Various – Kingz Of The Rollers EP Volume Three

Vault is without a doubt the best Pendulum tune. IMO it was all downhill after this.

an absolute rolling smasher - VAULT
the intro is just huge contrast to the sound being blasted once we reach the drop...
omfg that is so huge even 15 years after
sick EP, musthave for all DJs regardless the style you play: liquidfunk, jump-up, darkside or intelligent/atmospheric - you just gotta have it in your collection!

Every single time I stumble upon Kings Of The Rollers 3, the quality of it amazes me.

Vault - nothing to add here, this one became a classic. Years after this EP, Pendulum went different ways for sure, it is pretty much an irrelevant project in of drum and bass these days, but Vault stood the test of time. I'd prefer Minds Eye or Voyager, but nonetheless, Vault deserves credit, it appeared literally everywhere: Andy C's Nightlife, J Majik's FabricLive, and on D&BA Classics in 2010. However, people somehow seem to forgot about this track - maybe I am the only individual who thinks that this track is fresh?

The other side of the coin is Can Opener, a tune that I personally like, but it did not have much influence on the scene, and I guess it's pretty much a filler. It is a very rare case when I would say that the Pendulum tune overpowers the TS tune. Can Opener really reminded me of TS's "The Street Level EP", released on Renegade Hardware like twelve years ago (also a decent EP, worth checking out). I think the title track had the same vibe as Can Opener, but I might be wrong. Shelflife on Kings Of The Rollers 4 is more pronounced.

Frankly, Reach Inside is THE tune here! It just has this "typical" sentimental, emotional, deep vibe with hard-to-understand female vocals shouting "reach inside" and something else I never catch. This tune paints the picture of a sundown at the shores of the Riviera on a warm day. Compared to other cheesy liquid funk tunes that even I don't like, this is very mature and approachable, I would even dare to say refined. In my top 20 or 10 liquid rollers ever, I really feel it.

Finally, Usual Suspects did not fail to deliver - Sapphire 7 drives me away. EKM explained this tune pretty well: it's slow and definitely a different take on drum and bass than Killa Bees, Shrapnel or Hole Punch.

Summed up, a very fine package of the early '00s madness of drum and bass. KOTR series definitely worth checking out. Years ago, in an earlier comment of mine I've agreed that these compilations are sometimes boring and monotonous, well I'm not sure what I was drinking, but I appreciate these EPs at this very moment (hence the sudden urge to write a review).

The album opens with Pendulem's much saught-after heavyweight dancefloor epic, Vault. Who wouldn't love those Mentasm stabs, come on? Next up is 'Can Opener' by Total Science. Its definitely not of the same scale of Vault, but after the intro, things kick off with a really nice progressive bassline, sure to excite many a booty on the dancefloor. IMO this is the best track on the album, but decide for yourself... D Kay kicks off the second 12" with 'Reach Inside', a relatively smooth excursion in typical D Kay style; tight drums and that persistent vocals sample. Finally is 'Sapphire 7' by Usual Suspects. Looking at the 12" something appears wrong with the vinyl, as the tune covers all but a quarter inch of the side. Makes you think. Anyways, this is a very slow building tune, with some interesting synths and Jungle-esque chord manipulation. But once it does get going, things keep moving quite nicely. All in all this album was definitely meant for DJs, but I'd definitely reccomend buying even if you're just a fan, as Vault is sure to become a classic, as recently implied by Goldie on his latest mix CD.

This installment of the "Kingz Of The Rollers" series shows a wider range of styles than the others. Pendulum's 'Vault' is a big, big, big tune that has a really good intro. Sci-fi synths then pave the way for the beat-bending drops. Total Science's 'Can Opener' is a bit more jumpy than atmospheric, but gives another dimension to the EP. As with his work on the previous KOTR EP, D. Kay's track just kills it, in my opinion. A trancey melody builds up with a spacey vocal hook, and then layers a funky rolling beat and a driving bassline to make 'Reach Inside' really get inside your head and hypnotize you. The Usual Suspects round things out with 'Sapphire 7', which has a far-eastern vibe to it, and uses some female vocals and computer bleeps to spice things up. 31 was definitely keeping things interesting with this installment.