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In the absence of actual new music or substantial information of some kind, I find it kinda hard to get psyched up about the announcement of an album release date in all but a few special cases. But there have been a number of big release date announcements and rumors in the past few days, so I figured I’d lump ‘em all together and, as if you expected anything else, share my thoughts, hopes and dreams for each. Here we go:
No, not that Portal.
Here’s a pretty major lapse in my metal education: I somehow had no idea that there was a Cynic “off-shoot” project called Portal, which combines the talents of Paul Masvidal, Sean Reinert, guitarist Jason Gobel, bassist Chris Kringel, and vocalist Aruna Abrams. There’s even some demos already up on YouTube (like the one above), so really, seriously, total shame on me for not knowing about this. But, hey, I’m excited to learn about it now!
The group apparently demoed ten songs together seventeen years ago (!!!), and those songs will finally see the light of day in March, when Season of Mist releases The Portal Tapes. Here’s a statement regarding the release from Mr. Masvidal himself:
“I never thought this day would come. A couple demos we’d record after Focus, under the name ‘Portal,’ would develop a life of their own, and somehow become part of Cynic‘s larger discography. As an artist, it’s an amazingly unpredictable journey, to see these quiet labors of love, find their way, in their own time.”
The Portal Tapes come out March 27 in North America and March 23 in Europe, and the release will be limited to five-thousand CDs and just one-thousand vinyl copies. We’ll post pre-order info as soon as we get it so none of you miss out. If the aforementioned YouTube demos are any indication, this is definitely gonna be worth owning — which is not at all shocking.
-AR
[via The PRP]
Meditation location #31 – CBA tour – Amstelveen - I found a park across from the venue where I sat next to a small pond. Reflecting in the water directly in front of me was an upside down tree. I immediately saw in it the classic ‘Sephiroth’ from Kabbalistic (Jewish mysticism) teachings. Also known as the ‘Tree of Life’, the image of the Sephiroth has ten energy centers and is basically a diagram that represents how the universe came into being. It’s often seen as linked to the human body. Do a Google image search to get an idea.
Some views consider the Sephiroth to be like a spiritual map, or a neophyte’s key to understanding hyper-dimensional physics. It’s also viewed as the path of a soul’s incarnation in the physical (as we know it) third dimension. Sounds complex, but all this esoteric language has been reduced to bare bones practicality since the post-Madonna endorsement. Her late 90′s album Ray Of Light was a Kabbalah-inspired coming-out record. She essentially introduced pop culture to these teachings and made the ‘red’ string bracelet a valuable piece of yarn. I don’t discount it’s potency for a minute since the placebo effect alone can work wonders on any believing human, and all power to ‘em.
Go to any big city Kabbalah center or website and you’ll find these bright pop colored coffee table books written in huge fonts elucidating the essence of the teachings. It can almost appear like candy-coated spiritual materialism on the surface, but inside those eye-catching flashy book covers is some good old universal truth, as found in any great spiritual tradition. They make it all seem blaringly obvious and common sense-like. Jews tend to be good at that!
Cynic’s Paul Masvidal has been chronicling the band’s U.S. and European Carbon-Based Anatomy tour as part of his Metta Mind Journal column here on MetalSucks over the past few days. Check out previous entries here. Today’s meditations come from the band’s tour stops in Copenhagen and Hamburg.
Meditation location #29 – CBA tour – Lyngsby / Copenhagen, Denmark - Sold out show! The most interesting part of my day was photographing these white berries I saw on a small barren tree just outside the venue. From afar they looked like glowing little alien pods in this dark patch of foliage. In one of my photographs, a sprite appeared as one of the pods; it was a centipede-like nymph with the face of a baby dove seal.
I meditated on the emergency ladder, at rooftop height and listened to the freeway on my left, as I quieted the mind and took refuge in stillness. What a gift it truly is to have meditation in life.
