Cynic bass/Chapman Stick player Sean Malone has sadly passed away at the age of 50. The news was confirmed by Cynic mainman Paul Masvidal via a social media message posted earlier this evening. Malone’s cause of death has not been revealed.
Masvidal wrote:
I learned today that Sean Malone has died. I am numb and grief stricken. He had a brilliant mind, a gracious heart and was one of the greatest musicians I’ve ever encountered. I know that this is a shocking loss for so many fans whose lives he touched with his artistry, as it is for me. Please keep him in your thoughts and listen to his playing to celebrate his life.
Sean performed on Cynic’s legendary first album ‘Focus,’ along with their subsequent LPs ‘Traced in Air’ and ‘Kindly Bent to Free Us,’ as well as a demo, split and EP. Malone also contributed to acts Aghora, Anomaly, OSI, John Wesley (live) and more during his lifetime.
Former OSI drummer Mike Portnoy (The Winery Dogs, Sons of Apollo) reacted to the devastating news via Twitter:
Totally shocked and sad to hear of Sean Malone’s passing…he was a tremendous bass and stick player that I had the pleasure of working with many times through the years. He was my Geddy in Cygnus & The Sea Monsters, he played on the 1st OSI album w me and we last toured together in 2014 when he was playing Bass in John Wesley’s band opening for Flying Colors. This is just another shocking loss in 2020…sadly the same year we also lost Sean Reinert, his rhythm section partner in Cynic. #RIPSeanMalone 😢
RIP, Sean Malone.
…and we last toured together in 2014 when he was playing Bass in John Wesley’s band opening for Flying Colors. This is just another shocking loss in 2020…sadly the same year we also lost Sean Reinert, his rhythm section partner in Cynic. #RIPSeanMalone 😥
— Mike Portnoy 🤘 (@MikePortnoy) December 10, 2020
Sad news, indeed. I’d only met #SeanMalone once or twice but respected him as a serious musician, underrated & with uncommon diversity. It’s unfortunate #Cynic is so overlooked, occupying a space that’s like a subgenre within subgenres (the prog/alt side of 90s death metal) RIP https://t.co/D3W88kyKgY
— Alex Skolnick (@AlexSkolnick) December 10, 2020
Featured concert photo by Rodrigo Fredes
