Infected Mushroom : "IM30"

This album came out earlier in the year, and I am catching up to it. To celebrate the project's 30th anniversary, they are releasing a new album. I was not aware they had been around since 94, but here we are. They moved from Israel to the States in 2004, which seemed more like their inception to me. While I like the darker side of electronic music, I don't seem to cover much of it, so here we go. The opening track works as it uses the sounds they are known for and arranges them with dynamic purpose. There is a trippy creep to "New World Order". Two minutes in, the vocals chime in. They are never the focal point of the song, but add a more human touch. This song is more about moving bodies on the dance floor. Even then, they do better than most in terms of dynamics.

The songs that don't grab me as much on this album are the ones that are more conforming to mainstream dance music and just focus on the grooving beat, as there is more sound vs song in motion, but that is an issue I have with this kind of music in general, and these guys are catering to the Festival side of their fan base. The more dub-step like sounds on "Lightweight" are more interesting to me as they blend a bit of dub along with the oddly effected vocals. At nine and a half minutes, this is the album's longest song, and midway in there is some fat that could have been trimmed. But overall it works for me, though the last two minutes feel more 90s techno to me. 

"LA Beast" is one of the album's most interesting songs thanks to the vocals and guitar that are worked that give the song more bones to hang from. There are some retro synth wave sounds, so all the sonic bases are covered here. "No More Happy Endings" uses the vocals as a more pop-minded accent. The dirty beat it transitions into balances this out. When it finds its groove, there is more of an old-school techno pulse lurking underneath. Strummed guitar is even layered in as the song builds. "Mesumpelet"  is more dance- and sound-focused and holds less surprise than the previous song.

"AI Therapist" bubbles to life with the sound of liquid dripping and then the synths steer it in a more synth wave direction. The vocals are hypnotic and work well to balance things out. Lyrically, it is the only song that is allowed to tell a story. 

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SUBMASQ : "Spirit Animal"

 This prog rock band from Israel blends some interesting sides of the genre; you can hear elements of  Muse, System of a Down, along with more traditional suspects like Dream Theater. In this regard, you could sum it up by simply using Pain of Salvation as a reference. There is some System of a Down-like weirdness, but Pain of Salvation has used that sort of thing at times, depending on the era. It is grandiose and dynamic, but not too melodramatic to give it a more Dream Theater ballad sound; I am only two songs into the album.

The more ethnic folk elements a band like Orphanlands uses are not present, though hinted at on the darker "Mechanical Prayers " that launches into a happier chorus that sounds like it would be the theme song to an anime.. "Calypso" carries a darker Queensryhe feel. It goes from brooding to grooving well. In a weird dynamic contrast, the song "Anger" does not sound that angry. Instead, it works on an electronic pulse. Even though Bumblefoot plays on the first song, this song has the best guitar solo, as it is the most melodic and memorable.

"Sanctified" goes into a tenser creep that works well with a slow build, with "Empire" era tendencies. "Uman" has a more rock feel, like almsot feels like Devo. Vocally, it's more System of a Down, and it's too upbeat for my tastes. The vocal contrast from a light falsetto to more aggressive singing- not sure I would call it harsh, but it's a wide dynamic vocal shift that I normally would be into; this one takes me a little bit for it to grow on me. The lyrics to the last song "Trust ' might be the album's best, but the delivery is once again too happy for my personal tastes. I will give this album a 9, it sounds a great deal like Pain of Salvation, but to pull that off is impressive and they still have their own thing going on so if you are wanting some early 2000's flavored prog rock this is your best bet.Out on Willowtip Record September 18th. 

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