Rating: 3/5
Verdict: Raving mad Aussies
After this Perth band released their debut album Hold Your Colour in 2005, featuring storming single Tarantula, they morphed from a drum 'n' bass act to a dance-rock outfit for 2008 breakthrough album In Silico.
Now, with Immersion they have changed once again, albeit only slightly, with what can only be described as a predominantly drum 'n' bass rave mood, though they still retain their other trademark elements of big beat, rock, metal, and, well, Aqua's Barbie Girl on steroids. So Immersion is a cacophonous, sometimes thrilling, and often cheesy ride.
Pendulum, who have just announced tour dates in New Zealand for October, are one of the biggest dance acts around with more than a million albums sold - and they attracted one of the biggest main stadium crowds at the 2009 Big Day Out.
It's live where this sort of music makes most sense - when it gets the masses jumping. On record though it's not for everyone, and the quick-fire laser-strike sound effects, banging beats, and dance rock riffs are relentless. Salt In the Wounds is like the Prodigy doing the soundtrack to a Lord of the Rings battle scene.
Speaking of Prodigy, Liam Howlett guests on confrontational banger Immunize; Comprachicos channels the tough groove of Nine Inch Nails before escalating into industrial drum 'n' bass; and there are soothing moments with the sloping big beat of Under the Waves and Watercolour, a sing-along anthem in the vein of Linkin Park (only with beats rather than riffs). Yes, it's bombastic and over the top, but ecstasy-inducing if you're into that sort of thing.
