Now when I picked this album up it was with great anticipation of the whispers I'd heard. Drum n Bass ready to take back the mainstream?

This album does have incredibly MTV friendly tunes on it and has a good chance of breaking back into a club scene that is being over taken by generic House music. But what does this album actually offer that other Drum n Bass albums do not?

Coming in at 1:19.49 its a fairly decent length and, quite oddly, like most Drum n Bass albums these days, not all tracks are pre-mixxed together, giving it a nice feeling for a DnB album and also plays well for fans of DJing.

TRACKS (14)

PRELUDE (0:52)

Oddly enough, its a predlude to the album. This prelude actually features on the MTV version of Slam (I can't tell you whether its on the vinyl or not) Not really much to it. Haunting vocals lead us to an almost apocolyptic start to this album. Because its associated somewhat with Slam it leads, obviously and seemlessly into...

SLAM (5:44)

Almost certainly the track why 95% of people will have bought this album. It really is up there with the top tunes of this album. The start of it builds up the anticipation until finally it is unleashed on you and there is no way this synth driven, somewhat slow in my opinion, tune will not get you dancing. There will be fans of the video imitating it across the land. A great song that, unfortunately, you'll tire of quickly.

PLASTIC WORLD (6:21)

We're slowed right down for the start of this track but kindly on 0:46, after some nice horns, we're treated to a great little drum beat. Drum beats are why most of us are into a DnB and there is something about this one that feels safe. With a nice dubby bass thrown in and a variety of types of soft vocals layed over the top of it, this is a nice chilled out DnB tune.

FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT (6:38)

Now. What can I say about Faster Your Seatbelt. If Slam had not been on this album there is no way FYS would have not been a floorfiller across this lovely country. This song is pure class. Random noises fly at you when it starts to announce its presence in your ears. It flows from left to right across the speakers. It builds and builds upon itself and you're not even passed the first minute. Then.....all of a sudden.....Fasten your seatbelts! This song demands turning up, it needs a sub bigger than ever built. Its not quite drum n bass as much as its just bass, lots of it, dirty dirty bass. In the middle it gives you a break down that fills your chest with rib shaking vibration. Get out your seat, get on the dance floor and show the world why you were given feet!

THROUGH THE LOOP (6:13)

Samples from Willy Wonka take us into the head of this tune. Some classic DnB riffs are thrown into the mix of a very ambient start to this one. You feel it start to get there though and something tells us we're onto, finally, the speed that this album has hinted at. This my friends is a Drum n Bass tune. Plain and simple. The samples and so far lack of any out and out speed give this tune a very dark feel. If you like it fast and like it dark, this one is for you.

SOUNDS OF LIFE (5:21)

The speed keeps up into this one but the feel of power we had with Through the Loop has been lost somewhere in this song. We're treated to some very, whats the word, nice? vocals, just before 3 minutes in. They give the song a different twist but nothing that I've not heard before. This one washes over me without really registering. Drum n Bass by numbers.

GIRL IN THE FIRE (4:53)

Ahh, some lovely strings to take us into this one. Nice set of what I think are reversed strings as well give this song a good set to start out. For the first 1:22 of the tune it could almost be a Daft Punk tune, thats not a bad thing but hardly original. It continues on with faster drums and slightly more upbeat with an odd break on 3 minutes but again this song does nothing to move me. Its like 101 other tunes I've heard. The only twist is the guitar work and its just not enough.

TARANTULA (5:31)

Luckily after 2 tunes that would album have me turning this album off, we're treated to another great. Tarantula is another dirty classic of this album. With elements of dub thrown in again, I'm starting to wonder if this is what Pendulum should concentrate on. With vocals that seem deceivingly easy to sing along to this tune is the kinda thing that should be thrown on at 2:30am in a club to make sure everyone is still alive. A bottle of water, a strobe light and Tarantula, smiles all around!

OUT HERE (6:07)

A slow and slurred one here. It shows signs of class and after a couple of minutes of what I can only call bordem, this tune does start to take off somewhat. Its just not that great though. The usual break down and second build up does nothing to get this song on side because, deep down, I know this tune is not gonna get any better after it. By the time this was on in a club I'd probably be too drunk to function and trying to chat up a mirror reflection of myself, so really I wouldn't mind it was on. Again a tad dull, nothing to it.

HOLD YOUR COLOUR (5:28)

At least they spelt colour correctly. Fair enough that wouldn't annoy me in a club as I'd never know but I own the CD so its a big thing. I've come to expect a lot from title tracks over the years. Not too many Drum n Bass albums have them so if you're going to then its a big thing. Luckily this is actually quite a good, if generic, DnB tune. Its a gift for those of us that can't dance as everything seems in time with it. For example at this moment I'm watching some nature program on mute and the two lobsters fighting seem to be fighting in time with this. A dancefloor filler. Its a really tight tune with some lovely vocals. This one would do well in the charts as a tune in its own right. No love of DnB needed.

THE TERMINAL (5:42)

I think we've worked out by now I like dark drum n bass. I like it a lot. This song goes beyond dark. It drips with venom. This one could easily, easily, be found in a seedy industrial dark wave club in the back ends of London (its the only place I've ever found dark wave clubs) filling someones night with glowstick fun and games. Its not exactly a special song, its just so very very dark. You're listening to this song through molten tar, you can't get through it. mmMMMmm I love it. Never gonna be a fan favourite but if its your thing its your thing.

STREAMLINE (5:23)

You've listened to drum n bass before right? Oh you have? you've heard this one 4 billion times on every other album you've ever bought. Again there is nothing wrong with it but there is nothing great about it. The now annoyingly trend of 3 minutes in there is a break down which leads into the *exact* same riff just annoys me in this one. Maybe a tad unfair because the drums get a touch heavier after the break but thats it. Move along, nothing to see!

ANOTHER PLANET (7:38)

Getting into the length I've come to expect from Drum n Bass tunes over the years, Another Planet is just that, its drum n bass. Something very like Calyx about this. Few samples thrown in here and there. I like this one. Its not too fast, not too slow. It changes enough to keep me interested. Its not a classic or anything but its very good and worthy of any dancefloor. Oh and the breakdown (which shockingly comes just before 3 minutes) is fun in a Mr Oizo esque bounce around. This one should be played at a party not a club, its the kind of thing that gets everyone having fun and laughing.

STILL GREY (7:51)

Now normally I am a strong believer in last tracks on albums. This however doesn't normally apply to Drum n Bass albums as they're usually mixxed in a way you can turn them off at anytime and feel you've listened to the main part of the album. However since this album is track based and not mixxed, the final track will always leave an impression. Only problem is, this doesn't really leave an impression. You've heard songs down your local ice rink before, this is one of them. You're not going to remember it, you're not going to care that you've not remembered it. There are far more important tracks on this album to remember. Again not terrible, just not overly good.

So then....

VERDICT

There is no way I can pan this album. It just has some tracks that are far far too good. I would buy this album just because I've not found Faster Your Seatbelt on vinyl yet.

As stated in the title, this album sways from ridiculously good. Good in ways that I've not heard for a long time. To mind numbingly average.

Pendulum have done some good mix CDs over the years and unfortunately I can't help but feel thats where their future lies. They've tried to make a very balanced album here but in reality I feel they need to step back and play to their strengths.

Buy the album but try not to listen to all the hype about them being the next great of the genre. Unless they get rid of the filler then they are destined to be single tracks found in the local vinyl section and not the big thing found in the album section.