Infected Mushroom - The Gathering

This album is simply unmatched.

Up to today, never has a duo of music producers delivered such an inventive, unique-sounding, mind-disturbing piece of psychedelic trance. It's not about darkness, it's not about a killer drive, it's purely about mind-altering experiences to the likes of their own band name. The details are amazing, the textures overwhelming, the musicality, unreal. The whole feel and sound of this album is so unique and unmatched that it just keeps on being my number one and probably will remain. Tracks like Virtual Voyage and Over Mode simply crack open your perception and flood your brain with mystic visions and tribal rituals, as most other tracks do.

Like the soundtrack to the tale of an ancient world somewhere in between this reality and the next or a hymn to a long forgotten civilization, this cd catapultes you into that region of your subconsciousness which most people don't like to experience; the raw carnal nature and mystic origin of the human mind; fear & desire. In many ways, there are lots of experimental touches to this album; there are metal-influenced pieces, goth-piano sections, disturbing synth-infested passages, it all holds together pretty well while delivering a first-class cinematic experience.

An absolute mind-blowing experience which will proudly go down as one of the greatest and most complex albums ever in the history of psychedelic trance. A milestone a mile wide.

Maybe a few of the songs might be labelled goa trance... But while this is the by far most "goasih" album of Infected Mushroom, it's also apparent, even this way back - what path they were to take (a musical path that is experimental psy trance at most - like that path or not). Nevertheless, this is a very good album - even for the more traditional goa or melodic&acid psy fans.

Sometimes you're only confronted with an album years after its' release and you wonder: If I dodged the bullet back then why does it have to come back and haunt me now?!?

What surprises me most with IM is that even most old skool psyfans praise their earlier works. What's so amazing? Not that I can't detect talent behind TG. Off course, but with an ever imminent cheesy touch lurking around I can never relax and just enjoy TG. What will it be next to spoil the mood? A stupid high pitched Mickey Mouse voice, a cheesy sample (Release Me's "Die", "Psycho" at 5:01 etc), an annoying KILLARGH part, or a Steve Vai sounding guitar section (examples are legio, but the classic example is Blue Muppet at 5:56).

Sad, really, but despite occasional plusses this sums up to two fat thumbs down. IM Sorry. IM really sorry!

Infected Mushroom have a tendency to insert little snippets from movies in their tracks. eg.
Release Me contains audio sample from 1996 movie, Independence Day.
Return Of The Shadows contains sample from 1991 film, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
Psycho contains sample from 1989 film, Batman.
Tommy The Bat and Over Mode both contain samples from 1996 film, The Island Of Dr. Moreau.

Infected Mushroom's debut album "The Gathering" is definitely one of the best the psytrance scene produced. Amazing melodies throughout this album. THe whole thing has a fairy tale quality to it.