I had one person ask me post-show what ‘karmic thread’ means. He was referring to the song “Carbon-Based Anatomy.” I told him that I understood it to be that we’re all accumulating karma on a daily basis by our actions, and there’s a ‘thread’ we’re connected to (according to certain spiritual traditions, this would include past lives), that ultimately ripens. It appears in a more obvious way during the ‘dramatic periods’ of our life. The connective tissue of the karmic thread is always there, so as we accumulate merit with our ability to surrender/love or do the opposite, like going backwards, this thread essentially holds the energetic imprint of our soul. It’s who we’ve always been, mapped out like a universal grid ready to manifest as needed based on personal and collective energy.
Cynic’s Paul Masvidal has been chronicling the band’s U.S. and European Carbon-Based Anatomy tour as part of his Metta Mind Journal column here on MetalSucks over the past few days. Check out previous entries here. Today’s meditations come from the band’s tour stops in Berlin and Osnabrück, Germany.
Meditation location #27 – CBA tour. Berlin – Mark, our stage manager, whose bones are built of hearty Aussie stock, warned me with ‘it’s cold out there!’, as I stepped outside. When Mark says it’s cold, I listen. Rain! sleet!! hail!!! snow!!! Repeat… then came the WIND! Holy shit. Our bus driver Max was kind enough to walk Erin (our tour manager) and I up to a nearby restaurant where he treated us to a delicious breakfast.
Berlin has a sprawling big city vibe, packed with humans doing things. My sight line was immediately filled with graffiti. I can appreciate street art in most cities… in this area of Berlin, it’s nearly everywhere you look, like a backdrop. What’s interesting is that, an outsider looking in, at first glance, might think it’s a rough neighborhood == with our ghetto pop culture association to graffiti — although I realized quickly this area was far from ghetto. I think they might actually appreciate the street art aesthetic around here. The neighborhood outside the bus was filled with little boutique hipster stores selling t-shirts, jeans, vinyl, etc, along with the miscellaneous Turkish (falafel), and trendy, posh restaurants.
The streets were busy, and all the humans braving the weather encouraged me to do the same. I found myself up on a bridge where I took some photos, one of which was of a bicyclist riding towards me, squinting his eyes to protect himself from the hail. My feet were drenched. I only packed one pair on this tour and they’re kinda like vans in that they’re made of a sponge-like canvas. I’m reminded of last night’s rain, which was making a beautiful sound. I heard it from inside my bunk as it hit the roof of our bus. The flurry of drops had this complex rhythm going like some new school drum and bass meets electronic white noise. I wanted to record some of it, but was too tired to grab my phone.
Cynic are currently on tour in Europe, so vocalist/guitarist Paul Masvidal has decided to revive his Metta Mind Journal MetalSucks column in the form of a tour diary. Earlier this week we published the first group of entries from the U.S. portion of the tour and the first few European dates, yesterday we published Paul’s meditations from Vienna and Budapest, and today we follow with Slovakia and Prague.
Meditation location #25 – CBA tour. Slovakia – We rushed out of the bus and I went into a cafe / bar connected to the venue. Tobacco companies are making a killing in these parts. Across the board, folks of all ages puffing away. I couldn’t hang in the smokiness, so I walked further down the road and found a cafe that was warm and had some ginger tea, in a non-smoking room. Across the street was a park with a large sculpture of a poetically shaped human. Just behind it, underneath its ‘behind’ I sat on my behind and meditated. Surrounding me was a busy city, while various pedestrians made their way across the park. Considering the rough and seemingly dirty aesthetics of these city streets, I found it balanced by a general attractiveness amongst the Slovakian people.
Cynic are currently on tour in Europe, so vocalist/guitarist Paul Masvidal has decided to revive his Metta Mind Journal MetalSucks column in the form of a tour diary. Yesterday we published the first group of entries from the U.S. portion of the tour and the first few European dates, and today we have longer meditations from Vienna and Budapest. More will follow in the coming days.
