Review Summary: An expanded production reveals sounds that have been buried for nearly thirty years, but all is not perfect.
These days
Focus is generally viewed as a groundbreaking album within the realm of progressive metal as well as Technical Death Metal. However, when it was released back in 1993, it suffered for its unique sound. While metal fans have never been the most open-minded, the eighties and nineties were probably the worst. There was a formula and a format for each metal subgenre and (ironically enough) nonconformity was highly discouraged. This did not bode well for Cynic’s distinct blend of death metal, jazz, new age, and progressive rock. It also didn’t help that their record label had no idea how to promote them, lumping them in with Death, Pestilence, Atheist, and even Believer. What set
Focus apart from these other bands was Cynic’s implementation of the legendary / maligned "crying alien" vocoder vocals, a formula that was more progressive than death metal, as well as the band’s implementation of jazz and new age influences that were light years ahead of their contemporaries. Cynic’s record label looked at those influences and sent them on tour as openers for Chris Barnes-era Cannibal Corpse – no wonder they broke up shortly after.
As with a lot of nineties metal bands that were ahead of their time, the last two decades have been very kind to Cynic, and the significance of their debut album was ultimately acknowledged. However, while I believe
Focus to be a genuine classic, I have always wished the individual performances were clearer. The 2004
Expanded Edition remastered the entire album (essentially just making everything louder), but it also featured three remixed songs. Those songs improved the overall clarity while maintaining the original songs’ unique soundscapes… but they stopped short of remixing the entire album. It was the potential shown on those remixes that initially made me excited about
ReFocus – it could finish what the 2004
Expanded Edition did not. If they just followed the blueprint established in 2004 they could provide enhanced emphasis to the original performances while still maintaining the edge of the original – and with technology a decade more advanced. While
ReFocus has made the performances more audible, a single questionable decision has prevented it from being the replacement it could have been.
Inexplicably, the choice was made to replace the original album’s sharp guitar tone with a hollow and warm sound that lacks any power. Fortunately, this mostly affects the sound of the distorted riffs, leaving the clean guitar and most of the leads and melodies untouched. It’s my assumption this was done to make the songs sound fuller, and provide more space for the exceptional rhythm section, but something went wrong in the execution. Despite this questionable choice, the longer you listen to
ReFocus the less noticeable the guitar tone becomes. This is because the virtuosic rhythm section of Sean Reinhart and Sean Malone (RIP to both) is so prominent in the mix. The bass drums have more bottom end, the cymbals are clearer, the bass cuts through the (admittedly weak) guitars; and together the Seans weave throughout the entire release delivering the twitchy energy
Focus is really known for. Additionally, the synths, clean and lead guitars, and vocals have all been dislodged from the original’s compressed sound giving them more space while bringing to light nuances most probably never noticed.
Cynic’s sound was so ahead of its time that they never even stood a chance. While
Focus has since gained widespread recognition as the landmark release it always was, and its influence can be heard in the sound of countless bands that have followed, it somehow never received a full modernization before now. Unfortunately, while
ReFocus had the potential to bring a modern sound to a ‘dated’ production, it ultimately missed the mark. Despite widespread auditory improvements across the board, the new riff sound is simply too flat. That doesn’t mean
ReFocus isn’t worth listening to, though. The new expanded production reveals sounds that have been buried for nearly thirty years while allowing the rhythm section to shine. Ultimately, the sound of
ReFocus is going to be very jarring for the first few moments, but eventually you should lose yourself in the songs and (mostly) forget what they did to the metal riffs.
