Few metal bands have the mystique surrounding them that Cynic does. Originally formed in 1987, the band made a splash on the scene with their highly acclaimed first album, Focus [Roadrunner Records] in 1993, and then broke up shortly after its release. The band was one of the first to blend different genres, taking death and progressive metal and joining it with jazz and fusion. That mixture, along with liberal uses of female vocals and a vocoder is the core of Cynic’s sound.

In 2006, after 12 years apart, the band got back together, followed by 2008 release Traced in Air [Season of Mist], which was a critical smash. Made up of founders Paul Masvidal (guitar and vocals) and Sean Reinert (drums), along with Sean Malone (fretless bass and Chapman Stick), Robin Zielhorst (live bass) and Tymon Kruidenier (guitar and death growls), Cynic are poised to headline the Noctis III Metal Festival in Calgary Oct. 3, alongside Suffocation, Destroyer 666 and Aura Noir.

For a band that has spent the large part of the year playing high profile European festivals, Calgary seems like an odd stop for the band, but Masvidal explains it was an attractive choice for the band, saying, “(It’s) another show in Canada, which tend to be great shows for us, and the promoters having a keen interest in us and what we do.”

Along with headlining the festival, Masvidal and Reinert will be speaking at the first ever Canadian metal conference for bands and fans the day before the big show. Masvidal is looking forward to the new twist on the festival format, musing, “they asked us if we’d like to speak and discuss songwriting and our creative process, and I was completely open to that. I thought it’d be interesting, and just being part of a collective seems cool. One of our managers is gonna be there, the head of our label is gonna be there, so it’s kind of a team effort.”

When it comes to the band’s unique take on metal, Cynic has a strong lineage to draw upon, with Masvidal and Reinert playing in legendary band, Death. But, even with that history, Masvidal’s listening tastes aren’t what you would expect.

“I think we pretty much stopped listening to metal in the early ’90s; we were pretty much immersed in fusion and jazz. We grew up in the metal scene, but by the time we were doing the Death’s Human record in ’91, we were just already in a different place musically. It seemed like the more aggressive and heavy metal stuff was in our bones, so it translated and became an interesting thing to marry these other interests and influences into that more aggressive style, which at the time you didn’t really hear anybody doing, so it felt original,” Masvidal says enthusiastically. “It was encouraging as a creative person trying to find new colours on the canvas.”

What drove that originality “was just a result of listening and studying and getting really serious about being musicians. We were never really in pursuit of popularity, per se, we were interested in being great musicians and artists and writing cool music and that was really the focus, pun intended. We were kids, and it hasn’t changed really, it’s just been about doing good work and trusting our instincts and being honest about it.”

Now into his second decade in music, Masvidal’s originality is still important to him.

“It’s grown, it’s different now. I’m definitely interested in having something unique to say, I just don’t know if it’s something that I’m wearing on my sleeve. It’s like an extension of who I am versus trying anymore. I think I’m the kind of artist that if I try to rip somebody off, unintentionally, it’d sound really weird anyway. I’m not good at ripping people off,” laughs Masvidal.

“It always finds its own colour, and I think that it’s my voice coming through. It’s really a default approach to writing now, versus thinking that it needs to be unique and original.”

Considering his musical output, it’s not surprising to hear Masvidal’s musical tastes.

“Occasionally, something will come on, or we’ve toured with bands, and there’s things here or there that pop up that are of interest; I guess it kind of arises once in a while, but maybe that’s why the stuff that’s coming out is more original too, because in some ways I feel so disconnected from the scene. It’s weird, because what’s coming out is part of that scene to some degree. It is our roots, it’s where we come from, but actively listening, not really. I’m not about to pop in the latest whatever CD, I’m more likely to pop in a Brian Eno or a Beatles record,” reveals Masvidal.

Masvidal explains his perception of the metal scene, saying, “what you have in the metal scene is some really proud bands, who run around and preach the metal word. We’ve never really felt like that. We’ve always been more about music.

“We’ve always been such outcasts in the scene, in terms of the hardcore metal bands don’t really consider us particularly inclusive. We’re kind of in our own weird space, so it’s fine. I’m not saying that we’re not metal, I’m just saying that that’s not all we are. There might be some people that think, ‘oh, there’s been a betrayal’, but I don’t know what we were ever trying to be loyal to.”