhaps the best thing that Cynic has going for them at this point are the great solos of Masvidal, which even by this point, outdo the sort of leads that Chuck Schuldiner of Death was doing. Suffice to say, Cynic would still only get better in the future, but 1991 would be the year where Cynic's music would start to blossom.