(BNE/Stomp)

Infected Mushroom is a name which has been synonymous with the psy-trance scene for almost a decade. The duo consisting of Erez Aizen and Amit Duvdevani  have now sold over 150,000 albums world wide and have performed live to close to 500,000 people. With credentials like this it is no doubt they are amongst the most successful psychedelic acts in the world today. This release titled ‘I’m The Supervisor’ showcases a unique mixture of psytrance grooves with strong gritty rock elements, topped off by twisted vocals. Compared to many of their previous releases this one oozes a strong industrial flavour which I could only compare to the direction the prodigy have taken. The production quality is exceptionally high as usual and the tracks for the album were selected after careful road testing during their live shows

The first track I’m the Supervisor which is the title track on this interesting release heads immediately in the direction of strange out of this world psychedelic sounds backed by a number of characteristic Infected Mushroom sounds. Having always lead the way in terms of quality psy-trance production the basses and effects throughout this track and entire release are simply so crisp and sound immaculate. Great sounds that take me back to the older prodigy tracks due to the cool use of screamed vocal cuts. Ratio Shmatio is a highlight which takes me back to some of the old Infected Mushroom work with its uplifting melodies, swirling patterns, and amazing effects.

Many of the tunes have taken a strong industrial edge with crisp basslines that punch through the trippy soundscapes and the layered effected out vocals. Meduzz is great due the variety of sounds throughout which include an unexpected classical section that is  quickly enveloped by a great distorted lead guitar. Cities of the Future is the title track for the release and is quite different to their usual tracks. It continues on the strong rocking industrial sound and is driven my a manic beat and distorted vocals. Other highlights include the phat sounds of Frog Machine, and the final track Stretched. This track is much slower than the rest and has a much stronger funky groove backed by some smooth bass sounds and features a huge epic guitar solo in the breakdown followed by a vocal solo which mimics the guitar post breakdown; simply awesome.

Overall, this is another quality release which has deviated quite strongly from the sound which many Infected Mushroom fans grew to love, however for those with an open mind for new sounds will very much enjoy the twisted tunes and powerful sounds contained in the releases eleven tunes. The highlights in my opinion were Ratio Schmatio and Frog Machine due to their similarity to some of their earlier stuff. The lead single from the album will be the bangin’ Cities of The Future followed by Cities of the Future and the group will grace our shores for a live show nationally next March thanks to the Earthcore crew. If you’re a fan of Infected Mushroom or love your psy-trance I would definitely recommend this one for you however if you afraid of trippy bleeps and squeals then perhaps stay away.