Cynic

The Profile

Cynic are an American band known for blending technical death metal with progressive and jazz-fusion elements, and for the influential 1993 album “Focus.”

The reviews describe Cynic as a Florida-origin band and consistently highlight “Focus” (1993, Roadrunner Records) as their defining work. Several reviews note members Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert, and discuss the band’s early demos (1988–1991) as a documented evolution toward the sound of “Focus.” Later reviews mention the deaths of Sean Reinert and Sean Malone, and characterize “Ascension Codes” as driven forward under Masvidal with new collaborators.

Across these reviews, Cynic are framed as a landmark technical/progressive metal band whose 1993 album “Focus” is repeatedly treated as a masterpiece. The demos (1988–1991) are praised for surprising maturity and for documenting the shift from thrash/early death metal toward the Focus blueprint. Post-reunion material splits opinion: “Traced in Air” is called both a masterpiece and a devolution, while later releases emphasize atmosphere, prog, and electronics over death/fusion.