Metalheadz has always struck me as an odd name for a DnB label, but it doesn’t seem to have done Goldie any harm so it’s not worth getting caught up in the nomenclature. For anyone not yet in the know, this album aims to illustrate the origins of drum n’ bass as well as clearing the way for the future sound. As well as the obvious Rufige suspects (Goldie, Heist and D. Bridge) this album features collaborations and remixes from the likes of Alix Perez, Sabre and Artificial Intelligence.

The Kru is essentially the collaboration of Goldie and Heist, and they do the necessary modern step of shoving some dub step in there on Babylon 2012 which is okay, sort of futuristic (just), with a nice laidback feel, although it doesn’t really go anywhere. But then, maybe it’s a breather, before the classic, soulful Letting Go comes on, with Jenna G’s exquisite vocals on this Artificial Intelligence reworking a real dead eye killer, the bass line slick and tidy before breaking down in to a heavier, rolling rhythm.

Chances which is remixed by Alix Perez and Sabre is a jazzy, funky little number, the sort of track you can kick back to. It starts more like an atmospheric track to a video art installation before a bit of industrial urgings and Bass direct from the sickness brings it in heavy. This has a real old skool vibe, almost pre-95 with its different parcels of bass split over the bars and gradually stretching out to meet up. If you hear this on the dance floor it’s almost guaranteed to get you moving. And I think much the same can be said for Paris although whilst this starts chilled as hell it drops a lot more aggressively, driving forwards.

But, if that was a savage beaver in the aggression stakes, One More Time is the electro-psycho Tasmanian devil, with virtually no intro; it just comes in, teeth bared and starts gnawing on your feet and head with an infectious treble tone that pulses and pulses. The whole thing finishes off with Lost Rifuge which has a solid bass thump, discordant trills and pops, a lady singing, paper shuffling, muffled tannoy announcements, broken glass and splashes before it even kicks in with an upbeat dance track.

This is a decent album, but lacks a little something, or rather a few things, which are – one insane track of dirty, dirty sickness, a more varied stable of tune bases (a lot of them seen slightly to a formula, which is okay since it’s a working formula but still…), and is a little bit over produced. There’s times where too much is happening, and the tunes get a bit lost. Slap this on at a party and I reckon you’d get some serious moments of off-the-hook arm waving, but as a standalone album you’d struggle to have repeat listens of the whole thing.