Cynic founders and former Death members Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert recently went to The Los Angeles Times to discuss their experience coming out. Though they've been comfortably out for years in their private lives, the two had not yet spoken about their sexuality publicly. The article goes into how the two struggled with their identities early in their career. “I knew that, secretly, I wanted to go to those (gay) clubs,” says Reinert, “but back then, my stereotype of how to be gay was wearing dresses and tank tops. I didn't have any masculine, metal role models who were gay." Metal's first openly gay star, Rob Halford of Judas Priest, didn't come out until 1998. In the mid-'90s, America was still wrestling with how people of different sexual orientation fit into society. The world of extreme metal wasn't even close to having that conversation. I can't imagine how hard it must've been for two people still trying to discover themselves to have to hide who they were. It was probably part of the reason they decided to stop doing Cynic in 1994 and move on to other projects.
Now in their mid 40s, Reinert and Masvidal are ready to be out and open about their sexuality, and to show the world that gay men can melt faces just like anyone else. "I see all those old dudes out there just banging their heads to our records, that stuff you're banging your head to? That is some gay, gay metal, man.” Reinert and Masvidal are living their lives the way they want to, and if you don't like it, fuck off. "Gay people are everywhere, doing every job, playing every kind of music and we always have been," Reinert said. "It's taken me years to finally be brave enough to say. If you have a problem with that, then throw out our records. That's your problem, not mine.” You can check out the LA times article HERE.
-Bradley D
Cynic: Facebook // Official Website // iTunes
Death: Facebook // Official Website // iTunes
