Infected Mushroom - Delicious Developments

It’s the most un-psychedelic of albums from the band that launched psytrance into the mainstream, yet for Infected Mushroom pair Erez Eizen and Amit Duvdevani (Duvdev), Vicious Delicious is only the beginning.

The Israeli superstars – who now reside in the music industry hotbed of LA – have used all the tools at their disposal on their sixth LP - dishing up thrashing rock sonics, skillfully crafted pop hooks, and even rap. It’s the kind of all-rounder effort that could potentially have the pair sitting just as comfortably with the most-pit massive as the dancefloor – and perhaps even radio.

“We don’t want to be in the dance community, we want to be in the electronic community, so this was the point with Vicious Delicious – to show a lot of sides of Infected Mushroom,” Duvdev tells on a sun-drenched LA afternoon.

Indeed, Infected hardly lack musical ambition. In the album’s opener Becoming Insane, the pair mixes up Spanish flamingo guitars with irresistible vox-lead rock from LA outfit Kinki, in an offering reminiscent of their favourite band Dream Theatre. 

“When we finished the first version and I was singing ‘Becoming insane’, Erez and I were discussing what it would be like to have some Spanish vocals in there,” Duvdev explains. “We asked our manager to find us a band. There were two groups in LA who were quite Spanish – one of them was Mars Volta and the other one is Kinki, who were more visible at the time.”

An exploration into the world of hip hop with Artillery has become one of Infected’s most hotly debated tracks in recent times, with the pair snaring the rhyming skills of Rock Steady Crew-affiliated rappers Swollen Members.

A fan of old skool hip legends Cypress Hill and Run DMC, Duvdev admits the joint may not be palatable for purists. “It’s quite a rap tune that will not be easy for some of the followers of Infected Mushroom, but for us it was a fun thing to do and we enjoyed it.”

Still, it’s the duo’s rapidly developing songwriting skills that define Vicious Delicious. In Forgive Me they dish up cheeky Depeche Mode-inspired pop sensibilities, whilst Special Place is seven minutes of stomping beats and perfectly programmed vox. Likewise, the Linkin Park-esque In Front Of Me shines.

Duvdev concedes the pair does find the process of writing quality lyrics challenging. “It does take a long time. Usually when you hear an Infected Mushroom song you hear very short lyrics [laughs], not because we don’t want to put them in, but because it’s very hard for us to write lyrics that we’re 100% behind.”

Duvdev admits the band harbors desires to collaborate with likes of System of a Down, Tool, Korn and Linkin Park – something he believes is possible with their strong label hook-ups in the US.

After being virtual pop stars in their home country of Israel, there’s a real sense that Infected have discovered a renewed sense of vitality since their move to LA, a place where they’re reveling in no longer being the top dogs.

“For us to move to LA was a very big challenge. We moved from a country where we were very big stars. Infected Mushroom was a huge band and then we came to LA and nobody knew us. So it’s a big challenge in LA – there are a lot of different kinds of music going on over here than we’re used to in Europe too.”

WHO: Infected Mushroom
WHAT: Play the Metro / Vicious Delicious on EQ Recordings/Inertia
WHEN: Friday 13 April / Out now
MORE: infected.co.il / hardwarecorp.com.au