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Infected Mushroom - Legend Of The Black Shawarma [Perfecto Records]
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| Dan1584 |
Infected Mushroom - Legend Of The Black Shawarma [Perfecto Records] Release Date: Tuesday, September 8th
01. “Poquito Mas” (3:39)*
02. “Sa’eed” (7:04)
03. “End of the Road” (6:47)
04. “Smashing the Opponent” (4:10)*
05. “Can’t Stop” (7:24)
06. “Herbert the Pervert” (7:18)
07. “Killing Time” (3:04)
08. “Project 100” (9:38)*
09. “Franks” (8:05)*
10. “Slowly” (9:00)
11. “Legend of the Black Shawarma” (7:12)*
BONUS (on the itunes digital release)
12. “Riders On The Storm (Infected Mushroom Remix)”
13. “Bust A Move (Infected Mushroom Remix)”
My Review
Ten years ago Infected Mushroom hit the underground psychedelic trance scene with their first album “The Gathering” and crowds went ‘Psycho’ for every sound they sent through the speakers. With six studio albums under their belt and countless unrelated singles they have had plenty of time to develop their fan base and more importantly their music. A lot has changed in those ten years… some may say for the better, some definitely for the worse. September 8th, 2009 marks the release of their seventh studio album, Legend of the Black Shawarma. The band has described this album as more of the progressive metal they have been experimenting with recently infused with their trademark psychedelic trance. But has their move to Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto Records been a good influence? I guess we will see…
The album starts off with a track titled “Poquito Mas” which is Spanish for “a little bit more” and it’s a great start to the album. Nice atmospheric acoustics start it off, and swiftly leading into some good psychedelic dark grooves with some pretty nice rhythmic guitar action. The lyrics are simple, not over done and played with a lot in an Infected way. Overall it definitely left me wanting more, so the track is appropriately titled. The next two tracks simply do not leave me wanting more however. “Sa’eed” starts off really bad ass and once Duvdev starts with the rock singing half way through I just fell off the fan train of this song, I preferred the robotic vocals the track was going with originally. All that being said, after a few listens it actually grew on me. “End of the Road” however did not, it is a snore… nothing special so I won’t waste my time.
The next track is the first single off of the album “Smashing the Opponent” with guest vocals by Jonathan Davis from KoRn. I have liked KoRn’s work in the past so I think the pairing worked out well… it’s a nice lead single, even if it’s on the mainstream-ish side of things. It grew on me. I know a lot of people despise this track because of it’s overt lean towards the radio but for what it is, I enjoyed it. Unfortunately the album takes a dive again for me throughout the next three songs. “Can‘t Stop” starts of interesting but then a horridly generic rhythmic progressive metal vibe comes out of nowhere and really ruins the track for me. I must say however that this song definitely works out well in their live shows, I can attest to that. “Herbert the Pervert” sounds like a fun track from the title but is yet again overloaded with generic rhythm guitar strums that do nothing for the track. The truly sad part is that this track definitely had potential to have some good soaring solo guitar moments but they didn’t take it there, sadly disappointing… Lastly in this gruesome threesome we have the unfortunate second single “Killing Time” with guest vocals from Jane Addiction front man Perry Farrell. It’s down tempo like “In Front of Me” off of Vicious Delicious but the end result is something boring and forgettable. Boo!
At this point I was feeling pretty bleak but the next two epic monsters really put a smile on my face. “Project 100” was dubbed by Duvdev as the epic trance track of the album, similar to the likes of “Dancing with Kadafi“, “Stretched“, and “Heavyweight.” Right off the bat the song starts with the energy, and to be honest I wasn’t really a fan of this intro. But like every other “epic” song they have created it quickly switches gears. This track has everything you could want in it… slow moments, fast moments, atmospheric sections, violins, chanting, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, crazy synth work… it has a lot of nice sections to it. This is definitely one of the best songs on the album and like other songs similar to it that they have done in the past it really showcases their eclectic and creative talents. The next jewel is “Franks” which has some really great moments in it. The intro, yet again, is a little weak but that is quickly corrected with some great atmosphere, fun and slightly funky synth work and tempo changes. It’s not until around 4min 30sec that the track starts to really do some classic Infected magic. The track slows down and slowly builds, getting more aggressive and in your face as the seconds tick on by. Then, in amazing Infected fashion they peak the track at 160bpm with some intense goa/psychedelic trance energy from 6min till about 6min 40sec. Thank you Erez and Duvdev, thank you VERY MUCH for that.
