Namely, the band’s third demo, aptly titled Demo 1990. When we signed to Roadrunner Records, I remember Monte and Borivoj caring tremendously about us, reinforcing the songwriting aspect behind the music, and urging us to focus more on repetition, choruses, memorability, etc.ĭemo 1991 wasn’t entirely formed out of new ideas, new music and spiritual influences, and new experiences. I recall even around the time of recording the Roadrunner Records demo, that I was obsessing over the idea of a song not needing any obvious repetition at all, and treating songs more as a sonic experiments that deceptively used motifs without traditional songwriting sensibilities. “ lent to songs that had a less than orthodox approach. ![]() “We were essentially rock/metal kids who got deep into jazz, fusion, world and instrumental music,” Masvidal says. It only became legendary many years later when metal fans finally caught up with it." It is easy to claim everyone saw its greatness now, with over 20 years of hindsight in our back pockets, but that record was not a success upon release. So much so in fact that the death metal world had no idea what to make of it. "When I heard the mixes in progress, I realized I got way more than I had bargained for and that they had pioneered something completely new and unique. "They turned into a whole new band by the time they recorded Focus," Monte recalls. As young musicians, willing to learn and able to stretch boundaries, they also considered feedback from their peers-like Shaefer and Chuck Schuldiner-as well as industry heavyweights such as Roadrunner Records A&R man Monte Conner and journalist Borivoj Krgin. “Uroboric Forms”, “The Eagle Nature”, and “Pleading for Preservation” were dazzling displays of high-energy, technically improbable death metal, the likes of which few could conceptually or physically match at the time. There’s little doubt that the songs on Demo 1991, made primarily as a showcase for Roadrunner Records, were informed by but intended to take the genre beyond, however. See, when Cynic signed to Roadrunner Records to a seven-album deal in June 1992, they were effectively a full-on death metal act, spurred by the intrepid sounds and friendly backing of fellow Floridians Atheist-frontman Kelly Shaefer was an ardent fan and early mentor-and Death. Demo era Cynic was essentially an outlet for a bunch of restless and creative musical teenagers.” The first three demos in particular, seemed to be driven by the spirit of teenage angst and sheer rebellion. I didn’t really know what the band was trying to say during the demo years, in terms of the entire scope, and that would include the artwork and lyrical message. And most importantly, it inspired a lot of other artists to make new work. It was deviant in all the right ways and it rode the edges of our creative abilities at the time. ![]() Focus wasn’t a masterpiece for me, but it did have an unorthodox freshness and originality that made it unlike anything out there when it was released. Had we made an album prior to that event, it would’ve been a completely different work. A lot of things went down that year and looking back, having essentially twelve more months to turn the songs inside out and write some new music, became a blessing. On a symbolic level, Andrew created an opportunity to push our musicianship and songwriting to another level. I’ve heard people say this when they are diagnosed with a terminal illness, often when it’s too late, and I know this firsthand suffering becomes a grace. “When disaster strikes one must re-assess and start over. “Andrew forced a lot of people into an urgent, survival focused state,” Masvidal recalls. Beauty and new light spawned out of chaos and destruction. While the rest of Florida picked up the pieces, Cynic transformed. In effect, Focus is directly related to Hurricane Andrew and the time it afforded Cynic to re-craft their sound. With 25,000 homes lost-Gobel’s home disintegrated into pieces while the family huddled in their bathroom-Mother Nature proved merciless and indiscriminate. Striking South Florida in August 1992, the Category 5 hurricane nearly wiped out Miami-Dade County. Masvidal and Cynic-then comprising of drummer Sean Reinert, guitarist Jason Gobel, and bassist Sean Malone-likely wouldn’t have released Focus as we know it today if it wasn’t for Hurricane Andrew. Anger and rebellion were not the driving forces, musical freedom was!” “It was all about the music and the exploration of creativity and communication as an art form. “We weren’t ever thinking in terms of death metal or genre at all,” says Cynic frontman Paul Masvidal of seminal album Focus.
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