I have to admit I thought that Pendulum was a one trick pony that played a gimmick to become popular. After all, who that reads Kerrang would like drum and bass? That being said, having now spent some time with their new album, Immersion, I can honestly say that I was completely wrong. Immersion is far from what I imagined, beyond being a one trick pony, and so much more I feel compelled to apologize to them for ignoring them.
If you can imagine the following things all mashed and blended together: emo, metal, ambient soundscapes, epic songwriting, dark core drum and bass, and a sense of massiveness then you'll approach Pendulum in all the right ways. The cover for Immersion should really kind of give it all away. The imagery of underwater lovers, dolphins, whales, massive open water...it sets the stage for the sheer size of this record.
Immersion delivers it's massiveness by the truckload with songs so overwhelmingly powerful they could solve their native Britain's energy problems. This is fast, technical, heavy, and an absolutely blinding record that sounds like four angry Prodigies crammed together. The aggressiveness, the power, the brutality of the beats it's all overflowing here by the gallon and it allows Immersion to be inescapable.
Pendulum simply put is awesome at what they do. They might be overwhelmingly heavy for some but they never lose sight of a tune; it just so happens that they build them with steel and fire. Immersion is an immersive experience and whether it's ambient passages or skull crushing drum and bass, the album never, never backs down and that's why it's an incredible listen. After years of clown step just about making drum and bass unlistenable, Pendulum offers a glimpse into the future of the genre and I for one am well pleased.
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