4 Hero – Parallel Universe

Easily their best "transition" album between their old school rave period and their more recent jazzy sound. Perhaps their best LP to date, actually.

Just got this vinyl on EBay for 16 pounds! (Not to piss of Discogs, but I just cound't resist it..) A wonderul album + big inspiration for my own music. In my opinion it is a very mature album. Hectic and complex beats, definitely lots of work in there. While listening to a few tracks, you can hear that 4hero probably had lots o fun with the pitch shifter! Lovely string pads and drum machine patterns flowing around the breaks. Nice work with the Roland TR626 which (I think) was used on No Imitation.

This album sounded groundbreaking back in the mid-90s, but 15+ years later it feels a bit dated. The drum programming still sounds top-notch, but the synths have a plasticky fusion-jazz feel to them, which makes them sound a bit cheesy. Nevertheless, with records like this one, 4 Hero (alongside others such as Goldie and T-Power) set the template for what would soon be called "drum & bass". It's a shame if this record is hard to find these days, it should be reissued for its historical worth alone.

This is a damn’ fine album but such a bitch to lay your hands on. It took me seven years (!) to find a copy of this album, but I finally have it. 4 Hero delivers a great Detroit influenced drum & bass album which, nowadays, are very sparse. All tracks are great but the one that really stands out must be “sunspots” which is mixture of soft drum & bass and Detroit-techno, the d&b patterns come in and go out while the wonderful Detroit melody remains through out the whole song. Simply brilliant! Just pick this one up at sight and enjoy!