kissthecynic.com
Music at Hxcmp3.com
Hailing from New Jersey, the paradoxical land of sunny shores and toxic waste, KISS THE CYNIC has formed from the ashes of one of Jersey's finest heavy music outfits, the much-hailed LUDDITE|CLONE. The members of KISS THE CYNIC are all too familiar with both early success and rapid self-destruction it sometimes breeds. The buzz surrounding LUDDITE|CLONE's first two releases, The Arsonist and the Architect (Relapse), and their crushing split EP with fellow Jersey friends BURNT BY THE SUN (Ferret), had barely subsided before the band called it quits. Around the same time, fellow up-and-coming New Jersey group AS DARKNESS FALLS were also calling it a night.
Having been friends for many years, founding members Andy Cummings and Kevin Hannum (both of LUDDITE|CLONE) and Kevin Walsh (AS DARKNESS FALLS) set out to find like- minded musicians that would be able to build on all they had learned from their previous efforts.
"From the start we wanted to be professional about how we ran things and proficient in how we did them." says Cummings, "More practice, more time spent on songwriting, more promotion, more touring, more focus. I got together people that I knew wanted the same thing, and we began to Frankenstein this monster together."
KISS THE CYNIC is no clone of its members' former projects as you can tell from the band's self-titled debut MCD. Kiss the Cynic is a graceful mix of mania, maturity and solid musicianship that blends brutally honest and sometimes downright ferocious lyrics with undeniable hooks, grindcore ethics and hardcore aesthetic. The concept was simple: heavy, fast and full-throttle. KISS THE CYNIC is blunt and to the point without sacrificing musicianship or listenability. They are the mud in your eye or the thorn in your side, but you love it just the same.
NOT-SO-INTERESTING FACTS: No Hi-Hat clutch can withstand the treatment VJ inflicts upon them, they all break! Andy and Afro have been playing together for eight years. No one really knows VJ's last name. Yes, Afro (Hannum) DOES have an afro (sometimes) Andy has actually tasted Walsh's vomit (really).