Cynic Announces 30th Anniversary "Focus" Tour with Atheist - Ghost Cult MagazineGhost Cult Magazine

Cynic are embarking on a North American tour this June & July, a 30th anniversary celebration of their album, Focus. As if one iconic influence of early technical death metal wasn’t enough, they are joined by co-headliners, Atheist. Playing the full album, Cynic’s live line-up is fleshed out for these dates by Max Phelps (Exist, Death to All), bassist Brandon Giffin (The Faceless, The Zenith Passage), drummer Matt Lynch (Nova Collective, Intronaut) and keyboardist Zeke Kaplan

They’ll also be paying tribute to late members Sean Reinert and Sean Malone.

“We’ll be celebrating our lifelong journey together,” says Cynic’s Paul Masvidal. “Don’t miss a night of Cynic and Atheist magic!“

“This is something Paul and I have been talking about since we were in our early 20s,” says Kelly Schaefer, Atheist’s vocalist and guitarist. “It’s surreal to share a 30-year milestone together“.

Atheist will be performing songs from their first three albums, including some that they haven’t performed in decades.

This special 30th anniversary tour is presented by Pull the Plug Patches, who are longtime fans of both bands. “It’s an honor to be the presenting sponsor for such a landmark tour between two of the godfathers of progressive death metal,” says PPP’s Simon. “‘Unquestionable Presence’ blew me away the very first time that I heard it and I bought ‘Focus’ the day it came out. Both of those albums are all-time favorites of mine“.

Cynic + Atheist Pull the Plug Patches Presents the Focus and Presence Tour

North American Co-Headliner:

June 10: Come and Take it Live – Austin, TX [TICKETS]

June 11: Granada Theater – Dallas, TX

[TICKETS]

June 12: Launchpad – Albuquerque, NM

[TICKETS]

June 13: Nile Theater – Mesa, AZ

[TICKETS]

June 14: Brick by Brick – San Diego, CA

[TICKETS]

June 16: Backstage Bar – Las Vegas, NV

[TICKETS]

June 17: Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA

[TICKETS]

June 18: Vets Hall *ADDED DATE* Santa Cruz, CA

[TICKETS]

June 19: Bossanova Ballroom – Portland, OR

[TICKETS]

June 20: Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theater [TICKETS]

June 21: El Corazon – Seattle, WA

[TICKETS]

June 23: Soundwell – Salt Lake City, UT

[TICKETS]

June 24: Oriental Theater – Denver, CO

[TICKETS]

June 25: The Bottleneck – Lawrence, KS

[TICKETS]

June 26: X-Ray Arcade – Milwaukee WI

[TICKETS]

June 27: Reggies – Chicago, IL

[TICKETS]

June 28: No Class *ADDED DATE* – Cleveland, OH [TICKETS]

June 29: Piere’s – Ft. Wayne, IN

[TICKETS]

June 30: The Sanctuary – Detroit, MI

[TICKETS]

July 01: Lee’s Palace – Toronto, ON

[TICKETS]

July 02: La Source de la Martinière – Quebec City, QC

[TICKETS]

July 03: Fairmount Theater – Montreal, QC

[TICKETS]

July 05: Middle-East Downstairs – Boston, MA

[TICKETS]

July 06: Le Poisson Rouge – New York, NY

[TICKETS]

July 07: Baltimore Soundstage – Baltimore, MD

[TICKETS]

July 08: Canal Club – Richmond, VA

[TICKETS]

July 09: Hangar 1819 – Greensboro, NC

[TICKETS]

September 06: ProgPower USA – Atlanta, GA

[TICKETS]*

*festival date, Cynic only

About Cynic:

Cynic’s latest release Ascension Codes is a remarkably far-reaching work, and if nothing else, a clear indication that they have landed in a place of mastery. The album, paradoxically, acts as both swan song and rebirth.

Ascension Codes can be ordered at the Season of Mist E-Shop, the Cynic Bandcamp, and official Cynic shop. The album can be streamed/downloaded here.

Ascension Codes – Credits and Lineup:

With Masvidal, Lynch and Mackay at the core, Cynic utilized a variety of other artists to help achieve their vision for Ascension Codes, some of the key players include:

Dark (Roopam Garg) performs as code worker on the album, providing harmonic, harp-like guitar textures. Dark also known for his other works with The Surrealist is an experimental, ambient artist, pushing the avant-garde guitar envelope using extended techniques and consciousness inspired soundscapes.

Max Phelps contributes “holographic-reptilian-voices” on multiple tracks. Phelps toured with Cynic in the Carbon-Based Anatomy and Kindly Bent to Free Us eras, and his own progressive metal band, Exist, have released music on Prosthetic Records. Phelps also took part in Death tribute band, Death to All.

Plini guest solos on “The Winged Ones.” Plini is an an Australian guitarist and composer, producing heart-fueled, progressive instrumental rock. He opened shows for Cynic in Japan, which happened to be their final live performances as a trio with Reinert/Malone.

Additional contributors:

Anrita Melchizedek is a renowned priestess, healer, galactic ambassador, among other pursuits, and provides vocals to the opening and closing code interludes (“Mu-54*” and “Ec-ka72”). Amy Correia and Joshua Leon vocalize light language and phrases on various code interludes. Amy appeared on Traced in Air and 2011’s Carbon-Based Anatomy EP,and plays with Masvidal in the Onward with Love (OwL) project. Michael Devin plays crystal bowls on some of the code interludes. Devin is also a bassist and has played with the Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Evening, George Lynch, and Whitesnake. Ezekiel Kaplan contributed a vocal harmony to the final track “Diamond Light Body.”