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Well, what can you say about Cynic that hasn't already been said? They're the ultimate one-hit-wonder in metal, and they only ever released one full length album! For those of you who aren't familiar with them, Cynic's sound is difficult to describe (but I'll do my best...). They're a somewhat jazzy death metal band, but far 'smoother' than other death metal bands, to the point where they are quite unique within the genre. They do have a death growl, but it is often accompanied by a strange robotic sounding distorted vocal track, and the occassional female vocal. Instrumentally, they are in the upper echelons of metal. The bass is fantastic, Sean Malone does a peerless job and Sean Reinert slays on the drums, the guitar lines are unique and somewhat labyrinthe. In short, if you are not familiar with Cynic, become familiar with their album 'Focus' without delay.

(Related bands include Gordian Knot, a prog/jazz instrumental band members went on to form, and Portal (Pre-cynic band members, released one demo [which kicks a** also]).

(The poll is just to get a feeling for how many people in here know about 'em)

Didn't they disban in '95?
I think that I listened to the first song on Focus and don't recall my impression.. this was a while ago though.