Having previously collaborated with Mike Patton and Enter Shikari, Brighton drum’n’bass crew The Qemists have ‘done a Pendulum’ and made a full grab for the rock crowd.
While musically Warrior Sound isn’t a massive departure from their previous albums (worth a listen if you’re into your stadium d’n’b), they’ve beefed up their sound and added a fair few guitar licks to make the likes of Jungle, Let It Burn and stomping lead single Run You ample mosh fodder, while a showing from Crossfaith’s Ken Koie on Anger keeps the rockstar cameo box ticked.
Unsurprisingly, Pendulum remain Qemists’ most obvious reference point, with cuts like New Design and Push The Line sounding like they could have been stripped straight from the Aussie heavyweights’ Immersion album. Still, while it’s hard to see Qemists making a similar impact of their own, it’s a respectable stab at crossing streams, and when it hits, it hits fucking hard.
Don’t back them to be headlining Wembley yet, but Qemists could be soundtracking a rock night near you very soon indeed.
