Five singles were produced from the album, including "Slam" / "Out Here", the first single by Pendulum to reach the top 40 in the UK Singles Chart. In addition, a non-album single, "Blood Sugar" / "Axle Grinder", released on 18 June 2007, later replaced "Another Planet" and "Still Grey" on the reissue of Hold Your Colour due to its popularity. Otherwise, the LP was released as a triple 12", and features, together with "Hold Your Colour", all the tracks that did not appear on any single. A promotional LP contained also "Slam" / "Out Here". The album cover inspired the single cover for the later Pendulum release "Witchcraft".
Reception
The album received very positive critical attention in both Australia and the United Kingdom, becoming one of the best-selling drum and bass albums of all-time, along with New Forms by Roni Size. 225,000 copies of Hold Your Colour were sold in the UK. On 25 May 2008, it entered the top 40 of the UK Albums Chartfor the first time, peaking at number 29 on 16 August. "Slam" was featured in the soundtrack for the video game MotorStorm on the PlayStation 3 console, and the Bipolar mix of "Hold your Colour" was featured on "FIFA Street 2", Dance Dance Revolution Universe on the Xbox 360 console and on the premiere episode of Sky1's Gladiators. It has also been picked up by the relaunched Nine's Wide World of Sports as an outro to the show and as a precursor to advertising breaks. The track "Tarantula" was featured in the Australian television drama seriesUnderbelly, in an episode of the UK series Skins and ', and in the soundtrack for the video game '.
Track listing
Reissue
In the 2007 reissue, "Blood Sugar" and "Axle Grinder" took the place of "Another Planet" and "Still Grey". The reissue also contains gaps of silence at the end of each track.
Vinyl
The vinyl version has a different track order and omits tracks that were previously released as singles, aside from "Hold Your Colour".
Personnel
Pendulum
Rob Swire – vocals, guitar, synths, Rhodes, songwriting, production
Gareth McGrillen – songwriting, production
Paul Harding – songwriting, production
Brass section
Pablo Mendlessohn – trumpet on "Plasticworld" and "Tarantula"
James Morton – alto saxophone on "Plasticworld" and "Tarantula"
Jonathan Shendy – tenor saxophone on "Plasticworld" and "Tarantula"
Tim Smart – trombone on "Plasticworld" and "Tarantula"
Additional personnel
Singing Fats – vocals on "Plasticworld"
Tom Casswell – vocals, songwriting and additional production on "Plasticworld"
Matt Cantor – vocals, songwriting and additional production on "Fasten Your Seatbelt"
Aston Harvey – vocals, songwriting and additional production on "Fasten Your Seatbelt"
Jasmine Yee – vocals on "Sounds of Life"
Peredur ap Gwynedd – guitar on "Girl in the Fire"
Dan "Fresh" Stein – songwriting and additional production on "Tarantula"
Jonathan "Tenor Fly" Sutter – vocals on "Tarantula"
Colin "$pyda" Griffith – vocals on "Tarantula"
Andrew Goddard – guitar on "Hold Your Colour"
Jon Stockman – bass guitar on "Hold Your Colour"
Evan Short – guitar on "Still Grey"
Matt White – songwriting and additional production on "Blood Sugar"
The tracks "Prelude", "Slam" and "Axle Grinder" use samples from the American television seriesThe Twilight Zone. Samples similar to those in "Slam" are read aloud in "Rock Civilization" by Headhunterz.
The track "Fasten Your Seatbelt" uses a sample from the song "Go Home Soundboy" by Buju Banton and Cocoa Tea, and a sample of Doctor Octopus from the film Spider-Man 2.
The track "Through the Loop" uses samples from the 1971 filmWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and a small section of whale song.
The track "Hold Your Colour" uses an intro vocal sample from "Lycaeum", a song Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen made with Karl Thomas and Jay Burns in Xygen, their former metal band.
