Providing further grist for the evolution of electronica in the 2000s are psytrance innovators
Infected Mushroom. While
IM's previous efforts dabbled in eclecticism far outside the purview of club-oriented psytrance and its subsequent "progressive" variants, the duo's 2009 effort, The Legend of the Black Shawarma, delves even further into the realms of breakbeat-influenced heavy rock and metal. Tracks like "Smashing the Opponent," featuring
Korn frontman
Jonathan Davis, combine bubbling synth sequences with menacing guitar riffs and arena-sized breakdowns, coming across more like a live act than a DJ duo. "Killing Time," a broody, downtempo collaboration with
Porno for Pyros'
Perry Farrell, marks the album's most conventionally "rock" moment. But even at its most rocking, the lysergic twists and turns and sonic experimentation of the group's earliest dancefloor efforts always seem to shine through. ~ Dave Shim