
Progressive music icon CYNIC will be embarking on an extensive North American co-headlining tour with ATHEIST! The trek will launch on June 10 in Austin, TX and will conclude on July 9 in Greensboro, NC. The full run of dates can be found below and tickets will go on sale Friday, April 28!
CYNIC be celebrating the 30th anniversary of ‘Focus’ by performing the seminal album in its entirety while also paying homage to late members Sean Reinert and Sean Malone.
Later in the year, CYNIC will then perform at the illustrious ProgPower USA festival on September 6 in Atlanta, GA!
The new live lineup will feature Paul Masvidal on vocals and guitars, Max Phelps (Exist, Death to All) on additional guitars and vocals, Brandon Giffin (The Faceless, The Zenith Passage) on bass, Matt Lynch (Nova Collective, Intronaut) on drums & percussion, and Zeke Kaplan on the keyboard! Lynch has been drumming with CYNIC since 2015 & appeared on the band’s latest full-length, ‘Ascension Codes,’ as well as the 2018 single “Humanoid.” Additionally, Phelps, having also appeared on ‘Ascension Codes,’ and Giffin have previously toured with CYNIC during the band’s ‘Carbon Based Anatomy’ and ‘Kindly Bent to Free Us’ tours.
CYNIC founding member Paul Masvidal comments, “Come join us for a night of Cynic/Atheist magic! We’ll be celebrating our lifelong journey together with a night of progressive music and timeless memories. Don’t miss it!”
ATHEIST‘s Kelly Schaefer adds, “This has been something that Paul (Cynic) and I have been talking about in some capacity since we were in our early 20s. It’s surreal to share a 30 year milestone together, and this tour will showcase for us a chance to play songs from our first 3 records as a special trilogy anniversary set, including songs not performed live in decades. Two titans of technical progressive metal coming together for a unicorn of a tour….one you will not want to miss!”
Tour sponsor Simon of Pull the Plug Patches comments, “Pull The Plug Patches have been longtime fans since the early 1990s, and both Atheist and Cynic are two of our absolute favorite bands. It’s an honour to be able to be the presenting sponsor on such a landmark tour for two of the godfathers of Progressive Death Metal. I remember picking up ‘Unquestionable Presence’ right around the time of release, blew me away and is to this day one of my favorite albums. And for Cynic my first introduction was the
At Death’s Door II’ sampler that Roadrunner released. I bought Focus the day it came out and again, one of my all time favorite records.”

CYNIC + ATHEIST
Pull the Plug Patches Presents the Focus and Presence Tour
North American Co-Headliner:
6/10: Austin, TX @ Come and Take it Live
6/11: Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
6/12: Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
6/13: Mesa, AZ @ Nile Theater
6/14: San Diego, CA @ Brick by Brick
6/16: Las Vegas, NV @ Backstage Bar
6/17: Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
6/19: Portland, OR @ Bossanova Ballroom
6/20: Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theater
6/21: Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
6/23: Salt Lake City, UT @ Soundwell
6/24: Denver, CO @ Oriental Theater
6/25: Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck
6/26: Milwaukee WI @ X-Ray Arcade
6/27: Chicago, IL @ Reggies
6/29: Ft. Wayne, IN @ Piere’s
6/30: Detroit, MI @ The Sanctuary
7/01: Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
7/02: Quebec City, QC @ La Source de la Martinière
7/03: Montreal, QC @ Fairmount Theater
7/05: Boston, MA @ Middle-East Downstairs
7/06: New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
7/07: Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage
7/08: Richmond, VA @ Canal Club
7/09: Greensboro, NC @ Hangar 1819
9/06: Atlanta, GA @ ProgPower USA [TICKETS]*
*festival date, Cynic only
CYNIC‘s latest release Ascension Codes is a remarkably far-reaching work, and if nothing else, a clear indication that they have landed in a place of mastery. The album, paradoxically, acts as both swan song and rebirth.
‘Ascension Codes’ can be ordered at the Season of Mist E-Shop, the CYNIC Bandcamp, and official CYNIC shop. The album can be streamed/downloaded HERE.