In Silico

In Silico is the second full-length studio album by Australian band Pendulum, released in Australia and Europe on 12 May 2008 by Warner Music UK, and in America on 13 May 2008 by Atlantic. The album represents a change in sound from the band's debut album Hold Your Colour, away from drum and bass, incorporating more rock and electronic influences. The album peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart on 18 May 2008. Releases from the album include "Granite", "Propane Nightmares", "The Other Side" and "Showdown". Mini discs of the song "The Tempest" were thrown out to the audience of the "Project Rev" live show.
The expression "in silico", from which the album title is derived, is used to mean "performed on computer or via computer simulation", however group member Gareth McGrillen also commented on the way it plays upon Nirvana's well-known album title In Utero (meaning "born naturally" or "of the uterus") and thus carries extra shades of meaning related to being "born synthetically", thus explaining the album's cover motif of a baby or fetus displayed inside a circular design representing a synthetic ovum.
Critical reception to the album has been mixed, with most of the polarization coming from Pendulum's shift from drum and bass to a more rock and pop-imbued electronic sound. Allmusic praised that "Pendulum is determined to heal the breach" between rock and electronica, however The Guardian felt that the sound was "a little dated".
Many fans of the first album have criticized In Silico for the change of genre,[citation needed] however, because of the album's popularity, and with singles being played on television music channels such as Kerrang!, Pendulum have managed to attract a new group of fans. Q Magazine named both lead single "Granite" and "Propane Nightmares" in the top 50 songs of the months in which they were released.
The line in "Mutiny" ("In through rays of your reflection, we enter from a terminal connection") comes from "The Terminal" on their first album Hold Your Colour.
The songs "Granite" and "Showdown" feature on the off-road game Pure, "Granite", "9,000 Miles" and "The Tempest" can be heard in Need for Speed: Undercover. A portion of "Showdown" also appears in the 2008 film, Punisher: War Zone in addition to an episode of CSI: NY. Also, part of the song "Mutiny" appears in a Verizon Wireless commercial, and a section of "The Other Side" appeared in an episode of EastEnders on the 6th August 2010.