Cynic

Fallow Heart: THE ORIGIN OF LIFE Part lV (Paul Masvidal on The Beauty of Impermanence)

June 16, 2023

In the finale of Fallow Heart, Forrest Pitts interviews Cynic’s Paul Masvidal on the poetry of Focus and beyond.

Atheist and Cynic Members Go Deep On The A Piece of Time Podcast

June 5, 2023

Kelly Shaefer, of Atheist and Till the Dirt, is host of the A Piece of Time Podcast. In Episode 2, Shaefer interviews Cynic‘s Paul Masvidal for two incredible hours. Atheist and Cynic embark on the Focus and Presence tour June 10th in Austin, TX.

Fallow Heart: THE ORIGIN OF LIFE: Tall Tales of Creation Part lIl (Fit for a Pine Overcoat)

May 26, 2023

In Part III of Azusa, ex-Dillinger Escape Plan bassist Liam Wilson‘s and Decibel‘s Forrest Pitts’ discussion, they refocus on the impact of 16 Horsepower.

Fallow Heart: THE ORIGIN OF LIFE: Tall Tales of Creation Part ll (With Liam Wilson on Cynic’s ‘Focus’)

February 10, 2023

Part II of Azusa, ex-Dillinger Escape Plan bassist Liam Wilson‘s and Decibel‘s Forrest Pitts’ discussion of the spiritual nature of Cynic‘s 1993 classic Focus.

Fallow Heart: THE ORIGIN OF LIFE, Tall Tales of Creation Part 1 (With Liam Wilson on Cynic’s ‘Focus’)

December 21, 2022

In which Azusa, ex-Dillinger Escape Plan bassist Liam Wilson and Decibel‘s Forrest Pitts discuss the spiritual nature of Cynic‘s 1993 classic Focus.

Cynic Bassist Sean Malone Dies at 50

December 10, 2020

Decibel sends our deepest condolences to his family, friends, bandmates and countless fans around the world. Rest in power, Sean.

Five Heavy Albums that Changed My Life with Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation

November 21, 2018

To celebrate the release of Cattle Decapitation‘s new collection, Medium Rarities, we caught up with vocalist Travis Ryan to find out what five heavy albums changed his life.

The Top Ten Metal Reunion Albums

February 9, 2018

Don’t call them comebacks. Call them the best reunion albums in metal history.

Hall of Fame Countdown: Cynic’s “Focus”

October 17, 2017

Nearly 100 issues ago, we inducted Cynic‘s Focus into our not-yet-crowded-with-talent Hall of Fame. Now we count down those songs in celebration of one of the most confounding death metal records ever.

Video Premiere: Persefone – ‘Living Waves’

March 7, 2017

Persefone have released a music video for “Living Waves,” featuring Paul Masvidal of Cynic. 

Decibrity Playlist: Cynic

March 4, 2014

Just a quick listen to Cynic would reveal that Paul Masvidal and company probably have pretty eclectic musical tastes. Given that the band dropped its third full-length, Kindly Bent To Free Us, last month, the guitarist/vocalist was kind enough to pass along a medley of recent (and fairly nostalgic) listens. As he explains, “Playlists have…

Hollywood Babylon: Paul Masvidal’s Life in LA

February 5, 2014

Few people have a professional circle that includes Chris Barnes and Alex Webster, sexy pop starlet Terri Nunn and global film star Jim Carrey. One of them is Decibel Hall Of Fame inductee Paul Masvidal (enshrined with his Cynic bandmates for Focus). When Cynic fell apart in the mid-90s, Masvidal relocated to Los Angeles, where…

Prog-Death ‘Til You Drop with Exist’s New Sunlight

January 3, 2014

Back in May, the Deciblog allowed me the space to gush a little about Death To All frontman and Cynic tour buddy Max Phelps, who I’ve known a little bit since seeing his band Exist play in several low-key Maryland venues.  At the end of 2010, Exist recorded and released their In Mirrors EP, and…

Interview with Death To All 2013 Frontdude Max Phelps

May 3, 2013

Admission of personal bias:  I think Max is awesome, because I’ve seen Max do Max’s thing in Max’s band (Exist) and Max’s band is awesome.  I once described Exist’s music as not metal so much as a rad jazz quartet that decided to plug in and rip it up all loud-like.  Those proggy death-flecked jams…

Decibrity Playlist: “Best of” Meshuggah

March 29, 2012

Sure, Meshuggah releasing its seventh full-length on Tuesday was an event in and of itself. But what has gotten somewhat lost amidst the furor is that, for the quintet, this year marks a quarter century of polyrhythms, polymeters and, of course, polytours. To celebrate both achievements, we enlisted the help of some of the many…

Top 5 Extreme Metal Moments by Kelly Shaefer (Atheist)

November 15, 2010

#5. The end of the “Morrisound” era. In the late ‘80s Morrisound Studios in Tampa was the place to record, and it provided the first real clear production, in my opinion, of double bass work that was happening in the early days of extreme metal. For the first time you were able to hear things…

Cynic – “Focus”

October 1, 2009

Focus almost never happened. Hurricane Andrew (a Category 5 storm that devastated South Florida in 1992), bassists frequently exiting and three separate visits to Morrisound Studios could’ve cost the world Cynic.