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So said Tom as a comment on the review of the mighty single featuring Wiley, ‘Dem Na Like Me’ so not sure there’s much more to be said; but I will anyway.

‘Stompbox’ is the typical air raid warning that any album by The Qemist should (and will) have as if you don’t know, this trio from Brighton are at the heavy metal end of the d’n’b fraternity and they ROCK! And you should know this from their debut single, ‘Lost Weekend’ (also included on the album) with guest appearance on vocals of Mike ‘Faith No More’ Patton. As a single, I thought it sounded a bit too full on rock’n’bass (similar to their ‘Everything Is Under Control’ remix but with more vocal) but within the framework of the album, it’s a standout track and with hindsight, it is easy to see why it was chosen. Also check out their manic remix of Coldcut’s ‘Atomic Moog’ on the You Don’t Know compilation and Dr. Octagon’s ‘Trees’.

So why are these guys so heavy? Well long before Pendulum had their first propane nightmare, Dan Arnold, Leon Harris and Liam Black were your usual rock trio of guitar, bass and drums. Around 1997 they got into producing d’n’b tracks and Djing and they thought lets keep both lines going. This is one of the reasons they’ve been able to get such a diverse bunch to collaborate on the album. In addition to Patton and Wiley, there’s the London sat nav of MC Navigator, veteran of Hospital Records, Bingo Beats and many more, Jenna G, the incredible mouth of Beardyman (he of A-Skillz’ ‘Got The Rhythm’), MC I.D. and Zoe Devlin Love of Alabama 3.

I can see where Tom gets his “Chemical Brothers” reference point on the Jenna G and Delvin vocals; the one for sadomasochistic joggers on the treadmill is ‘On The Run’ and the album climax of ‘The Perfect High’.

So if ‘Dem Na Like Me’ is for the get up and dance mosh piters, the intro to ‘S.W.A.G’ is in the cerebral area with ambient “oh oh” vocal intro whilst you just know that the actual track is going to drop large; and they keep you waiting for about a minute for the half hearted attempt and about two and a half for the full onslaught.

’S.W.A.G’ is definitely for fans like Zane Lowe, but the Qemists fans also include d’n’b champs Chase & Status and rocks’ only qualified commercial aeroplane pilot and Iron Maiden legend, Bruce Dickinson.

Even if you’re thinking this is too commercial for me, there’s the harder/faster/better tracks like ‘Drop Audio’, ‘When Ur Lonely’ and ‘Got One Life’ that show off how they mash dancehall, metal, rock, electro, grime, hip hop and drum and bass.

We all love a clever title for a debut album but Join The Q is more than just a clever title and I predict that this album is going to be HUGE!

Reviewed: The Qemists - Join The Q (Ninja Tune) Cat. No. ZENCD129 Release date: 2nd February 2009
Tracklisting:
1. Stompbox
2. Lost Weekend feat Mike Patton
3. On The Run feat Jenna G
4. Dem Na Like Me feat Wiley
5. S.W.A.G (intro)
6. S.W.A.G feat Zoe Devlin Love
7. Drop Audio feat MC ID
8. When Ur Lonely
9. Soundface feat Beardyman
10. Got One Life feat MC Navigator
11. The Perfect High

Links
www.myspace.com/qemists
www.myspace.com/kaadapatton
www.eskiboy.com
www.myspace.com/eskiboywiley
www.myspace.com/kingcannibal
www.myspace.com/j3nnag
www.myspace.com/chaseandstatus
www.bigdada.com
www.ninjatune.net
On My iPod: Leon Harris by ZENA ALKAYAT - Metrolife Monday, January 5, 2009 www.metro.co.uk
1. ‘Chronic’ - Shock One (feat MC Spyda)
2. ‘Stigma’ - Noisia
3. ‘Archangel - Burial
4. ‘I Want You’ - Kings Of Leon
5. ‘Running’ - Chase & Status
6. ‘Soul Of A Man’ - Beck