Hold Your Colour

by

Pendulum

Edit

I've never been compelled to write a review on Amazon--until now. Lately, not much in the world of Drum & Bass stands out to me. Finally, this debut CD from Pendulum has pushed the plateau up to an incredible new peak. This is the next level. I haven't been moved like this since the first Dieselboy mix I heard.

Each track on Hold Your Colour is wildly different, spanning the spectrum of DnB styles. There are even a couple of breaks tracks that put the finest Finger Lickin' artists to shame. With unique elements that I've never heard before, it's difficult to categorize some of these tracks--just hang on for the ride. Like the title of track 4, you'll need to "Fasten Your Seatbelt!"

There is not one second of lazy production on this disc. Astonishingly creative and jaw-dropping! It's been a long time since I've bought a CD where I love every damn track!

This is NOT a review of the music, but of the actual CD's re-issue release itself.

Just so everyone knows this IS NOT Pendulum's "Eagerly anticipated 2007 sophomore album" as described by the Amazon editorial writer. If you're looking for their 2nd album check out "In Silico" released May 2008. This is mearly a re-issue (a lowsy one at that) of the original 2005 album "Hold Your Colour". Also the track listing is wrong on the description page here. So be aware

Let me start by saying I LOVE THE ORIGNAL VERSION OF THIS ALBUM Hold Your Colour!!! Screw 5 stars, it deserves 20 stars! Every single track is awesome & the album deserves to go down in history as an absolute must own for EVERYONE! My 3 star rating is for this re-issued version of this CD. A) the tracks are no longer seemless as they break where you can hear where they should be together. This isn't really an issue aside from where the intro leads into "Slam", there's like a 2 second pause between the 2 tracks & it really takes away from the energy of not only the song, but the album as a whole. B) they've replaced 2 of the tracks from the original ("Another Planet" & "Still Grey") with 2 new tracks "Blood Sugar" & "Axle Grinder". These new tracks aren't bad, but they just don't fit right at the end of the album, these should've been placed somewhere in the beginning or middle of the album. "Still Grey" on the other hand was/is an amazing track while at the same time closing the album nicely, it was a huge mistake replacing this track of all tracks. Bottom line, this reissue was rushed & therefore poorly produced & it shows.

This CD (like "Jungle Sound Gold") was released by the label "Breakbeat Kaos" as a last minute cash in since Pendulum left them. The group had nothing to do with the production or release of this paticular version of this CD (also like "Jungle Sound Gold"). My suggestion would be for all to skip this release & hunt down the original album Hold Your Colour. While it is a bit spendy now & somewhat hard to find, you'll be happy that you did.

P.S. If you must own this version of the album, get it at the Amazon.uk site for $10 (+shipping) versus the the $30+ dollars that they're charging here.