Meditation location #23 – CBA tour. Vienna – Woke up feeling melancholic. Maybe it’s my sensitive, organic nature interacting with the dark, grey weather I saw from my bunk window. I brushed my teeth, had some fruit, and meditated in an open field across from a stage for, I’m guessing… summer concerts. I’ll be an intentional airhead today and sink into my body. I walked, and walked, and walked. On my way back to the venue I came upon a mall, and walked to the end of a long corridor on the 3rd floor where I found a music store. Some kid in the back was playing Nirvana’s Teen Spirit and then went into Aerosmith’s Dream On. Just by viewing the back of his body and how he held the guitar I could see he was a natural player. I mentally wished him happiness on his musical journey and left the store.
This day marked the 1/2 way point for our 19 shows in 19 days tour. 19 in numerology adds up to the #1. I’m trusting in the auspiciousness of 19 today. And even if that’s not worth holding onto, I’ll let it be my number for today. When I got back to the bus, I noticed everyone was a bit grumpy and irritable. Tour busses form their own field around them like a single organism. They collectively think and feel together over time. I realized being the human sponge that I am, I was just absorbing the vibes of our collective muck, and with just that one insight I could now play with the yucky energy that was floating around. Likes / dislikes, the game of good and bad. It’s a parade of arguing with reality and believing that our argument is of any good. So I come back to this moment and just breathe deep, for this moment is all I really have and all I really need. It’s that simple.
Cynic have been on tour for approximately the past month and a half, starting with their headlining performance at the inaugural Metal Suckfest, trekking across the country to the West Coast, then skipping over to Europe. What started as an effort by Paul Masvidal to simply chronicle each day’s meditation with a brief thought and a photo has evolved into an in-depth daily journal, so Paul thought it would be a good time to revive his Metta Mind Journal column on MetalSucks. These journals are also available via Paul’s Facebook page.
Paul began the diary on the tour’s fifth day, in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan. While his early entries are brief they’re no less interesting to read than the later ones which are much longer and more introspective. We’ve decided to group those early entries together and publish them all today, #5 through #22, which takes us through Slovenia. Tomorrow we’ll pick up with entry #23 from Vienna where Paul really starts to expand the scope of his journal entries.
Cynic’s Carbon-Based Anatomy EP highlights this week’s release slate, while White Wizzard, Blut Aus Nord, Bloody Panda, Coliseum and more are also releasing new albums. Let’s take a look after the jump.
We had a blast at The Metal Suckfest in NYC last weekend, but don’t worry if you couldn’t make it; earlier this week we shared Justina Villanueva’s photos from Night 1 (featuring Municipal Waste, God Forbid, Today is the Day and more) and today we’ve got Mariel “Tormentia” Pietrykoski’s photos from Night 2. After the jump, relive all the glorious metal brought down upon us by Cynic, Obscura, The Red Chord, 3, A Life Once Lost, Scale the Summit, Last Chance to Reason, Fight Amp, Rosetta and Ultrageist on Night 2.
Yeah, you read that right. Cynic’s entire new EP, Carbon-Based Anatomy, is now streaming in full right here. You should listen to it. As you know from reading my review, it’s awesome. So I’m not even gonna type anything else. Just go listen right now, then indulge in a group hug/yoga stretch in the comments section below.
Season of Mist will release Cynic’s Carbon-Based Anatomy this coming Tuesday, November 15. The band is also currently on tour with 3 and Scale the Summit. Here are dates:
11/11: Pontiac, MI @ Clutch Cargos
11/13: St Paul, MN @ Station 4
11/15: Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
11/16: Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex (UT)
11/17: Sparks, NV @ The Alley
11/18: Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
11/19: Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
11/22: San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
11/23: Hollywood, CA @ Key Club
-AR
A week ago, just a few days before they closed the The Metal Suckfest and a mere twenty-fours before their first proper performance with their new line-up, Cynic performed an extremely rare, extremely intimate acoustic set at one of our favorite NYC haunts, Idle Hands. I have no idea what the final head count in the bar was, but I know that the vast majority of the world’s Cynic devotees did not get to experience this truly special event.
