''Carbon-Based Anatomy'' is an EP by the

experimental metal Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, and experimental) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde elements, including non-standard and unconventional soun ...

band Cynic. It was released through

Season of Mist Season of Mist is an independent record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pag ...

on 11 November 2011.

History

''Carbon-Based Anatomy'' EP is composed of six previously unheard tracks. However, the song "Carbon-Based Anatomy" is a reinterpretation of an older unreleased

Æon Spoke Æon Spoke is an alternative rock band from Los Angeles. It was created by members of Cynic and former members of Death, Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert, when they relocated from Miami to Los Angeles. In 2005 the track, "Emmanuel", appeared in ...

single, "Homosapien". This was also done on Cynic's last LP, ''

Traced In Air ''Traced in Air'' is the second studio album by the progressive metal band Cynic. It is the first album since their 1993 debut ''Focus''. History Cynic disbanded during the fall of 1994 while working on a new album. On January 17, 2008, Cynic r ...

'', as the track "Integral Birth" was an interpretation of Æon Spoke's "When Sunrise Skirts the Moor." The artwork was done by

Robert Venosa Robert Venosa (January 21, 1936 – August 9, 2011) was an American artist who resided in Boulder, Colorado, USA. He studied with what are termed the New Masters. His artworks reside in collections around the world. Life and works Venosa first stud ...

, the artist who was responsible for all previous Cynic artworks. Venosa died shortly before the release of ''Carbon-Based Anatomy.'' Three of six tracks are short, ambient-oriented pieces ("Amidst the Coals", "Bija!", and "Hieroglyph"), and represent an unprecedented musical direction for Cynic. Since the two previous hired musicians, Tymon Kruidenier and Robin Zielhorst, were let go by Masvidal and Reinert,''Interview with Paul Masvidal of Cynic, prog-sphere.com
(retrieved January 12, 2012) all guitar parts for this EP were recorded by Paul Masvidal. Bass parts were composed and recorded by

Sean Malone Sean Malone (April 12, 1970 – December 7, 2020) was an American musician who played primarily fretless bass guitar and Chapman Stick. He was most famous for his work with progressive metal band Cynic, in which he developed a strong partners ...

, who had recorded on every Cynic release, with the exception of 2010's ''

Re-Traced ''Re-Traced'' is an EP by the technical metal band Cynic. It is composed of four re-interpretations of songs from their album '' Traced in Air'', as well as one new song. It was released through Season of Mist on May 17. History During the 201 ...

''.

Track listing

Personnel

;Cynic *

Paul Masvidal Paul Albert Masvidal (born January 20, 1971) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist, singer and a founding member of the progressive metal band Cynic (band), Cynic. He has remained a continual member in Cynic for nearly three dec ...

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

guitar synth A guitar synthesizer is any one of a number of musical instrument systems that allow a guitarist to access synthesizer capabilities. Overview Today's guitar synths are direct descendants of 1970s devices from manufacturers (often in partner ...

Sean Reinert Sean Reinert (May 27, 1971 – January 24, 2020) was an American musician. He was the drummer for the rock band Æon Spoke and the drummer and founding member of the progressive metal band Cynic (band), Cynic until leaving the band in Septemb ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

–

fretless bass A fretless bass is a bass guitar whose neck does not have any frets. While the instrument is played in all styles of music, it is most common in pop, rock, and jazz. It first saw widespread use during the 1970s, although some players used them befo ...

;Guest Musicians * Amy Correia –

female vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

;Production * John Hiler – mixing,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

* Maor Appelbaum –

mastering engineer A mastering engineer is a person skilled in the practice of taking audio (typically musical content) that has been previously mixed in either the analog or digital domain as mono, stereo, or multichannel formats and preparing it for use in distr ...

Eric Greif Eric Greif (1962 – 2021) was an American lawyer and entertainment personality known for a management and record production career within the heavy metal musical genre in the 1980s and early 1990s, and later within the legal profession. He was ...

- legal *

- artwork

References

{{Authority control Cynic (band) EPs 2011 EPs Season of Mist EPs