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Another great song; one of the best on the album. Really cool. 7/1004 The Shen (whatever that means) - Strings open the song before being joined by a drum beat. I'm not a big fan of key changes.
Some cut-up, bizarre vocals follow as the song gets going again before another break. Unfortunately, it doesn't last, going away before the 1 minute mark. Has a bit of everything. Unfortunately, not as great as the first two songs, but still very good. Begins with some guitar and a heavily distorted sample that lets you know the name of the song. Towards the end, the guitars get louder and eventually become the last instrument at the end, where the vocal sample reminds you of the song title one last time. Otherwise, killer.
Some cool percussive effects later. Again, it was good, but this is better (SA put too much emphasis on the strings and not enough on the synths). Thirdly, I've heard the mixture of classical music and psytrance before with SynSUN's 2004 album Symphonic Adventures. After a break near the halfway point, some strings kick in as well as some cool percussive effect to accompany the guitars. Very cool.
It takes a turn for the retro about halfway through, with some old-school synth lines. After the synths kick in, the string line returns, albeit very, very, very distorted. Now, onto the songs.01 Bust A Move - Like I said on my other reviews, a good opening track is always key to a good album. 9/1002 None of This Is Real - By far the shortest track on the CD. 8/1005 Disco Mushroom - I'm not sure what this has to do with disco, though I have seen other Israeli psytrance artists use the word in song titles with no real ties to the genre. From there it undulates for awhile before returning to the beginning, then shifting to an edgy beat before completely changing at the end. Funky synths follow.
I've been into Israeli psytrance about a year now, but I'd heard mostly relatively new acts such as ITP, Hypersonic, and Asaf Twina. This has an energy to it that can't really be described, other than awesome. In the second half of the song, there is some male chanting that gets cut up. 9/1006 Dracul - An imposing string intro is followed by a sample of a woman who seems to be in mourning. It doesn't really pick up again until after 4 minutes, when some guitars begin to build, then the song goes to a drum break. Anyway, the song begins with a warped 6/8 run, which is awesome.
Some cool effects come in shortly afterward. 10/1003 Sailing in the Sea of Mushroom - The beginning of this sounds like a remixed Mega Man song (that's a very good thing). Starts off rather oddly, with a contemporary pop-like beat that slowly melts into an awesome groove. It switches to 4/4 just after 5 minutes. I started with this album because for one, it has been highly praised and two, because the cover art didn't completely weird me out like almost every other IM album; indeed, this one only partially weirded me out.
Another very good song. This one takes awhile to get going after that. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to expand their psytrance collection. After that, the beginning part appears again, followed with a long run. All good acts, but I decided I wanted to explore some of the inspirational acts for them, such as IM and Astral Projection. 9/1007 Nothing Comes Easy - This is one of the darker songs on the album. It has a playful feeling to it, however; an interesting combination, I know.
The song ends with an acidic synth run followed by some broken beats and effects.
10/1008 Mush Mushi - This and Bust A Move seemed to be the two favorites with other reviewers, and with good reason.
More effects follow, with more distorted vocals later on.
The only complaint I have is the key change at the end.
10/1009 The Missed Symphony - At over 10 minutes, this is the longest song on the album, which is typical of musicians in general.
At the 5 minute mark, the guitars return with a wah effect combined with the synthesizer.
After a break, the song slowly builds until about the 2:30 mark, then breaks again about a minute later.
This album is quickly becoming one of my favorites.
9/10Overall, this album is amazing.
Bust A Move and Dracul are among the top, in my opinion. I really enjoy this CD. There are some excellent songs here. I really dig the incorporation of classical sounds (although I think there could have been more).It has a more evolved sound that is more commercially appealing than The Gathering. I agree with many other reviewers that it is interesting and innovative, however, The Gathering still appeals to me more.This album is a classic and is definitely worth purchasing.
Hearing several tracks from this album in a club is the first time I really took notice of Infected Mushroom. The classical-style pianos were quite fresh for psytrance and really well done. It reminded me of Beethoven in Bill & Ted's, but in this instance pulled off really well. It was clearly evident that these guys have had classical training and were good at it.This is easily in my top 5 psytrance albums of all time.
I'm not a big fan of goa, the reason being that I find much of the music too repetitive. Although infected mushroom do use the same thumping baseline in almost all their songs, I find they get away with it because they layer a very rich variety of rhythms and sounds on top of it. I sincerely recommend this album to people whom like me, are in some way attracted to the genre, but are not regular listeners because they get annoyed by too much repetition in songs. You may also like Juno Reactor
Great for dancing, great for driving, great for going on a little mind trip. And yes, there IS enough "classical" element in the mix to merit the name, though don't expect a remake of "Hooked on Classics."To summarize, in the psy-trance genre, this is one of the "classic" album and a must own if you are into this music.
I find it to be a much more evolved album and sound than their previous "The Gathering." That album had it's moments, but doesn't hold a candle to this one musically or in mastering quality. As for it not being in the same leage as other Trance artists releases, I say that is false as well.
There is a reason why this is such a sought after album and I have trouble understanding why a few reviewers have panned it. It is most certainly not your standard trance fare.
It is some of the best Trance you can find, on part with any of the best in the genre. It is an intricately woven tapestry of sound that takes you on quite a journey from the opening guitars of Bust A Move to the ending notes of Missed Symphony.
I've owned it (and most other Infected Mushroom) albums for years now and this is one I never tire of. Hop on board, and get infected.
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