Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Recommendation/Review: Infected Mushroom - Vicious Delicious (2007)


Whenever I want an album to make me jump around, to give me high energy, pump me up, Vicious Delicious is a natural choice. 
This album by the Israeli psytrance group Infected Mushroom (although not really psytrance anymore) is a step up from what they released before and much more eclectic in nature. In here you have elements of trance, techno, psychedelic music, rap, hip-hop, rock, ethnic touches and what-not. 
The music is still very much rooted in the electronic camp and in the trance 'legion' but they incorporate styles and elements from other genres as well as include a metal-ish sounding electric guitar. These fantastic new fragrances make this compelling to my ears and perhaps even for those who dislike "everything that sounds like techno".

The songs here are all over the map with regards to the ambiance they portray. Their rhythmic sense is impeccable and there is strong emphasis on melody. This is not an instrumental-only album with 6 songs and 5 instrumentals, just don't expect too much from the lyrics (but they are fun/funny). 

Each song is a boost of energy straight to the brain, even the slower and more somber songs Forgive Me and In Front Of Me. Moreover, some of the songs here are even (gasp!) progressive, in how they are constructed and developed; two examples would be the title track, Vicious Delicious, the eclectic piece Heavyweight, the slightly Middle-Eastern sounding Suliman, the almost proper trance piece Special Place and the fantastic and personal favourite of mine, Change The Formality. These are not some meaningless meandering and repetitions of the same thing over and over, but well orchestrated and organized themes that go somewhere. I know some (perhaps most) would disagree, but that's my impressions of it. If anything, the title song, Vicious Delicious, is how well done psy-trance should sound. It's a psychedelic piece, high energy musical candy-bar and kicks your ass. It starts somewhere and ends somewhere else. The same is true for the other pieces I mentioned. 

Every song in this album has something special to offer. Artillery is a fine piece of melange of hip-hop and a bit of metal-ish guitars thrown in for good measures. Becoming Insane has a gorgeous opening Flamenco-esque guitar theme. Heavyweight is an excellent eclectic piece mixing together electronics and electric guitar to create a great psychedelic experience that balances the extreme high energy levels with a mellower and rockier side of the group. Forgive Me is an almost straight pop song and a little calmer than the rest of the album (and perhaps the most verbose, despite being the shortest song). In Front Of Me is much slower and even pensive, quite the emotional song (almost a ballad) with a beautiful climax (with the help of heavy guitar riffs). 

It is a long (about 70 minutes) and dense album, one that exhilarates me at the same time as it drains.  
Granted it took time until the album took hold on my mind, but once it did, it never left. 

If nothing else, this is great gym music... 















3 comments:

  1. Great album indeed! An almost revolutionary album in the whole concept of psytrance.

    We seem to share quite a lon on a musical basis. Would you happen to have a last.fm account?

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  2. I used to have a Last.fm account. Haven't accessed it in some years now, didn't find it useful and I never listen to music on my computer so there was nothing much to scrobble (or whatever it is that the last.fm does with the music you play).

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  3. Ah, too bad! I find it really useful when searching for new music. Though, I generally listen to all of the music I listen to on my computer, so I suppose it's different. (:

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