June 15, 2009
INFECTED MUSHROOM RETURN WITH ‘LEGEND OF THE BLACK SHAWARMA’ OUT SEPTEMBER 8 VIA PERFECTO RECORDS
LEAD SINGLE “SMASHING THE OPPONENT” FEATURING JONATHAN DAVIS AVAILABLE NOW!
For their highly anticipated release LEGEND OF THE BLACK SHAWARMA, electronic-rock innovators INFECTED MUSHROOM return with their patented hybrid of thrashing metal and psychedelic trance to bring a frenetic rock energy to the form and venture where other electronic acts fear to tread. The Israeli-bred, Los Angeles-based electronic duo continues to push sonic boundaries for their eighth studio album that’s due out September 8, 2009 on electronic music giant Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto label.
Legend Of The Black Shawarma sees Amit “Duvdev” Duvedevani and Erez Eisen teaming with high-profile rockers. The album’s lead single “Smashing the Opponent” features a scorching vocal from Korn’s Jonathan Davis, while Jane’s Addiction frontman and alt-rock trailblazer Perry Farrell lends his inimitable pipes to the follow-up track “Killing Time.” “Recording with Jonathan and Perry was a highlight, of course,” Duvdev notes. “They were both incredibly cool. The fact that they liked the tracks was awesome because we’re huge fans of what they do.”
The album is the follow-up to 2007’s Vicious Delicious and takes INFECTED MUSHROOM’s psy-trance fusion of bruising, metallic rock and unstoppable dance-floor beats to a new level. “It’s a really diverse record,” Duvdev says, “but it’s even more aggressive–both on the metal side and on the breakbeat side.” Taking its time to craft the album, the duo worked on Shawarma whenever their frenetic, globe-trotting tour schedule permitted. Whether singing about “Smashing” and “Killing” or paying tribute to beloved (Los Angeles) eateries like “Poquito Mas,” “Frank’s” (“The best taco place in Mexico in our opinion”) or Israeli hummus factory “Sae’ed,” INFECTED MUSHROOM prove they’ve stayed hungry despite their massive international success.
And what of the album’s mysterious, culinary title? “We were on tour in Australia two years ago,” he explains. “My friend came to me said, ‘I have this dream to dive with sharks.’ They do that in Australia–you’re lowered into shark-infested waters in a cage.” At that point, Duvdev warned his burly friend that in a wetsuit he would resemble, to toothy denizens of the deep, a certain meat wrap of Middle Eastern origin. “I told him if he did this, there were five gigantic sharks waiting for a shawarma like him to come down in a cage and be devoured. We thought that was pretty funny and the Legend of the Black Shawarma was born.” As the title track’s cautionary lyrics have it: “Life’s been treating you nice/You better be wise/And enjoy your moment.”
Thanks to INFECTED MUSHROOM’s genre-pushing songs and incendiary performances, the adventurous duo has become one of the biggest live electronic bands on the planet. Their schedule has proved as relentless as their juggernaut jams. From the Ultra Music Festival in Miami (which drew over 100,000 attendees this past March), Coachella, the Virgin Festival in Baltimore, Mexico’s OMIX, Brazil’s Ipanema Beach and Melbourne’s Metro Club, INFECTED MUSHROOM has averaged about 120 live performances per year. Twice ranked among the world’s 10 best DJs by the bible of the scene, the U.K.’s DJ magazine, they routinely whip crowds of all cultures into the same whirling froth.
Their explosive show—featuring guitars, live drums, Duvdev’s intensely passionate vocals, Erez’s nimble keyboards and an ambitious multimedia backdrop—ranks among the genre’s most unpredictably joyous events. INFECTED MUSHROOM will highlight new selections from Shawarma during several of their live shows in North America this summer, launching “Smash The Opponent” during their performance at electronic mega-music festival Electric Daisy Carnival in Los Angeles June 27. The complete list of dates follows below.
The complete track listing for INFECTED MUSHROOM’s Legend of the Black Shawarma is:
1. Poquito Mas
2. Sa’eed
3. End of the Road
4. Smashing the Opponent *featuring Jonathan Davis (Korn)
5. Can’t Stop
6. Herbert the Pervert
7. Killing Time *featuring Perry Farrell (Janes Addiction)
8. Project 100
9. Franks
10. Slowly
11. Legend of the Black Shawarma
