Conor Fynes '90 Demo' - Cynic (4/10)

With two demos of varying quality under their belt, Cynic makes something of a return to form with their '90 Demo'. Now twenty years old, one can hear Paul Masvidal's style taking shape a little more, although it is clear that the band is still well underneath the wing of their contemporaries Death. Now featuring legendary bassist Tony Choy, it is a shame that '90 Demo' still doesn't have the clarity of the first thing the band released, because for all intents and purposes, this would be the most musically developed thing that Cynic had released yet. Still four years away from the release of their classic album 'Focus' however, Cynic would need a lot of work before they could start influencing other bands themselves.

Featuring three songs, Cynic begins to tread away from the proto-death metal thrashiness that is porbably best exemplified with Death's 'Scream Bloody Gore', and goes for a somewhat more technical approach. The track 'Cruel Gentility' for example features some incredible lead work from Paul Masvidal that seems to take less of an emphasis on raw speed and goes towards more of a well-intentioned take on shredding. The songwriting may very well be the thing that has changed least since Cynic first took the stage, still featuring the interchanging riffs and solos underneath somewhat philosophical lyric work. The songs are generally better played than they ever have before, even though it still does not feel as if the recording lends itself well to having each instrument heard clearly. Perhaps the greatest fault here is the fact that bassist Tony Choy (who would later go on to achieve fame with Atheist) is not easily heard on the tracks here, instead being barely audible. Even so, '90 Demo' is fairly good as demos go, although it still suffers from many of the flaws that entail being one.