Luckily, our friends from Metal Injection were there, and they caught it on video! You can check out the performance of “Veil of Maya” and “Evolutionary Sleeper” below; if you head over to Metal Injection, you can also check out a new interview with Cynic’s Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert, which was conducted outside of a synagogue. Just a fun fact for ya!
Cynic’s new EP, Carbon-Based Anatomy, comes out on November 15 via Season of Mist; if you don’t buy it, you’re a loser. Just sayin’.
-AR
So, oh, hey, you might have heard about this, but Cynic closed our festival this past Saturday night. It was only the second show for the band’s new line-up, but they killed, and the new material from their forthcoming EP, Carbon-Based Anatomy, just KILLED. Then Paul Masvidal said some very nice things about our website from the stage, and then I fainted, and when I woke up, it was over and everyone had gone home.
ANYWAY, one of those new songs from Carbon-Based Anatomy, is now streaming at NPR, and it’s freakin’ great, and you need to go listen to it. It is accompanied by a very nice interview with Mr. Masvidal, too, so really just get your ass to NPR right now.
Carbon-Based Anatomy comes out November 15 via Season of Mist; if for some reason you’re still convinced that you need to own it, please read my review here.
-AR
The Metal Suckfest is this weekend!!! And in case you’re not familiar with, or are somehow not sold on, the twenty incredible bands we’ve booked to play THE party of the year, we have scoured YouTube for recent live footage of ALL the artists playing the fest… so you can have a little taste of the madness we have in store for ya! You can see clips from all the bands playing on Friday, November 4 here; and check out clips of all the bands playing on Saturday, November 5 below.
And don’t forget: TODAY and TODAY ONLY, ALL TICKETS TO THE METAL SUCKFEST ARE JUST $25 EACH with no added fees, regardless of whether you buy tickets online, or just walk up to the box office at the Gramercy Theatre. So if you don’t already have your tickets, make sure you take advantage!!!
And now, without further ado, enjoy concert footage of all the bands playing Day Two of The Metal Suckfest!
More after the jump!
IT’S ALMOST HERE!!! After months and months of hard work and planning, The Metal Suckfest is this Friday + Saturday!!! We are obviously beyond excited. And we’re gonna have a ton of more news for you about the fest throughout this week, so you can get the maximum amount of fun out of your MSF experience.
For example: the legendary Cynic, who are headlining The Metal Suckfest on Saturday, November 5, will also be doing a special release party for their new EP, Carbon-Based Anatomy (our review here)!!! That event will take place on Wednesday, November 2 at Idle Hands Bar starting at 8 pm. The band will be signing copies of the EP, which doesn’t even come out ’til November 15, so if you come to this event, you can get yours two weeks in advance. And, as if that wasn’t cool enough, they’ll also be doing a special acoustic performance!
But wait! It gets even better!!! Idle Hands will be offering drink specials, including their signature $10 Tasting with Sierra Nevada. So you have a chance to see Cynic twice in one week, in totally different environments, doing totally different kinds of gigs, and you can get totally sloshed doing it. Not too shabby, eh?
You can get more details from Idle Hands’ official website. And we’ll have even MORE news on Idle Hands and a post-Suckfest party for you sometime this week. Stay tuned…
The Inaugural Metal Suckfest is almost here!!!! Twenty bands will DESTROY The Gramercy Theatre on November 4 and 5, PLUS there’s an awesome, five-band pre-party at the venue the night before, making this THE can’t-miss hang of the year.
Tickets are on sale now right here, and you can hit up the fest’s official website for more info on the shows, including the complete line-up. In the meantime, we’re counting down to this weekend of chaos and debauchery by speaking to one member from each band on the bill. We continue today with guitarist/vocalist Paul Masvidal of Cynic, whose new EP, Carbon-Based Anatomy, comes out November 11 via Season of Mist (read our review here). And in case you didn’t know, Pal also sometimes blogs for MetalSucks, too!
Read our chat after the jump. And don’t forget to check back in the coming days and weeks for interviews with more of the musicians participating in this awesome event!!!
