Cynic is an American band -- incorporating progressive, experimental, alternative, and metal  elements -- founded in Miami, Florida. Cynic are one of the only death metal-inspired bands to have openly gay members. Founding members Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert publicly revealed their homosexuality in May 2014, a move that was broadly supported by the heavy metal community. Their first album, Focus, released on September 14, 1993, is widely regarded as a landmark release of the progressive metal genre.
Cynic's first recordings feature a more punk, thrash and hardcore sound, but in the 1990s their sound changed towards a highly complex, experimental and extremely technical form of progressive metal, while still retaining their death metal roots. Their 1990 demo displays a hyper-technical form of death/thrash, and the following 1991 Roadrunner demo bears a notable resemblance to Death and jazz-death metal pioneers Atheist, featuring two songs from Focus in cruder, more brutal form. Many influences from jazz and jazz-rock fusion can be heard on their debut album Focus. Focus has both "growls" and "robotic" vocals, using a vocoder. The offshoot Portal later released a demo recording that continues even further in the direction of progressive space rock, refining and softening up their sound. Cynic's 2008 album Traced in Air melded together the styles and influences heard on 1993's Focus with the more progressive-oriented Portal approach. The result had Cynic put less emphasis on its extreme metal elements, with new guttural vocalist Tymon Kruidenier playing a smaller role than Tony Teegarden did on Focus. Additionally, Paul Masvidal all but abandoned his vocoder robotic vocals, opting instead for a more natural singing voice, with a subtler --although noticeable-- vocoder layer that increases an octave his voice. Noting the journey from metal to the progressives, The New York Times proclaimed in a positive review of Traced in Air that "Cynic should be understood not so much alongside any metal bands but along with the radical harmonic progressives in the last 45 years of pop and jazz: composers like Milton Nascimento, The Beach Boys or Pat Metheny."
What was there musical style?
Cynic's first recordings feature a more punk, thrash and hardcore sound, Cynic's first recordings feature a more punk, thrash and hardcore sound, but in the 1990s their sound changed towards a highly complex, experimental and extremely technical form of progressive metal, Cynic's first recordings feature a more punk, thrash and hardcore sound, punk, thrash and hardcore sound, but in the 1990s their sound changed towards a highly complex, experimental and Cynic's first recordings feature a more punk, thrash and hardcore sound, but in the 1990s their sound changed
Cynic's first recordings feature a more punk, thrash and hardcore sound, but in the 1990s their sound changed