Paul Masvidal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Paul Masvidal | ||
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 Paul Masvidal live at UP ALL NIGHT, The Spice of Life, Soho, London (Fall 2003)
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| Background information | ||
| Genre(s) | Ethereal Rock, Progressive metal, Technical metal, indie, |
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| Occupation(s) | guitarist, singer, songwriter | |
| Instrument(s) | singing, guitar | |
| Years active | 1989 – present | |
| Associated acts |
Cynic Æon Spoke |
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Paul Masvidal was the guitarist, singer and a founding member of the now disbanded progressive metal band Cynic and currently leads the band Æon Spoke. Born in Puerto Rico, Masvidal is of Cuban/Spanish descent and grew up in the suburbs of Miami, Florida.
In 1989, when Masvidal was in high school, he toured Mexico as a replacement guitarist for the band Death but declined an invitation to permanently join the band in order to remain committed to Cynic. This had many metal journalists curious at the time, since Death were emerging as an influential and popular underground act, but Masvidal stuck to his guns and claimed to firmly believe in Cynic. However, in 1991 Masvidal and a fellow Cynic member, drummer Sean Reinert, were recruited by Death to record Human, arguably Death's most critically acclaimed release. After touring the world with Death they both returned to Cynic in 1992. Masvidal also recorded On the Seventh Day God Created... Master by Master.
1993 saw the release of Focus, (regarded as a landmark release in the field of technical/progressive metal) on the Roadrunner label, the only album Cynic recorded. Roadrunner re-released it in 2005 as a special collector's edition due to high demand. After Cynic's disbandment Masvidal has been a member of the Cynic spin-off Portal and more recently his current band, Æon Spoke, which features Masvidal's lifelong friend and drummer Reinert, also from Miami. It was also announced, via the Cynical Sphere web site in Autumn 2006, that Cynic would be reforming for a tour, featuring Masvidal and Reinert.
Based in Los Angeles, Æon Spoke have been described as 'progressive ethereal rock' with plans for a full-length release in 2007 on SPV Records. In 2005 the track, Emmanuel, appeared in the film What the Bleep Do We Know!?. One of their tracks also appeared on the Warner Brothers television series Smallville.
Masvidal also writes and performs music for television and motion pictures.
