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Cynic, Meshuggah & the Faceless @ Irving Plaza, NYC - pics

words by Black Bubblegum, photos by Justina Villanueva

Cynic
Cynic

“Cynic was formed in 1987 by guitarist (and now singer) Paul Masvidal and drummer Sean Reinert who met in elementary school. Soon after they recruited bassist Mark Van Erp and singer Jack Kelly. In 1988, the band made their first recording, simply called the ’88 Demo. After the demo, Paul Masvidal took over vocal duties, while continuing to play guitar. The band also added a second guitarist, Jason Gobel. Another demo followed in 1989, this one titled Reflections of a Dying World. 1989 also brought the addition of bassist Tony Choy. In 1990, the group went to the studio to record their third demo, plainly titled ’90 Demo. In 1991, Cynic signed with Roadrunner Records and recorded their fourth and final demo, known as Demo 1991.” [Wiki]

The reunited Cynic and promising newcomers The Faceless rounded out a whopper of a triple bill with headliner Meshuggah at Irving Plaza on 2/19. The sold-out show marked the return of the highly influential tech-death Cynic to the NYC stage, part of their first US tour since the early 1990s.

Reports from our camp were mixed… photographer Justina Villanueva raved about all three bands, while contributor Klaus Kinski chimed that “Cynic was the low point of the evening”, adding that while Cynic were technically impressive, they lacked stage prescence… a sentiment he did not echo for Meshuggah. Unfortunately, I did not make it to the show (blasphemer!), but that’s OK… word is, alot more touring is in Cynic‘s future.

Meshuggah did not allow photography during their set, but Cynic and The Faceless did. More of them below…

The Faceless…

The Faceless

The Faceless

The Faceless

The Faceless

The Faceless

The Faceless

The Faceless

The Faceless

The Faceless

The Faceless

The Faceless

Cynic…/

Cynic

Cynic

Cynic

Cynic

Cynic

Cynic

Cynic

Cynic

Cynic

Cynic

Cynic

Cynic

Cynic

Cynic

Cynic

Meshuggah…

Meshuggah

Meshuggah