Guest Peaceful Warrior Posted April 21, 2003 Share Posted April 21, 2003 Hey guys, for all you who already have Infected's new album how would you rate it and also I would like to know your opinion on whether you think that the style on this new album is closer to the "B.P. Empire sound" or the older sound or is it a combination of both or is it just different from the other albums? B.P. Empire is for me their best album. It is varied, interesting, lots of sound manipulation, neat ideas and sounds and the production is amazing. I really like the depth created by the polished sounds and space between the sounds. So anyway, personally I would prefer that the new album be more like B.P. Empire than the 2 older albums. But of course I wouldn't mind if it is something really different (which knowing Infected Mushroom it almost certainly will be). I have heard samples from the new album but I don't believe it is a good idea to judge a cd based on some short, low quality snipets. So how would you describe its sound? What is its approach? What is it comparable to? Is the sound somewhat dry or is it more juicy wet(i.e. reverb and delay effects)? How is the composition and the progression in the songs? More like B.P. Empire or more like the Gathering and Classical Mushroom? In short do you guys, in your opinion, think that this album will appeal more to people who favored the style of B.P. Empire or to people who prefered the older I.M. style? Or maybe it is not similar enough to any of the other albums and therefor liking or not liking this album can't be predicted based on a persons' opinion of the earlier albums. Anyway, if anybody could share with me your thoughts on this album I would greatly appreciate it. I have read all the reviews and even the reviews on other sites but nobody has really explained in detail how the album "sounds". And even when people did give some hints as to what its style is, I couldn't make much sense of it because there was so much contradictory opinion. Some people said it sounded alot like a return to the old sounds of Infected but other people made it sound like it was empty or minimal(personally I like a little space between the sounds) then there were others who mentioned it as being not much different from B.P. Empire. I don't want to sound like I am criticizing the reviews, because there were some very good ones, but there are still some things not clear to me and I was hoping that if I asked my fellow psytrance-lovers directly (and if they understood my questions) that they might be able to give me a little better idea about what this album is like stylistically. Anyway, thanks in advance guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peaceful warrior Posted April 21, 2003 Share Posted April 21, 2003 Just to make it clear, what I wrote above was mainly concerned with the trance side. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike D Posted April 21, 2003 Share Posted April 21, 2003 read about it in the reviews section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Daniel Posted April 21, 2003 Share Posted April 21, 2003 There are 3 very LONG reviews in the review section....I suggest you read them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peaceful warrior Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 I read the reviews (several times) but did you really read what I wrote? I explained above that the reviews were good but none of them really explained the style of compostion or production very well. I don't consider this to be an answer to what I am asking "This song has a nice atmospheric beginning that sends you into the world of infected mushroom. There are a lot of nice light subtle melodies and some very twisted sound manipulations that go on throughout the song." O.k. this is good (so don't take offense) but could you give me something more specific? The above could be written about almost any Infected Mushroom song and about almost all psytrance in general. "a nice atmospheric beginning" o.k. its atmospheric, but how is it atmospheric? Lots of dense synth pads? Nature sounds? Spacey, delayed synth lines (as in the beginning of Never Ever Land)? Or atmospheric as in the beginning of 'Release Me' with a movie soundtrack feeling? As you can see there are many ways to achieve an atmospheric feeling and the Mushies have imployed various techniques at various times in their career. I want to know what is this albums' approach. How does it compare, stylistically, with other Infected Music or music by other artists. Is the production wet (i.e. lots of delay effects) and spacey sounding, like B.P. Empire, or is it more dry, dense and distorted as in The Gathering. Like I said, there were some hints as to what its style is, but there were also so many contradictions that I was hoping somebody could clarify it for me. I know I would be glad to help clarify something for a fellow psytrancer if they had asked for help but it seems alot of people let their egos get in the way. (i.e. "I've already wrote alot about it in the review section so you better just be satisfied with that or else forget it") As I said before, there were some good reviews in the review section but there were also some really bad and useless ones. Shit like this is useless, "This isn't so great. Psytrance-wise I mean. Only 2 good fullon tracks here (Albibeno and Apogiffa). Chaplin I say is very very very bad. Among the shittest tracks they made. The rest is, totally unintersting." Or this, "I totally agree. It sounds like it took 2 weeks top to make this/these album/albums." I mean this doesn't help anyone at all. All it tells me is that these people didn't really like it for some unknown reason. If they don't tell me very specifically why they liked or didn't like it, it is meaningless to me. For example they might not like it because it is minimalish but I might like minimal constructions and so without an explanation I have no way to know if I might like it or not. I mean how many times have you read some movie review and they go on and on about how it was unrealistic, had bad acting and the cinematography was crap, and then when you watch it you happen to totally disagree with the negative review and in fact you love it, it is one of your favorite movies. These kinds of statements describe nothing, they are mere opinions. So my belief is that for a review (of any kind) to have any value it must describe as precisely as possible and in objective terms just what that thing being reviewed is like. Opinions are not reviews! Reviews will naturally contain opinions, but opinions backed up with detailed, objective descriptions. The more detailed the description the better the review. Something like this "This song has a nice atmospheric beginning that sends you into the world of infected mushroom. There are a lot of nice light subtle melodies and some very twisted sound manipulations that go on throughout the song." is lightyears ahead of simple opinions like the ones above. But it could still be much more objectively descriptive. It is still subject to alot of interpretation. To get around this you could use more comparison with things that people are more likely to already be familiar with. For example you could say