New vinyl pressings of progressive metal outfit Cynic‘s “Kindly Bent To Free Us” and the “Traced In The Air” companion piece “Re-Traced” are headed for a February 14th release through Svart Records. “Kindly Bent To Free Us” will be accompanied by a bonus track titled “Earth Is My Witness“, marking its first time on vinyl. The band’s vocalist/guitarist Paul Masvidal commented:
“‘Kindly Bent to Free Us‘ is reborn on vinyl for its 10th anniversary. This record holds a special place in my heart for many reasons. First, the songs and the journey they take, exploring inner realms as represented by the cover art. Then, there are the arrangements—raw and explosive—which R. Walt Vincent was so good at capturing the live energy we shared as a trio in the rehearsal room when these ideas were developed.
There’s also something poignant about this being the last record the three of us would make together. It’s exciting to finally see ‘The Earth is My Witness‘, which was previously only a bonus track on the box set, brought into this format for the first time.”
“Re-Traced” will feature “Integral” (Sean Malone bass), “Wheels Within Wheels” (Sean Malone bass) and “Wheels Within Wheels (drummer and bass track – Sean Reinert & Sean Malone) as bonus material. Both Malone and Reinert have tragically since passed away. Masvidal commented of this new pressing
“Seeing ‘Re-Traced‘ pressed on a legit 12” vinyl is an exciting first, especially with the inclusion of bonus tracks like Sean Malone’s beautiful, never-before-released bass rendition of Wheels Within Wheels and his magical performance on Integral, which I initially released digitally as a memorial tribute to him.
The electronic renditions of Traced in Air tracks like Space, Evolutionary and King take the songs into entirely new realms. It’s also synchronistic that I’m now playing these songs in my solo acoustic ambient shows, finally bringing them into a live format. Altogether, it feels quite special to see these two records reborn.”
Pre-orders for both pressings can be obtained through svartrecords.com.
