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Cynic - Kindly Bent To Free Us



7.4 | 233 votes |
Release date: 10 February 2014
Style: Progressive rock

Owners:

174 have it
27 want it


01. True Hallucination Speak
02. The Lion's Roar
03. Kindly Bent To Free Us
04. Infinite Shapes
05. Moon Heart Sun Head
06. Gitanjali
07. Holy Fallout
08. Endlessly Bountiful
09. Earth Is My Witness [special edition bonus]

Additional info
Recorded and mixed between December 2012 and May 2013.
Engineering: Jason Donaghy, Perfect Sound.
Mixing: R. Walt Vincent, Spring Street Sound.
Mastering: Maor Appelbaum Mastering.
Produced by Cynic.

Cover painting 'Atomic Blossom': Robert Venosa.

Guest review by
Lethrokai
Rating:
8.8
To summarize this review with a single analogy, this album is the musical equivalent of a Ming vase. Under pressure, it is highly fragile and can be shattered with relative ease. Yet if listeners handle it with delicacy, they may just find ripe beauty in its design, and in the clear effort that went into crafting it.

Read more ››
published 06.06.2014 | Comments (2)

Found in 32 lists
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Comments

Comments: 59   [ 1 ignored ]   Visited by: 819 users
10.11.2013 - 21:57
qlacs
"The Quaker"
What kind of weird title is this...
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11.11.2013 - 00:50
CapA
Ayyyyye lmao
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11.11.2013 - 03:57
Rating: 9
CWA
Awesome cover again, no surprise there.
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11.11.2013 - 05:08
Rating: 3
bloodwrage
Pagan Angel
Written by qlacs on 10.11.2013 at 21:57

What kind of weird title is this...

Have you seen their last two EP's? This is par for the course at this point.
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11.11.2013 - 07:58
3rdWorld
China was a neat
Written by bloodwrage on 11.11.2013 at 05:08

Written by qlacs on 10.11.2013 at 21:57

What kind of weird title is this...

Have you seen their last two EP's? This is par for the course at this point.

The EP titles were ok. But this is just plain weird in a bad way. One of THE worst titles for the next year.
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11.11.2013 - 08:56
3rdWorld
China was a neat
Nothing too wonderful about this either.
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11.11.2013 - 12:19
qlacs
"The Quaker"
Written by 3rdWorld on 11.11.2013 at 07:58


The EP titles were ok. But this is just plain weird in a bad way. One of THE worst titles for the next year.

I can imagine this is a porn movie subtitle... sperms talking lol
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11.11.2013 - 15:13
Luneth
Account deleted
So many children...
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11.11.2013 - 21:35
Rating: 9
Lethrokai
I'll be honest, I never really cared about titles and artwork. Some of my favourite albums of all time have shitty art and titles.

It's very rare that these things will play any factor in the music, which is what really matters... so why is everyone arguing over this?
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Sometimes you just need to roll the dice and look away.
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11.01.2014 - 23:39
Rating: 6
CobiWan1993
Secundum Filium
I've been meaning to get into Cynic's music, might as well start with this one.
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Ordinary men hate solitude. But the Master makes use of it, embracing his aloneness, realizing he is one with the whole universe (Lao Tzu).
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12.01.2014 - 00:44
Lit.
Account deleted
Written by CobiWan1993 on 11.01.2014 at 23:39

I've been meaning to get into Cynic's music, might as well start with this one.

There is only one way to get into Cynic's music and that's by listening to Focus.
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12.01.2014 - 05:17
Rating: 6
CobiWan1993
Secundum Filium
Written by [user id=101272] on 12.01.2014 at 00:44

Written by CobiWan1993 on 11.01.2014 at 23:39

I've been meaning to get into Cynic's music, might as well start with this one.

There is only one way to get into Cynic's music and that's by listening to Focus.

I need to get that one too.
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Ordinary men hate solitude. But the Master makes use of it, embracing his aloneness, realizing he is one with the whole universe (Lao Tzu).
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12.01.2014 - 10:38
Rating: 6
Cynic Metalhead
Ambrish Saxena
Written by [user id=101272] on 12.01.2014 at 00:44

Written by CobiWan1993 on 11.01.2014 at 23:39

I've been meaning to get into Cynic's music, might as well start with this one.

There is only one way to get into Cynic's music and that's by listening to Focus.

Aye.

Prolly, one and only album Cynic is famous for.
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15.01.2014 - 06:04
Rating: 8
Diverge
Written by Cynic Metalhead on 12.01.2014 at 10:38

Written by [user id=101272] on 12.01.2014 at 00:44

Written by CobiWan1993 on 11.01.2014 at 23:39

I've been meaning to get into Cynic's music, might as well start with this one.

