Cynic: Demo 1990 (1990)

It was only natural that bands would incorporate other influences into their music, even in death metal.  One of the most creative of the early bands was Cynic, who began fusing jazz and progressive elements into their brand of death metal.  Their album Focus is one of the early masterpieces transitioning death metal into something more mature and sophisticated.  That was their debut album, released in 1993.

This is one of Cynic's early demos and it bares very little resemblance to the Cynic that recorded Focus.  None of the three songs here appear on the debut album and they are a much more straightforward thrash/death metal style.  None of the jazz fusion elements are present, though there is some technicality to the riffing.  Also missing are the robotic vocals that appeared on the debut, which were mostly present due to problems with the singer's voice leading up to the recording of the album. 

Ultimately, this is likely not going to appeal to people who are big fans of Cynic's sound right now.  The demo is more interesting as a historical artifact to hear the progression of the band.  The songs are very impressive, but not what one would expect when picking up a Cynic release.