The album winds down with two more tracks. “Slowly” is another trancey track with some nice moments in it, a lot of funk and fun to it, however it doesn’t have any OMG moments which after following “Franks” slightly disappointed me, but none-the-less a decent track. The album finally ends with the title track “The Legend of the Black Shawarma” which is a great ending for the album. The intro is perfect and very album-ending-ish. The song is a combination of Infected trance and their new vocal rock theme, but in top form! The vocals are very energy inducing, and fit nicely with the psy-melodies that they are famous for. The climax is peak time music for sure, and from hearing this song live, it rocks a crowd without a doubt. Good closer Infected!
Looking back on the musical journey the Shrooms have placed upon me with this album I have to say that I’m a little disappointed. What has always attracted me to Infected Mushroom was their knack for a creating a good melody, and those solo moments where they really showed off some awesomely twisted and vibrant melodies. Unfortunately those moments don’t often show themselves in this album, and leaves me wanting more, but not in a good way. I was actually a fan of the electric guitar work of theirs when they started adding it in the previous two albums. I loved the soaring guitars in tracks like “Stretched“, “Heavyweight“, “Suliman“… but those great solo guitar moments are sadly absent and have been disappointingly replaced with the typical rock-laden chugging guitar rhythms instead. They are uninteresting and rather boring at times, and keep in mind I’m a rock fan as well. I think this ‘progressive metal’ work is a little over used and weak in this album specifically, but there are still points at which it does work nicely, but overall I’m not sold on it just yet. I have never minded their vocal attempts, weird lyrics or rock-experimentation as some have griped about. For me, as long as Erez and Duvdev keep true to their roots and keep their music infused by large with psychedelic juiciness then we will never part ways. This album may have some failed moments for me but the handful of tracks I absolutely love off of this album keep me wanting to hear more from them, and I’m sure they’ll be back to give me just that.
Full length previews of the following new tracks can be heard on their MySpace...
Smashing the Opponent, Project 100, Legend of the Black Shawarma, Killing Time, Can't Stop, Slowly, Poquito Mas |
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| trancechan |
i was waiting for a thread about this, i thought i'd end up posting it up myself.
huge fan of infected mushroom in their early days. alongside juno reactor, they're what got me into electronic music in the first place.
i'll definitely check this one out in a little bit. |
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| sh33p |
| sorry, but it's pure comparing to the old albums |
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| lenazi |
this is a dj tool for farmers to use to scare crows away from their crops.
5/5 |
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| Dan1584 |
| quote: | Originally posted by sh33p
sorry, but it's pure comparing to the old albums |
A lot has changed since the 'old albums' and they are in a new era. I don't even think it's fair to compare the older albums to their work beyond 2001. Tracks like 'Franks' and 'Project 100' however to very distinctively reference the sound and qualities of the old albums. If you listen carefully you'll even hear old synths they haven't used since B.P. Empire or Classical Mushroom.
Still, for me, nothing beats tracks like Mush Mushi, Symphonatic, Red Filter, Dancing with Kadafi. Infected has changed a lot and maybe it's too much for some people. A lot of people have very specific tastes in music that are not flexible, and some like a little bit of everything.
I could go on and on about Infected Mushroom and my opinions on their whole career and musical decisions they have made throughout it. But in the end it's just about what you enjoy. |
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| Dan1584 |
| quote: | Originally posted by trancechan
i was waiting for a thread about this, i thought i'd end up posting it up myself.
huge fan of infected mushroom in their early days. alongside juno reactor, they're what got me into electronic music in the first place.
i'll definitely check this one out in a little bit. |
Be careful, they aren't in their 'early days' anymore... haven't been for some time... |
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| sh33p |
| quote: | Originally posted by Dan1584
A lot has changed since the 'old albums' and they are in a new era. I don't even think it's fair to compare the older albums to their work beyond 2001. Tracks like 'Franks' and 'Project 100' however to very distinctively reference the sound and qualities of the old albums. If you listen carefully you'll even hear old synths they haven't used since B.P. Empire or Classical Mushroom.
Still, for me, nothing beats tracks like Mush Mushi, Symphonatic, Red Filter, Dancing with Kadafi. Infected has changed a lot and maybe it's too much for some people. A lot of people have very specific tastes in music that are not flexible, and some like a little bit of everything.
I could go on and on about Infected Mushroom and my opinions on their whole career and musical decisions they have made throughout it. But in the end it's just about what you enjoy. |
It's not about the flexibility, believe me, I'm very flexible when it comes to electronic music, I'm willing to listen to every genre as long as it sounds good.
You can hear easily that they making the music for money or for different type of people (aka music for the masses). |
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| THE_Chris |
| I dont know whats worse here, IMs album or the fact that Perfecto have stooped so low as to release it. |
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| enydo |
lol
The Black Shawarma? |
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| trancechan |
| quote: | Originally posted by Dan1584
Be careful, they aren't in their 'early days' anymore... haven't been for some time... |
same with juno reactor, but their latest album Gods & Monsters is excellent. i'm optimistic... :nervous: |
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