something like, "this song has a nice atmospheric beginning very reminiscent of the beginning of 'Never Ever Land' with bouncy, delayed synth bleeps and lots of space". This would give people a much better clue as to what the song really sounds like. And when you say "There are alot of nice light subtle melodies" it would be even better if you described why they struck you that way. For example are they light and subtle as in sparse, or as in low volume, or as in a "light timbre" soft and soothing, or light as in not fast, or as not distorted or some combination of these qualities. All I am asking is if anybody can be a little more precise in their description. If not, oh well, I wasted my time asking. But I am sure that someone with a keen and perceptive mind, who has had it for a while will be able to come through and describe it in a very accurate way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Daniel Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 Like all Infected albums this one is different. The Gathering = typical Israeli Trance manpulated and twisted with the Infected Mushroom style Classical Mushroom = funky, more upbeat, strange. Very much based on progression of sounds, very symphony like with use of layers and heavy melodies....very melodic and fun. B.P. Empire = dark, brooding, gloomy. Based on beats with minimal melodies. Lot's of effects and strangness....lost of atmosphere and depth. More "deep" than fun...a lot of darkness. Converting Vegetarians = (Trance Side) experimental, strange and new manipulations, light melodies that tease you, more based on effects and talent rather than full on music that drives....a showcase of the effect production. (Other Side) unexplainable, very varied, some cheesy vocals, many different styles of music....indescribable. Each album has it's own distinct personality....no comparison, that's how Infected works.....so that's the answer to your question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Slidingtrancer Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 I really think the general style(trance-side) is closer to the darkness on BP-empire with just a little extra 'sunshine' through the clouds. I consider the first 2 albums more melody-orientated and the latest two a little more fx-orientated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peaceful Warrior Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 Thanks guys for just really laying it out like that. That is what I was looking for. BTW Daniel I really did enjoy your review; it was long, you reviewed each song separately, you gave pretty damn good descriptions and it was fun to read. I can also tell that you truly approached this album with an open mind and didn't expect it to be just like one of the older albums. That is good because it seems that there are quite a few people (just like when B.P. Empire came out) that just can't seem to listen with fresh ears. They hear it maybe a couple times and decide they don't like it, but not because its not good but just because they think that Infected are leaving behind "true trance" and are selling out bla bla bla. Well my prediction is that for a while some people will be complaining and insulting Infected for not creating another Classical Mushroom but with time that kind of criticism will just get less and less. I mean.. I started listening to Infected when The Gathering first came out and I have noticed a pattern. Two things are certain in this pattern: 1. With every album you can expect the Mushies to innovate. No two albums are very much alike. 2. With every new album you can expect many people to say that they don't like it and that Infected are becoming commercial, but with time the new album seeps into peoples' souls and more and more people begin to praise it. I remember after The Gathering came out there was so much excitement, people were hailing it as the freshest and most inovative sound in psytrance in a very long time. And it continued to win people over and made Infected Mushroom a very well known name in psytrance. When Classical Mushroom came out it was the same thing as is happening now. I remember alot of people saying that they didn't like it and that it was such a shame that Infected had left behind the style of The Gathering "which was real Infected Mushroom style". I thought they were crazy because I thought Classical Mushroom was suprisingly even better than The Gathering and I was truly amazed by it. After a while the negative comments began to disappear and it wasn't long before people were hailing it as a masterpiece and then later "a classic". Strangely enough the same thing happened after B.P. Empire came out. At first there was alot of criticism and many people saying that it sucked. Again, I didn't understand the criticism because I thought B.P. Empire was quite amazing. At first I thought it was different but equal to Classical Mushroom but after listening to it for a while my mind attuned itself to its structures I came to like it even more than Classical Mushroom, as amazing as that album was. It is now probably my favorite album of all time. So anyway after seeing this pattern repeat itself several times I find it quite funny to see it happening again. Of course I may not like Converting Vegetarians as much as B.P. Empire or maybe not even as much as Classical Mushroom (though I may like it more and naturally everyone will have their own favorite album. But I have, through experience, gained a great respect and faith in these two guys. I am sure that they will continue to evolve and explore new musical frontiers and in the process will give to the world new sonic gems to stimulate our minds and bodies. Keep an open mind people. Isn't that one of the things we in this scene pride ourselves in. It seems that many people in this scene are becoming as formulaic and closed minded as many people that listen only to mainstream music. Thanks again to those of you who wrote very good reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveller Posted April 23, 2003 Share Posted April 23, 2003 I would say: cheesy commercial trance with catchy melodies and need to show of with studio skillz... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Quazzi Posted April 23, 2003 Share Posted April 23, 2003 Yes, i would say the same about shpongle, you shponglemaniac! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Daniel Posted April 23, 2003 Share Posted April 23, 2003 I'm glad u liked my review.....I've changed a few of my opinions on some of the songs I gave lower ratings....."Apogiffa Night" and "Hush Mail" have grown on me and I'd both add one + to each of their so now Apogiffa Night has + + and Hush Mail has + + + This album grows on me with each listen, like all Infected Albums...there sound isn't easily digestible, but once you click with the music it becomes perfect in every way possible. Infected forever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aricz Posted April 24, 2003 Share Posted April 24, 2003 hmm, i liked your descriptions of the infected mushroom albums daniel. that was all *im - dracul* *rrrrrrraorrrrrr* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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