Converting Vegetarians II

In 2003, Infected Mushroom released Converting Vegetarians. It was a turning point in their career…one disc of psy trance goodies to satisfy current fans, and then a second disc containing more ambient, downbeat tracks. This second disc was, in my opinion, absolutely stellar. It showed a different side of Infected Mushroom, and proved they were capable of so much more! Subsequent albums veered more in line with their psy trance roots, but also included elements here and there of the concepts in Converting Vegetarians.Fast forward 12 years, and we now have Converting Vegetarians II. A proper follow-up to that album…this time only one disc containing some of the most expertly-crafted, stunningly beautiful ambient electronica I have ever heard. For all of IM’s success with hard beats, loud guitars, and trippy synths, I believe this album is easily their crowning achievement and the most sophisticated album of their career. Chill-out melodies and soundscapes combine with synthwork that is typical IM to create a lush and mesmerizing sonic landscape that is something fresh and new from the band. Conversely, there are still a few tracks with a harder sound, while still keeping its downtempo motif.Of particular note is one of the most gorgeous tracks on this album, “Pink Froid”. As its title suggests, it is a tribute to Pink Floyd, and is brilliant in how it pulls off an electronic interpretation of this legendary band. Other great tracks include “Stuck In A Loop”, which is a great electronic ballad in the vein of “What’s Inside of Me”. “Feelings”, “Leopold”, “Blue Swan 5”, and “Mexicali” are also noteworthy.One particular observation I have to share is just how perfectly this album is mixed and mastered. The sound quality is exceptionally clean and crisp. There is not one flaw, clip, or instance of distortion. Listening through headphones, you can clearly hear every musical element. The sense of listener fatigue is non-existent, unlike many other albums released today.This is easily one of my favorite albums released this year, and a strong contender for the best electronica album I’ve ever heard.

I don't know how I missed these guys in the late 1990s. I followed the Eat Static guys when they left Ozric Tentacles and formed Eat Static in the early 1990s, and started doing what I thought was the best electronic EDM stuff at the time (progressive dance mix, as they described it). Then I was into Orbital especially after Wonky. I don't know how I missed these guys from Israel - but they are fantastic. IM vicious delicious was in my collection, and I don't know how. then I got converting vegetarians, both fantastic. vicious and legend of the black shawarma are sort of more metal oriented (Metallica is their big influence apparently) but are great.Converting Vegetarians II is sort of billed as back to their roots of CV, and is excellent. the song Pink Froid is worth the price alone ! these guys are amazing, talented, creative and really fun.To me this music is right up there with Merv Pepler's work (Eat Static) and his projects, from early EDM/techno to psy trance (Last ship to Paradise, and Hi-FI Companions) the songs are varied and flow well, and have all kinds of cool influences.Damn, I missed the IM tour of 2022 in Portland OR. Hope to see them the next time !

The first time I threw this disk in the player I knew it was something special even by the incredibly high standards IM has set for themselves through their prior work. Getting past the opening track, this album has a more mellow and deep mind exploring brilliance to it. I am also a huge fan of much of Pink Floyd's stuff and without ever even reading the names of the songs, when "Pink Froid" started playing I made the undeniable connection immediately. It's amazing how well they captured the sound. It's really hard to highlight individual tracks as standouts when so much of the album is near perfect. I will however say "Demons of Pain" is an exceptionally incredible piece of work with great emotion driven through it's lyrics. I have probably listened through the album a couple dozen times at this point and it still is getting better.

A preview won't do this music justice. Go find a Soundcloud or YouTube listing of it and see for yourself. While it's already great music, there's more to it than that. In many of the songs, it'll suddenly remix what you've been listening to into another variation of the song. Many of the tracks are slightly above average in length, yet they contain more than enough substance to fill each one. This is music worth paying for!

This is in true spirit of the fist converting vegetarians album. More experimental and down tempo. Being a fan since the beginning, I realize Infected Mushroom is going to do whatever the hell they want. There is some personal sounding stuff on here, and some zane-y stuff. Regardless, it's a damn good listen. Favorite track: Animatronica

As a longtime fan of the rollercoaster of sounds provided by Infected Mushroom, I was incredibly stoked when a friend on Facebook posted that this album was now available. I'm no music critic, just a fan of good music. Converting Vegetarians II provides a fresh new group of songs that seem to get closer to their Converting Vegetarians: The Other Side album all while being totally new, original, and beautiful. I don't really know what else to say other than I've already listened to this album about five times since I bought it a couple of days ago. Get this album!

Excellent CD

Awesome album, they captured the trippy feel of the original Cv while at the same time managing to make it feel completely new. I like almost every IM album I'm heard so maybe I'm not the best person to ask, I don't think these guys could make something I don't like. Either way, definitely worth buying, especially if you liked the original CV.