The drum and bass world has been anxiously waiting for the arrival of Pendulum's third studio album. The wait finally came to an end this last week with the release of "Immersion". It's 15 tracks showcase Pendulum's unique style as well as some of their newer sounds as they try to grow into new genres.
Immersion starts off with the intro track, Genesis. The drums feel like a grand army approaching, getting ready to blast you away, layered with some interesting 8-bit synths. And then the bass attacking starts. With Salt In The Wound, you get Pendulum's heavier d n b, while the next track, Watercolour, exemplify their softer, melodic beats.
Following those tracks is Pendulum's take on dubstep. Set Me On Fire is exactly what you would imagine Pendulum's dubstep would sound like. Don't expect something really dark and heavy, but something more melodic. I think its a great sound for them and would love to hear more.
Crush, Under The Waves, and Immunize hold strong to Pendulum's d n b style, and all rock. Crush and Immunize hit hard, while Under The Waves is a bit more uplifting (Liam Howlett of Prodigy make an appearance on Immunize)
Pendulum is branching out to new genres, and show this with their House/Electro track The Island. Actually, its one long track split into two parts, Dawn and Dusk. Neither of the songs sound like anything I have heard from the group, but somehow they show how incredibly eclectic they can be. Dawn is funky, prog house and Dusk is heavy electro.
The album then goes back into some more d n b tracks, Comprachicos, The Vulture, and Witchcraft, featuring wobbles and some metal elemants. Then comes Self vs. Self featuring In Flames. Its a pure heavy metal track, and while its not my cup of tea, I'm certain metal lovers will like it
In my opinion, Immersion ends way too soft. The Fountain, is alright, but Encoder is too slow to finish things up, and what the fuck is that sloshing water sound at the end of the track. Its almost like a cheesy Ryan Cabrera track.
Overall, I would give Immersion an A-. Had they chosen to end it with some more bangers, it would have got a higher grade. But one thing still holds true about Pendulum. The six man group work like a well oiled machine, producing excellent beats with Rob Swire's amazing vocals. Make sure to pick up the album from Pendulum's website, here (for those of us in the US, the only way to get the album is through their website. It still hasn't been released here, so you wont be able to get it from Beatport or iTunes.) Hope you enjoyed the full album review and as a treat, here a couple tracks for you to preview.
SONGS REMOVED... SORRY
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