Cynic: Refocused...it's awful!

[Adam Strange]

If I had to pick a record that affected me on the deepest level it would have to be Cynic's Focus. It brought a level of experimentation, creativity and imagination to metal that was unheard of at the time. The artistic content was stunning...yet I always knew the album stood at the threshold of greater potential without fully crossing over...mostly due to its compressed sound and slip shod production.

When I heard the whole thing was being rebuilt from the ground up I was over the moon with joy. Especially since the original masters were being used and Paul Masvidal was deeply involved in the project.

Sadly, the result is just a new version of the album with the same balance of strengths and weaknesses as the original.

My main complaint is not the way each sonic element has been isolated and polished up but rather how they've been reintroduced into the overall mix.

There seems to be a complete abandonment of the original structure as the various musical elements no longer occupy the same space...some are pushed to the fore front while others are diminished. The result is an uneven sound that comes across more like a beta test than a final presentation.

Oftentimes the drums sit on top of the mix weighing it down rather than serving as a driving force from behind and the power edged guitar riffing is muted and lower in volume.

Maybe repeated listens will change my mind. I hope so...changes like these can be jarring at first and may take some getting used to.

What frustrates me most is that some of this remix/remaster does sound incredible. As a result, it comes across like an unfulfilled promises.

In the mean time, I cast my vote for Refocused version 2.0!

[introclaus]

If I had to pick a record that affected me on the deepest level it would have to be Cynic's Focus. It brought a level of experimentation, creativity and imagination to metal that was unheard of at the time. The artistic content was stunning...yet I always knew the album stood at the threshold of greater potential without fully crossing over...mostly due to its compressed sound and slip shod production.

When I heard the whole thing was being rebuilt from the ground up I was over the moon with joy. Especially since the original masters were being used and Paul Masvidal was deeply involved in the project.

Sadly, the result is just a new version of the album with the same balance of strengths and weaknesses as the original.

My main complaint is not the way each sonic element has been isolated and polished up but rather how they've been reintroduced into the overall mix.

There seems to be a complete abandonment of the original structure as the various musical elements no longer occupy the same space...some are pushed to the fore front while others are diminished. The result is an uneven sound that comes across more like a beta test than a final presentation.

Oftentimes the drums sit on top of the mix weighing it down rather than serving as a driving force from behind and the power edged guitar riffing is muted and lower in volume.

Maybe repeated listens will change my mind. I hope so...changes like these can be jarring at first and may take some getting used to.

What frustrates me most is that some of this remix/remaster does sound incredible. As a result, it comes across like an unfulfilled promises.

In the mean time, I cast my vote for Refocused version 2.0!

I'd love to get my hands on it, but it's currently sold out (the CD - there are still vinyls left though):
https://cyniconline.bandcamp.com/album/refocus

And, there's no digital version of it.

[Digital Man]

If I had to pick a record that affected me on the deepest level it would have to be Cynic's Focus. It brought a level of experimentation, creativity and imagination to metal that was unheard of at the time. The artistic content was stunning...yet I always knew the album stood at the threshold of greater potential without fully crossing over...mostly due to its compressed sound and slip shod production.

When I heard the whole thing was being rebuilt from the ground up I was over the moon with joy. Especially since the original masters were being used and Paul Masvidal was deeply involved in the project.

Sadly, the result is just a new version of the album with the same balance of strengths and weaknesses as the original.

My main complaint is not the way each sonic element has been isolated and polished up but rather how they've been reintroduced into the overall mix.

There seems to be a complete abandonment of the original structure as the various musical elements no longer occupy the same space...some are pushed to the fore front while others are diminished. The result is an uneven sound that comes across more like a beta test than a final presentation.

Oftentimes the drums sit on top of the mix weighing it down rather than serving as a driving force from behind and the power edged guitar riffing is muted and lower in volume.

Maybe repeated listens will change my mind. I hope so...changes like these can be jarring at first and may take some getting used to.

What frustrates me most is that some of this remix/remaster does sound incredible. As a result, it comes across like an unfulfilled promises.

In the mean time, I cast my vote for Refocused version 2.0!

I'd love to get my hands on it, but it's currently sold out (the CD - there are still vinyls left though):
https://cyniconline.bandcamp.com/album/refocus

And, there's no digital version of it.

OK, weird. There seems to be two versions of ReFocus on Bandcamp. This is the one I had and it is available digitally, I bought it:
https://cynic-alliance.bandcamp.com/album/refocus

[introclaus]

If I had to pick a record that affected me on the deepest level it would have to be Cynic's Focus. It brought a level of experimentation, creativity and imagination to metal that was unheard of at the time. The artistic content was stunning...yet I always knew the album stood at the threshold of greater potential without fully crossing over...mostly due to its compressed sound and slip shod production.

When I heard the whole thing was being rebuilt from the ground up I was over the moon with joy. Especially since the original masters were being used and Paul Masvidal was deeply involved in the project.

Sadly, the result is just a new version of the album with the same balance of strengths and weaknesses as the original.

My main complaint is not the way each sonic element has been isolated and polished up but rather how they've been reintroduced into the overall mix.

There seems to be a complete abandonment of the original structure as the various musical elements no longer occupy the same space...some are pushed to the fore front while others are diminished. The result is an uneven sound that comes across more like a beta test than a final presentation.

Oftentimes the drums sit on top of the mix weighing it down rather than serving as a driving force from behind and the power edged guitar riffing is muted and lower in volume.

Maybe repeated listens will change my mind. I hope so...changes like these can be jarring at first and may take some getting used to.

What frustrates me most is that some of this remix/remaster does sound incredible. As a result, it comes across like an unfulfilled promises.

In the mean time, I cast my vote for Refocused version 2.0!

I'd love to get my hands on it, but it's currently sold out (the CD - there are still vinyls left though):
https://cyniconline.bandcamp.com/album/refocus

And, there's no digital version of it.

OK, weird. There seems to be two versions of ReFocus on Bandcamp. This is the one I had and it is available digitally, I bought it:
https://cynic-alliance.bandcamp.com/album/refocus

Indeed very strange. Almost seems like one is official and one is not?

I do see the album on iTunes now as well, so I guess I’m gonna have to jump in

[introclaus]

OK, through the first listen now and I definitely understand some of Adam's complaints. It's a different sound completely than the original, and it makes it almost like an entire new album (or at least a new experience). There's more focus on drums and bass, which could be that Paul did this as a tribute to Sean R and Sean M? There's less guitar upfront and the vocals are (if possible) even more subdued. Now, certain songs benefit from this new mix ("Sentiment") while others gets treated poorly by it ("Veil of Maya"). I'm still on the fence, and considering this is my favorite all time prog/tech death album, I'm willing to give this remix a few more chances before throwing it aside.

[introclaus]

One thing this has going for it, is that it actually works really well on "headphones". I took the album for a run yesterday, and through my Aftershokz (https://shokz.com/products/openrunpro) the album sounds good. I was surprised, because the original mix/master was impossible for listening like that. Definitely an improvement in that sense.

I'm warming up to the new mix, but also kind of feel it's heresy messing with a classic like that.