(Renegade Hardware/Inertia)

In the grand scheme of all ‘tings jungle, nothing gets drum and bass heads more excited than a Renegade Hardware LP. “Skool of Hard Knocks”, in the form of a mix CD from Bad Company UK’s D-Bridge and Vegas, reads like a who’s who in the world of hard drum and bass. Featuring tracks from Loxy & Ink, Pendulum, Universal Project, Keaton, Digital and the Bad Company boys themselves, it’s an hour long onslaught of smashing basslines and furious drums, interwoven with thugged out hip-hop samples and some absolutely tearing synth programming. A Hospital compilation this one aint.

Kicking things off is Drumsound & Simon ‘Bassline’ Smith’s Bandsaw, featuring a whispered introduction that soon gives way to some fat analogue stabs, and a bouncy, up-tempo beat. Then we’re into darker territory with Raiden & Flow’s Pigalle, with a skittering, hardcore influenced lead, and a big reece line pushing the track forward. Raiden’s skills with the synth are prominent across the CD, in standout tracks like Pigalle and the unbelivably heavy .44 Calibre Killer, where if you’ve got it turned up loud enough, it’ll feel like the world is coming to an end.

The techstep tearout continues with Universal Project’s frantic Comin’ Through and it’s screamed vocal and punishing stabs. Loxy & Keaton’s instantly recognisable Haters features a time stretched Joe Budden “I see some haters” sample, and is just as devastatingly effective on CD as it is in a club. Screeching stabs and a new edit of the trademark Keaton drums from tracks such as The Plague and his remix of Digital’s Gateman drive the track forward. The Militia’s hammering War Cry, featuring pulsating sub punches and some frenetic drum patterns kicks in to step it up another notch.

Concord Dawn & Ill.Skillz’s rocked out Unreal brings some wailing guitars and four to the floor bass kicks into the mix, while Manifest’s abjectly terrifying O.G Returns has one of the most sickeningly awesome stabs ever put to wax. It’s a thing of beauty, trust me. Track 12 sees Manchester upstarts Chase & Status relick Future Cut’s classic 20/20 into a 2004 stomper. Better known for their nu-skool breakbeat releases, they’ve made the grade here with their stuttering edits and rolling bass. The mix drops out a little here, with some tracks that aren’t as spectacular as those which have preceded it. It all feels a little filler here for a while, until Universal Project’s Ultra Violence kicks in, and then proceeds to kick seven shades of shit out of your subwoofers with it’s completely mentalist lead.

A couple of tracks from Loxy and Ink, namely Ink’s Canibus sampling B-Boy Convention and the two’s Dutty Rock roll out nicely into the down-under hook up between Australia’s Pendulum and New Zealand duo Bulletproof with Minds Eye, with a rather wicked 4×4 breakdown and some very cool synth work. Keaton’s title track Skool Of Hard Knocks closes out the mix. Not exactly his best work in a while, but nice enough nonetheless.

Bad Company UK do a sterling job on mix duties, getting a good balance between letting the tracks play out, and cramming as many as they can on the disc, with a highly respectable 25 across the 78 minutes. “Skool Of Hard Knocks” is a good reflection of what’s going down in the harder side of drum and bass at the moment. A tad of filler is a bit of a sour note, but it’s not enough to make you lose interest, and the amount of quality tracks on the disc more than makes up for these transgressions. There’s a limited edition DVD included with coverage from the 2003 Knowledge Awards, where Renegade Hardware picked up the best label crown, and interviews with some of the Hardware artists, all looking hilariously jungle in high necked anoraks and puffy jackets. An interesting insight into the drum and bass scene, and how to look “well hard”, just like the CD, in fact.