this one had a long time coming. i had "traced in air" by cynic on my radar for quite some time but somehow never found the motivation to finally go for a physical copy. a few weeks ago cynic found their way back into focus and this time for good. there are three versions of the band's second full length out there. a clear blue, a clear and a grey vinyl edition. as i am not the biggest clear vinyl colour fan, i wanted the opaque grey platter. the problem was this edition was the first press.
so logically this edition has the tendency to be the most expensive. fortunately cynic doesn't seem to be hyped and therefore prices were, even for a first press copy, quite moderate. i found a seller from greece with good price and shipping costs proportions and bought it right away. i asked him to pack the vinyl outside of the sleeve to avoid seam-splits. well, either way he didn't figure what i meant and didn't care to ask or he simply ignored it knowingly.
the result is an ugly bend on the back of the gatefold sleeve and seam-splits at all three edges of the printed dust sleeve. fortunately no seam-split of the cover sleeve but the other damages are rather enough to me. the vinyl however is in mint condition and seems rarely played or even unplayed. so all in all the music is what counts and i think i can live with the rest. speaking of, the music is outstanding. a wild, dreamy trip through big soundscapes and technical diversity.
cynic's sound is the blueprint of prog metal to me. "traced in air" is packed with details, quirky melodies and riff virtuosity. anyone into between the buried and me or born of osiris will love this record. the album was released via french metal label season of mist in 2008 but on cd only. a year later england's back on black records gave it the vinyl treatment. first press comes on 180gr grey vinyl out of 1.000 copies. back on black. 2009.
