Ed Rush & Optical – Wormhole

What else can be said about this album that hasn't already been said. Despite it coming out 2 years before the big techstep wave and more or less birthing the template, it has a uniquely brutal and savage sound that many producers just couldn't replicate. The pads and samples on millennium are still some of the most bone chilling sounds in any dnb tune. Compound, Fixation, Slip Thru, Point Blank, Wormhole; all dancefloor destroyers to this day. Dozer and Glass Eye are just pure evil. Many just discovering the genre likely won't enjoy it due to it's old school stripped back repetitiveness, but it certainly grows on you and you learn to respect the overall sound design and the easily missable details. Highly recommend experiencing this album with the mix cd. Overall a classic seminal album that will still be discussed 100 years from now.

Even now in December 2020,year of the COVID, many Frontline drum & Bass pioneers, who are evolving the sound and production techniques of our Beloved Drum & Bass by stripping back the sound to almost bare-bones of drums and a bassline, but adding in minimal Techno inspired production, sounds and effects, all agree that Ed Rush and Optical's seminal masterpiece WORMHOLE was their inspiration for getting into the scene in the 1st place! Also, it STILL tops the polls as the No1 Drum & Bass album ever produced, to the point where some even believe it was written by Aliens! Nah, just 2 geezers from the Ol' Smoke, who had forward thinking ideas about Drum & Bass, and how infusing techno knowhow with some Dub vibes mixed into the Funk, made audio alchemy that still weaves its' magic, and puts listeners & dj's alike under the spell known as "Wormhole"! Come one come all & witness this mystery machine, for if you're lucky you might fit and slip through 😉 🌟 🌟🌟🌟🌟🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

This has to be THE number 1 d & b album of all time. The standard of production on display is mindblowing & the damage these beasts do on a big rig is unmeasurable. Everÿ tune on the album is a banger, it is just a shame that lifespan on the mix is not included unmixed as it is a masterpiece of a roller that destroys the dance. I advise anyone who likes well produced, original, dark, eerie electronic music to get this album as it is among the best ever, it really is that good, trust. There is a lot of talk about the high standard of production in d & b right now, but imo, this album is still at the top as it was made on outboard gear & not a PC so it still retains that "warmth" obtained with older pre PC production. If I have any critisism of this LP it is that it spawned a 1000 wannabees in the scene who tried to emulate it's brilliance & consequently chocked the scene at that time with poor examples & scared all the women from the dance over to UK Garage!!!

An absolute landmark LP in the drum & bass universe. The whole album has dark brooding melodies that will take you to a strange tangent. I wonder if Ed Rush or Optical knew what sort of waves they'd be making or paths they'd be paving with this album when they made it.

I'm know I'm probably repeating what's already been said here but this album is such a true work of art that positively shaped the d&b scene for years to follow its release. All around a classic album that brought many to the scene and deepened the experience of those already in it. I recommend that you listen to this album with the lights turned off to deepen your perception. The great thing is that these tunes will stick with you for some time.

So then, let's have a glance at the tracks:

As the first track 'Mystery machine' commences, it takes you away from your current world and transfers you to a dark, gloomy, abstract, obscure world for the whole album to take place around. It gives you a little nibble of what you're about to be in for.

'Splinter' is where this album really starts to get into business. By the time the spooky track intro is done, you'll be dropped into a dark daunting world and this album will have you under it's jurisdiction. Once your under, your treated to a very interesting squelchy synth riffs making you wonder. Sounds amazing.

'Slip Thru' seems to be most people's favourite track. The possessed sounding vocals make the whole track pretty eerie. I'm lead to believe that the spoken words that are repeated throughout the song are "Through your fist, slip" although it has been subject to much debate over the years.

Millennium's haunting intro is not to be taken lightly. Let the resonating synth and drum work that the track throws at you do the taking here.

'Glass Eye' has got to be the spookiest track on this whole LP. This one is not for the feint-hearted! Those eerie violin stings and throbbing bass will make hairs stand on end.

'Compound' is a rather fast paced track which makes the listener think that something big is about to go down! Those guitar riffs that start at 2:04 are very clever.

'Fixation' is a pounder! Moves at a nice pace and has plenty of romp whilst maintaining to album's vibe.

'Point Blank' is my pick for this LP. This is the tune that was built for this LP. Everything about this track impressed me. Excellent tune.

'Dozer' didn't really take me anywhere spectacular but it's still a great tune for the LP.

'Wormhole' is a pretty cruisy yet, funky tune to end up the LP on.

As the track final 'Lithosphere' commences, it begins to break through the walls of this bizarre cosmo the album built up and collapses it. Bringing you back to reality (like exiting the Matrix). Be warned though, it won't be a comfortable transition!

By the end of the whole journey, you'll only be longing to go back in and do it all again. But only if you dare do so!

I do believe that these CDs are getting hard to find too. The mix disk is worth a listen too if you enjoyed the album. I know I sure did!

Thanks to Ed Rush & Optical for such an album. 5/5 hands down!

This album originally seduced my otherwise jaded musical sensibilities when I first heard Millenium's cold, haunting, post apocalyptic hook whilst shopping in a large music vending chain in Exeter, eight years ago. I immediately asked the bloke behind the counter exactly who it was, since I was instantly captivated by the stark, sci-fi nightmarishness of the whole album.
Unfortunately, I hadn't embraced drum n bass fully enough at the time to have heard any of these tunes played out, but 'Wormhole' is one of my all time top favourite albums in any genre. Brilliant, (sub-)genre defining music to encapsulate a world of pre millenial paranoia.