Having seen Pendulum play live in Liverpool last year, I have to say that this album is very welcome. The band played to a capacity audience of university students who provided one of the most raucous and animated responses I have seen for a long time. It was summer, it was hot, it was a riot.

The historic Brixton Academy is the backdrop to this live CD and DVD collection, and is beautifully photographed in black and white for the sleeve notes. Now anybody who has seen the band perform knows how good they are, and how MC Ben Mount can coax the audience into action. On a studio record the band, although still excellent, sound quite different. So this package effectively gives you the other side of the band, the side that one can only experience at a live gig.

The first test for me was sound quality in an uncontrolled and challenging environment and two things strike me: The live sound quality is right up there with some of the best I’ve heard, and this is no album afterthought - it is superbly produced and obviously meticulously planned. This is particularly evident with the DVD where there must have been numerous cameras placed in and around the audience, at various points on and around the stage (even above it). When I checked the DVD’s titles at the end of the show I counted well over thirty cameras. So, fans are not short-changed because it’s a high budget and a truly superb package.

When I witnessed the show in Liverpool the lighting was extremely difficult for photography, even from the pit, and the lead vocalist Rob Swire could not be seen with any clarity. Not so here. In fact Swire comes out of this as a superb singer with a note-perfect voice capable of blowing the roof off any venue. Add to that his synth work which dominates some of the earlier tracks and you’ve got a one of rock’s great performers. Throughout the show Mount never stops moving and must be one of the fittest rock stars around. The drummer also deserves a nod as in providing the bands all-important rhythmic dance vibe he is vital and fabulous. His work on ‘Different’ is superb. Highlights on the CD? Hell, okay ‘Fasten Your Seatbelts’ with that rolling synth refrain and Mount’s vocal. ‘Another Planet’ also hits the spot big-time with more of that synth work and Mount’s virtually continuous goading of the audience, which is returned in kind. I mention these two tracks first because for me they sum up best this band’s unique dance/heavy rock style. Pendulum’s remix of ‘Voodoo People’ is also something to behold. The slower, contemplative vibe of ‘Propane Nightmares’ is fantastic with synths and guitars providing the driving force behind Swire’s and Mount’s vocals. ‘Hold Your Colour’ and ‘Different’ are also exceptional.

I could go on because all the band’s hits are here and live they come to life. The DVD is incredible as it snakes from one player to the next and then grabs shots of individuals and groups within the audience, after first filming them travelling and arriving at the gig. No stone is left unturned in this mutha… Of the many highlights here one in particular stands out and that’s the performance of ‘The Tempest’ with Swire in full vocal flow, and the key lyrics appearing on a large video screen at the rear.

Tracks are:

CD. Intro, Showdown, fasten Your Seatbelts, Another Planet, Voodoo People, Propane Nightmares, Blood Sugar, The Other Side, Different, Master of Puppets, Slam, Hold Your Colour, Countdown, Tarantula, Granite, The Tempest.

DVD. Intro, Showdown, Fasten Your Seatbelts, Another Planet, Voodoo people, Propane Nightmares, 9,000 Miles, Midnight Runner, Mutiny, Blood Sugar, The Other Side, Different, Master of Puppets, Slam, Hold Your Colour, Tarantula, Granite, The Tempest.

4.5/5