Band:	Cynic
Album:	Re-Traced
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	May 2010

01. Space
02. Evolutionary
03. King
04. Integral
05. Wheels Within Wheels

I am in a vast minority here but I like Re-Traced. In fact, I would much rather listen to Re-Traced than Traced In Air. While Traced In Air was a nice experimental metal excursion that will inspire newer artists to test out new directions for years to come, much like Cynic's first album did, it is hard to overlook how the band just doesn't have their heart in metal anymore. The more they tried to create a "not metal" metal sound, the more I just wanted them to remove those elements and do what they clearly wanted to do anyway. This is where Re-Traced enters the picture, removing nearly all of the metal bits from select Traced In Air material and essentially stripping it down into a complex acoustic album. I can understand why most metal fans wouldn't care for Re-Traced but, for me, there is one big reason that makes it great.

As a writer it can be hard to have music in the background; when that blast beat kicks in or that awesome instrumental part starts my attention is immediately taken away from my writing. This is problematic since I love music and try to fill every moment possible with it. What Cynic has accomplished here may not be great for a car ride or for the background of a get together but as a writer it toes the line perfectly between quiet and complex. The various shifts in the music put my brain in a place that inspires creativity without ever demanding much of my attention.

= In Short = Paul Masvidal's voice is something I find soothing; others find it "whiny". Your enjoyment of this EP will be entirely determined by which side of that fence you're on. The biggest blow to Re-Traced is that it offers nothing to the fanbase of Focus, the album that pioneered an entirely new direction for death metal, and that has caused some legitimate anger from fans who feel it spits in the face of that accomplishment. Re-Traced is essentially AEon Spoke covering the Traced In Air material under the Cynic name and should be approached as such. Re-Traced pretty much defines the term "it is what it is"; you're either willing to set aside your preconceived notions of what it should be or you're not, I won't blame you either way.