Customer Reviews

Vicious Delicious

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

First, let's get this out of the way: Infected Mushroom has not been anything like a straightforward psy-trance act since their first couple of albums, so don't go checking this album out looking for that "Gathering" or even "Classical Mushroom" sound.

What this album is, however, is very interesting music that is some kind of mix of psy-trance, maybe a little metallic influence, and some other undefined weird electronica. This album is MUCH better than IM the supervisor and is as good as (and similar in nature to) Converting Vegetarians. Unlike the previous reviewer, I loved the second part of CV (as well as the first part), so for me this album sounding like that is a positive, not a negative! So, if you are wondering whether to buy this album, I suppose you should thus base your decision on how you liked CV (specifically, the second disc).

The tracks here differ enough to warrant a track-by-track review:

1. Becoming Insane - *extremely* catchy!!! You'll be humming this to yourself long after it's over. There are some flamenco-ish sounding guitars on this track that remind me of the ones on Juno Reactor's Pistolero. 9/10

2. Artillery - This would be an excellent track if it weren't for the extremely annoying rap vocals. (WHY, Mushroom, WHY?!?!?!) If they at least rapped themselves with that very cute accent (like on the converting vegetarians title track!) instead of getting some very typical-sounding hip hop rapper to do it, this track would be so much better! 4/10

3. Vicious Delicious - This one sounds more like an old school Infected Mushroom trance track, some great moments here 9/10

4. Heavyweight - Slow-paced, like CV disc 2 stuff, with a sort of chugging heavy metal feel to some of it, quite nice 8/10

5. Suliman - Some very interesting melody lines here, kinda middle-eastern sounding, a very well-crafted composition! 10/10

6. Forgive Me - Skippable... almost like an electronically processed "regular", commercial song... mercifully short! 4/10

7. Special Place - Sort of straightforward trance in the beginning, followed by a stretch with vocals, with some good tempo changes here and there, not bad! 8/10

8. In Front of Me - A VERY slow song by IM standards! Almost like an electronically-processed ballad... with again some metal-ish guitar backing... vocals repeating what sounds like 'and I fall into a hole and I can't take no more"... kind of an interesting song but weak in comparison with the rest of the album 6/10

9. Eat It Raw - Another fast trance track, it's OK 7/10

10. Change the Formality - Some very interesting vocals here! More of that great trippy vocal processing... I'm starting to like IM's vocal tracks more than their non-vocal trance tracks! The vocal stretch is followed by some good, hard psy-trance, a great track all around 10/10

11. Before - Another decent trance track, has some good moments 7/10

Overall... despite a couple of duds, this disc has much to recommend it! If you liked CV, get this one!

I got an advance copy, and I really do like this album. The first track starts off with a middle eastern tune, then what sounds like Spanish to me is spoken in the middle of it, it ends in the same vein as the beginning. The rest of the tracks are mostly close to 7-8 mins long, but have lots of ups and downs. A couple tracks out of the 11 present on the album are shorter in length, and also not quite as beat heavy as the longer ones. Also, the beat on this album is astoundingly powerful! Excellent for dance music!

Fans of 'Classical Mushroom' should be pleased, but newcomers should start with 'Classical Mushroom' to gage whether or not they'll like this album. Vocals are also present in about 3 or so songs, but not for the entire durations.


Hope this helps.

If you're looking for this album to fit snuggly and quietly in a nice little genre of music then you will be sadly disappointed.

On the other hand, if you are a fan of music (and I mean everything from classical to punk to funk to jazz to metal to hip-hop and everything inbetween) then this may be one of the greatest albums ever made. This album will simultaneously blow your mind with it's complexity and form, and kick your @$$ with power and energy.

This is classical music that you can dance and headbang to.

If you happen to read this review and happen to be a classically trained musician please buy this album, listen to it, and come back here espouse the musical brilliance and genius that is Infected Mushroom.

And as a minor side note to this album, they managed to create the genre of Psy-hop with Artillery(track 2) on this album. And mark my words in about a year or two everyone will know what Psy-hop is as it will be on every hip-hop/top 40/alternative station from Boston to Budapest.

I'm done now. I'd say more but then you'd probably waste your time reading this when you should be buying this album right now.

Vicious Delicious

Long time fan of Infected Mushroom. I am truly impressed with this album, not because it sounds like their previous albums (some songs do have this original sound). But rather because of what is different from what they previously put out.

I really dug the hip-hop and the singer on Artillery. I know there are some who are going to hate it but I think it might be a question of taste rather than quality. The song is VERY different from their typical style and crosses over different genres. It is also a brilliant song and I find my self almost subconsciously grooving to it.

I'm probably also among the few who actual likes In Front of Me. This song, even with some synth sounds, is really a rock ballad but I don't think it's too out of place on the album.

The rest of the album has a mix of brilliant techno that sounds like it came from a genius ADHD kid with something to prove. As soon as I get comfortable with a lick or sound, it changes and shows me something else that's also neat. Repetition is rare on this album and most of the songs have very different beginnings/middles/ends.

The best thing on this album, arguably, is the singing. I really think it adds a new dimension. Not everyone will agree but I think it makes it even more interesting than it already is.

This album is a complete explosion of sound. I can honestly say I was a different person before I heard it - Infected Mushroom have basically invented a whole new genre of psychadelic trance - a perfect fusion between rock and metal guitar sounds and some pretty hardcore beats - the only real way to describe this album is lucious. The sound is rich, pure, full - Vicious Delicious seems like a natural progression of "IM the supervisor", taking what they were trying to do there and just about perfecting it. Vicious Delicious does lose some of the edgy sound their earlier albums, and its rather more positive than albums like The Gathering - but on the other hand, all the haters who say they love IM's old stuff and hate the new need to chill, and realise that Vicious Delicious marks Infected Mushroom maturing as a band. There would hardly be any fun in churning out identical, run of the mill psychtrance albums - Infected Mushroom have taken a gamble, experimented, and perfected their craft at the risk of losing their core base of fans, and anyone who listens to this album with an open mind will agree that it paid off.

This is the future of music.

It's nice to have an electronica disk that isn't rife with overused beats and mind numbing repetition. The use of voice, treble and bass tones all result in a song selection I can listen to over and over again.

This is a great album. I dont know much of this kind of music but I have experience and great taste in other kind of music.
Music is well structured. There is talent here, specially for the non-orthodoxe evolution factor of some tracks. Most of them well enough justified. You will have to sit and wonder how they came with such umpredictable parts of the song. Those parts balance the song in most cases. For example if we take Heavyweight, we have a song that is deep and meaningful. The processed voice on the beggining along with the 'cello string like' arpeggio takes you to that deep level IM wants you to experiment and feel. Becoming insane is a fussion masterpiece brilliantly structured, in a way that only talent can do ( not a stupid collage as many bands make).

I didnt like all the songs,, but certanly there are more than enough good songs that make this album worthy.
I Can say IM is evolving from IATS album with VD. Although they should limit their experiments, I dont think putting a rap track and a heavy metal one is a good idea. It doesnt talks good about their Focus, and makes me think about "getting wide with fans" in terms of album sales.

This album was, and arguably still is, Infected Mushroom's best one. If you enjoy great music, this is one album to get. A freind of mine said "Heavywieght could have been written by Mozart."

Soooo, I pretty much listen to this album at least once a day. ALmost every track here not only lives up to but seems to push the standards for psy trance electronica. A must buy

Wonderful new direction! I enjoyed this CD very much from the first time I popped it in. Wether or not it is true to their roots is irrelevant. This CD blows away most of pop radio so please give some credit where it is due. It isnt another CV or CM, get over it!