Rated: 8 out of 10



"Weighing it at a hefty 4.5GB, Altered States is a massive collection of 3499 instrument patches that have mostly been gathered from previous sample CD releases. Those fine folks at Zero-G have rounded up material from ten of their most popular libraries - including "Ghost in the Machine" and "Unhinged" - and chucked it all together to form a very comprehensive package. As well as past material, you also get a selection of newly recorded offerings thrown in for good measure, including some interesting Ibiza chillout moments.



Pretty much all of the material in the package was well-received on its original release, and on the whole, we found the sounds to be of good quality. Fans of dark and moody atmospherics are especially well catered for; there are some stunning pads and leads that have a fantastic dark and menacing feel - these would be perfect for drum 'n' bass or hard-edged breakbeat. Some of the percussion elements are also worth a mention, especially the Junk series, which gives you a stack of quirky and interesting percussion elements that should prove highly usable for those who prefer their beats to be slightly out of the ordinary. Once again, the impressive Native Instruments Intakt engine front-end rears its head, which provides plenty of funtionality for altering sounds.



One of the main benefits of ROMplers is the fact that the samples are mapped, chopped and ready for use. The material here has been edited superbly, meaning that you can dive straight in. Altered States is a package that covers many bases well, and when you consider that you're getting ten sample CDs and lots tasty instrument functionality, it is good value. Highly recommended."