If you’re reading this now and you live in/around NYC, it’s not too late to come drink FREE BEER (from 6-7pm) and party with us as Skeletonwitch, Kvelertak, Barn Burner, Turbid North and Battlecross melt faces at the 2011 MetalSucks / Metal Injection / 1000 Knives CMJ Showcase! And two weeks from this very moment, Day 1 of The Metal Suckfest will be underway — holy shit! For the rest of you who don’t live anywhere near here… either get your asses over right quick or be jealous. Very jealous.
Meanwhile, it was another week o’ fun at the MS Mansion in which the Monkeys had to work overtime to fling poo at all who dared attempt to infiltrate our walls:
See ya’ll next week.
-VN
If Carbon-Based Anatomy, the new EP from Cynic, is any indication, then the band’s 2008 reunion released, Traced in Air, was just the tip of the sword in terms of what we can expect from their future. While distinctly Cynical, Anatomy doesn’t really feel like anything the group has ever previously released; guitarist/vocalist Paul Masvidal and drummer Sean Reinert sound somehow looser and more free than ever before, like a now-wholly autonomous artistic unit with no one to please but themselves. The results are mind bending and achingly gorgeous, if perhaps too brief to satiate the desires of Cynic devotees clamoring for new material.
One mind-blowing aspect of Devin Townsend’s Deconstruction album is its coterie of guest personnel. A who’s-who of pivotal screamers, the list includes that awesome dude from Gojira, legendary super-stud Ihsahn, and extreme metal’s loveliest alto, Tommy Rogers from Between The Buried And Me. And though Townsend rightly rushes to downplay the distraction/sketchy motives of high-profile guest contributions, it’s exciting as shit for metal fans to have those guys — plus studz from Meshuggah, Cynic, and Gwar — all in one place.
Likewise, I super-hail Chino Moreno and his 2005 Team Sleep record, which finds the Deftones frontman enlisting the non-metal voices and pens of Helium’s Mary Timony and Rob Crow of Pinback (above). Each sings awesomely on at least two of the self-titled album’s jamz (e.g. “Our Ride To The Rectory” with Crow here). Just like Townsend’s gang on Deconstruction, Crow’s and Timony’s presence legitimizes the album (ie. busy, inspired aces wouldn’t appear on some hack shit) and helps it to achieve a specialness, like the NBA All-Star game or the time I ate a pizza that a bag of Cheetos had spilled onto (aka Cheetzza©). Best of all, it makes me feel in sync with another human being (Moreno) who happens to ass-worship Timony and Crow and um Moreno. It’s like finally somebody put my needs first when making an album!
Okay here we are at paragraph three, so I bet my editors would like me to deliver on the headline’s promise :) Speaking of Team Sleep MVP Rob Crow, you love the dude cuz he’s awesome (see also: Optiganally Yours’ Exclusively Talentmaker!), and cuz he’s metal (see: his non-serious doom metal project, Goblin Cock), and cuz on his new solo album He Thinks He’s People, he offers an affectionate tribute to Seth Putnam, the recently deceased Anal Cunt mainman and author of history’s best song titles. Check it out and chuckle after the jump!
Friendly reminder: as of RIGHT THIS SECOND, the legendary Richard Christy from Death, Iced Earth, Control Denied, and, oh yeah, The Howard Stern Show, is at the MetalSucks/Vertebrae 33 booth at New York Comic Con signing copies of Charred Walls of the Damned‘s ridiculously rocking new album, Cold Winds on Timeless Days, which is out NOW on Metal Blade Records. He’ll be there ’til 7 pm, so there’s still time for you to hop on a bus, subway, or in a cab and get your ass down there — we’re booth #2625. Myself and/or Vince are also there now, and will be there tomorrow and Sunday, too, and we may have some other special guests in store for you yet. So come on by, pick up some free swag courtesy of Indie Merch and Metal Blade, hang out, whatever. It’ll be a blast! Get all the details here.
And now, some other fun shit we did this week:
Have a terrific, relaxing weekend everyone. See ya Monday, if we don’t see ya at NYCC!
-AR
