- Oct 31, 2005
- 63
- 7
- 8
A couple of years ago The American band Cynthesis reunited Zero Hour's original vocalist Erik Rosvold with the twin brothers Jasun (guitar) and Troy Tipton (bass). Furthermore drummer Sean Flanegan (Enchant) joined the band. Back then I was rather positive about DeEvolution (2011, see review), the debut album of Cynthesis. Now they return with a successor called ReEvolution which shows that they have grown music wise.
The twin brothers Tipton already made a name for themselves thanks to their exceptional playing. On Manipulations Under Anesthesia (2012), the album from Tipton's other band Abnormal Thought Patterns, all compositions are based upon their virtuoso playing. This doesn't mean that they control themselves on the new Cynthesis album, but the emphasis is more on the compositions. Moreover, the voice of Erik Rosvold is of great importance for the band's sound. The album's opener Divine Night begins slowly. The guitars gently create a kind of soundscape to get you in the right mood. When Rosvold starts to sing, the power increases while the guitar remains in the background. Troy Tipton plays a nice bass pattern which increases the level of difficulty of this composition.
In Convergence the focus is more on the instrumentalists. Flanegan's drumming is very tight and on top of this the twins get room enough to show their technical skills. In fact this short piece is only an intro to the following The Grand Façade where Rosvold takes the lead. His singing sometimes resembles the great and late Ronnie James Dio (Rainbow), but also the timbre of Geoff Tate (ex-Queensrӱche) shines through. The song itself is rather slow, having a kind of Enchant or Tiles feel. During the first half Jasun Tipton plays the keyboards, but halfway he picks up his guitar and performs a fine solo. Then Rosvold takes over with strong singing and the guitars join in exactly the way I like them: fierce, powerful and dirty! The almost spoken words combined with the heavy guitars provide The Grand Façade a brilliant end.
Atmospheric keyboards mark the next composition A Most Trivial Pursuit where the vocals are intense and emotional. Troy Tipton's bass is prominent again during this song. The intense singing continues as Persistence Of Visions takes over, but this song gently segues from emotional to technical. When the guitar and the bass take over a virtuoso middle section is created together with the strong drumming. The intense vocal parts in contrast with the musicality of the instruments work out pretty well in my opinion. The Noble Lie starts with a long kind of soundscape with Erik Rosvold being superior. It shows the full and impressive range of his vocal abilities.
The final thirteen-minute song Release The Deity is a real treat to my ears. The combination of soft and intense vocals develops to loud and powerful in the style of Damian Wilson. The layers of guitar, bass and drums gently flow with the singer's emotions and adjust the sound when the mood changes. The softer guitar parts build up to a real prog metal sound. I really enjoy the way a song like this is built up; it made me pushing the repeat button again and again.
With this second album Cynthesis has gained some extras during the process of the making of ReEvolution. The intensity of singing has become stronger and the balance between the technical musicianship and the singer are better. You have to listen to this album several times in order to absorb the music, but if you do I'm sure you're going to like this album.
****+ Pedro Bekkers (edited by Peter Willemsen)
The twin brothers Tipton already made a name for themselves thanks to their exceptional playing. On Manipulations Under Anesthesia (2012), the album from Tipton's other band Abnormal Thought Patterns, all compositions are based upon their virtuoso playing. This doesn't mean that they control themselves on the new Cynthesis album, but the emphasis is more on the compositions. Moreover, the voice of Erik Rosvold is of great importance for the band's sound. The album's opener Divine Night begins slowly. The guitars gently create a kind of soundscape to get you in the right mood. When Rosvold starts to sing, the power increases while the guitar remains in the background. Troy Tipton plays a nice bass pattern which increases the level of difficulty of this composition.
In Convergence the focus is more on the instrumentalists. Flanegan's drumming is very tight and on top of this the twins get room enough to show their technical skills. In fact this short piece is only an intro to the following The Grand Façade where Rosvold takes the lead. His singing sometimes resembles the great and late Ronnie James Dio (Rainbow), but also the timbre of Geoff Tate (ex-Queensrӱche) shines through. The song itself is rather slow, having a kind of Enchant or Tiles feel. During the first half Jasun Tipton plays the keyboards, but halfway he picks up his guitar and performs a fine solo. Then Rosvold takes over with strong singing and the guitars join in exactly the way I like them: fierce, powerful and dirty! The almost spoken words combined with the heavy guitars provide The Grand Façade a brilliant end.
Atmospheric keyboards mark the next composition A Most Trivial Pursuit where the vocals are intense and emotional. Troy Tipton's bass is prominent again during this song. The intense singing continues as Persistence Of Visions takes over, but this song gently segues from emotional to technical. When the guitar and the bass take over a virtuoso middle section is created together with the strong drumming. The intense vocal parts in contrast with the musicality of the instruments work out pretty well in my opinion. The Noble Lie starts with a long kind of soundscape with Erik Rosvold being superior. It shows the full and impressive range of his vocal abilities.
The final thirteen-minute song Release The Deity is a real treat to my ears. The combination of soft and intense vocals develops to loud and powerful in the style of Damian Wilson. The layers of guitar, bass and drums gently flow with the singer's emotions and adjust the sound when the mood changes. The softer guitar parts build up to a real prog metal sound. I really enjoy the way a song like this is built up; it made me pushing the repeat button again and again.
With this second album Cynthesis has gained some extras during the process of the making of ReEvolution. The intensity of singing has become stronger and the balance between the technical musicianship and the singer are better. You have to listen to this album several times in order to absorb the music, but if you do I'm sure you're going to like this album.
****+ Pedro Bekkers (edited by Peter Willemsen)
