"Overall, Drum N Bass Fast Forward is a good-quality collection of construction kits and samples that will defiantly appeal to fans of the darker, more electronic style of drum & bass."

German sample house Ueberschall continue their list of recent releases with this two-CD set (one audio and one WAV) of drum & bass construction kits. The collection kicks off with Ueberschall's ever-popular demo song (at least only one this time) followed by 24 construction kits with tempos ranging from 122bpm to 177bpm. Following the standard construction-kits route, the samples are grouped into three tracks: The first contains the full mix (around 45 seconds long) followed by the backing track minus the drum loops. Track two houses the drum track in its entirety and all the composite drum hits and sounds. This is rounded off by the third track that contains all the instrument loops and riffs.

Style-wise the kits range from aggressive, heavily electronic-influenced creations to lighter, funkier efforts, but the majority stay on the darker side of the genre. The rhythm tracks run along nicely, with good use of effects and rolls, but the majority have a programmed feel, and there's little in the way of cut-up breakbeats here — a pro or a con depending on your taste. Each kit is well put together, and the various components would work well if lifted and used in a new composition. Although most of the elements used are synthetic in origin, the slamming bass lines are particularly good, and some organic samples (piano, guitar, flute) do turn up to bring some light relief.

The construction kits are then followed by seven tracks of additional drum loops (44 in total) grouped in tempo from 150bpm to 180bpm. Once again these beats are of the programmed variety and continue to feature some nice processing and effects. Following up behind the beats we have some very brief collections of pads, effects, percussion loops and bass loops. All of these are well played/programmed, but, with only a handful of each, they come over as a touch 'throw-away' rather than a well-planned end to the proceedings. The CD is then rounded off by a further selection of single drum sounds, grouped into bass, snare, hats and percussion — just in case the hits within the kits aren't enough for greedy drum-heads like myself. The more the merrier I say!

On the downside, I'd have liked to have seen a wider variation in style. The dark, atmospheric kits work very well, but the slower, lighter kits miss their mark and in the worst cases come across as duff jazz-funk/cheesy-disco hybrids. Also, some of the synth lines are a touch too noisy, even for this lover of grimy samples. Overall, Drum N Bass Fast Forward is a good-quality collection of construction kits and samples that will defiantly appeal to fans of the darker, more electronic style of drum & bass. 

4/5 STARS