Talk about an iconic album in the Drum and Bass genre. I definitely think that Pendulum broke the mold when they made this masterpiece. Hold Your Colour was released in 2005, and then re-released in 2007 by Breakbeat Kaos. It went on to become the bestselling Drum and Bass album of all time. Every track screams attention to detail and amazing production quality. The album itself was recorded live, and is played live. The record features collabs with influential artists such as the DJ Fresh and TC, MC $pyda and Fats, vocalists from bands Freestylers and Halogen, and guitarists from bands Karnivool and Concord Dawn.

“Somewhere out there in the vast nothingness of space,

Somewhere far away in space and time,

Staring upward at the gleaming stars in the obsidian sky,

We’re marooned on a small island, in an endless sea

Confined to a tiny spit of sand, unable to escape,

But tonight, on this small planet, on earth

We’re going to rock civilization…” – Prelude, Track 1

You can’t get a full minute into the album before it hits the first epic break. It doesn’t stop there either. While this Album could be said to span many different genres, it stays true to it’s Drum and Bass roots, while doing something uniquely different with the genre that had yet to be attempted. Stepping outside the box. Sometimes funky, sometimes hard, and sometimes floaty, this album has something for everyone. People have called Pendulum the Prodigy of their time. I don’t think that is far off. They’ve transcended their genre, playing alongside groups like Linkin’ Park, and remixing Coldplay songs. They went on from this album to produce In Silico after signing with Warner Brothers Records, largely stepping away from the sound that made them a success. In my opinion, ‘Hold Your Colour’ was their last true Drum and Bass album, and boy, what a departure!

“Hold Your Colour was successful so we started shopping around for ideas for a new album. We had a few record label people that said, “We don’t hear an album here. We want to hear more tracks like Slam and Bloodsugar.” That enraged us, so we set out to piss everyone off. The whole ethos of In Silico was to take inspiration from everything but drum’n’bass, so we were influenced by a lot of sounds from Queens of the Stone Age, Led Zeppelin, and more progressive rock.” – Gareth, Pendulum

Hold Your Colour is one of my favorite albums, in any genre. Electronic or otherwise. Let this review galvanize you. Maybe this was the first Drum and Bass album you heard, or maybe you loved Prodigy and Squarepusher before Pendulum was a thing. Either way, lets take a step back, re-listen, and respect the classics.This begins my, ‘Classic Albums in Review’ series. Once a week I’ll be reviewing a classic album based on reader suggestion. Look for more content soon!

– JAM