There is only one way to get into Cynic's music and that's by listening to Focus.

Aye.

Prolly, one and only album Cynic is famous for.

As far as I'm aware, Traced in Air was received with moderate levels of praise upon its release. In fact, Evolutionary Sleeper and Integral Birth were pretty hard to escape from in 2008, if I recall correctly. Yes, there was a lot of criticism given to the album as well, but I think it's still an album Cynic are famous for creating.

As for someone else's claim that Focus is the only way to get into Cynic... Traced in Air is certainly a more accessible beginning and features many of the familiar features that made Cynic famous with Focus in the first place. Imo, it would certainly be the right first album for those coming from a modern progressive rock or a non metal-based background, as the vocoder can sometimes be a turnoff to the uninitiated. To see Cynic in their full brilliance, you definitely need to hear Focus, but a good deal of people would probably appreciate it more if they had some familiarity with Traced in Air (simply because it's more consistently mellow).
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03.02.2014 - 21:40
Rating: 4
God Alone
Gave it a couple of listens, I don't know what to think. I'm pretty confused.

EDIT: heard it again, and found it a complete waste of time. A couple of decent/nice moments drowned in a sea of random notes. I don't even want to call it "progressive". Blah.
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04.02.2014 - 05:22
Rating: 8
Diverge
Better than I thought it would be.
I don't miss the harsh vocals at all here; it sounds like Cynic throughout the album, and frankly that's good enough for me.
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05.02.2014 - 22:18
Rating: 3
Rulatore
Pretty bad if you ask me... especially the vocals, holy fuck.
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06.02.2014 - 19:38
Fearmeister
Account deleted
This bass playing turns me on so much
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06.02.2014 - 22:29
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
I am not a prog fan , but this album made me listen it and I anjoy, if prog makes me listen it and also enjoy, then its something
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I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens.

Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"

I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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Album Release day (February 10, 2014)
11.02.2014 - 19:32
Rating: 9
Lethrokai
This is obviously gonna be an album that will divide opinions, ESPECIALLY here on MS.

However, me personally... I'm loving this. It's nice to hear a prog album that is actually progressive for once.

This will almost definitely be on my top albums list for the year. It might even be Cynic's best work yet, it's THAT good!
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Sometimes you just need to roll the dice and look away.
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11.02.2014 - 20:12
Rating: 8
DerTeesi
I pretty much never got into their old stuff. But by hearing this album I think this will be great.
Close to preordering it.

Full stream here: (Though not sure how long this will be online)
http://pitchfork.com/advance/341-kindly-bent-to-free-us/
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12.02.2014 - 01:40
Rating: 8
Diverge
This is a really good record, but it's not nearly flashy enough for album of the year. It's pretty mundane, especially relative to the standards Cynic have already set.
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14.02.2014 - 18:21
Rating: 3
Warman
Erotic Stains
This is pretty bad.

EDIT: This is really bad.
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14.02.2014 - 23:04
Rating: 6
musicalkaratekid
Written by Warman on 14.02.2014 at 18:21

This is pretty bad.

EDIT: This is really bad.

Is it monstrously bad?
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14.02.2014 - 23:51
Rating: 3
Warman
Erotic Stains
Written by musicalkaratekid on 14.02.2014 at 23:04

Is it monstrously bad?

Could be.
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15.02.2014 - 13:05
Rating: 9
Lethrokai
Written by Warman on 14.02.2014 at 18:21

This is pretty bad.

EDIT: This is really bad.

This is pretty good.

EDIT: This is really good.

Nah, I'm just teasing ya. I seriously love this album, but I can understand why people here feel the way they do. Once again Cynic has tried to do something rather different (but still keeping their own sound) and once again it is REALLY gonna cause a wave of different opinions on this album. Overall however, I think that it's got a beautiful sound to it, and is possibly even Cynic's best to date!
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Sometimes you just need to roll the dice and look away.
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15.02.2014 - 14:29
Rating: 3
Warman
Erotic Stains
I don't think it's THAT different or original.
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15.02.2014 - 19:39
Fearmeister
Account deleted
Written by Warman on 15.02.2014 at 14:29

I don't think it's THAT different or original.

So what does this sound like if it isn't original?
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15.02.2014 - 20:27
Rating: 3
Warman
Erotic Stains
Written by [user id=126528] on 15.02.2014 at 19:39

So what does this sound like if it isn't original?

Like bad Cynic? Like progressive metal with shitty vocals? I never said it's not original, I said it's not THAT original. Seems like some think it's mindblowing in originality. And hey, maybe it is to them. But to me it certainly wasn't something which made me think "whoa, what's this?".
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15.02.2014 - 22:46
Hex_Omega
Gem Seeker
Average album, nothing special.
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