# Ed Rush & Optical — Bacteria

Ed Rush & Optical’s Bacteria (1998) is No. 11 in our Drum and Bass ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 1998
- **Label:** Virus
- **On one list:** Drum and Bass
- **Updated:** 2026-08-28
- **Artist:** [Ed Rush & Optical](https://waxonia.com/artist/ed-rush-and-optical/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/ed-rush-and-optical--bacteria/

## What we say

### No. 11 in [Drum and Bass](https://waxonia.com/genre/drum-and-bass/)

Techstep at its most malevolent. Distorted, mechanical and airless — this is the sound that pushed the genre out of jazz clubs and into something genuinely frightening.

## Analysis

11 sections, the first drop of 2 at 1:30, 22% of the way in, 19% of it spent climbing.

- **Tempo:** 172.2 BPM — the pulse reads at half this too — counted the way the genre counts it
- **Dynamic range:** 11.3 dB — wide open — the quiet parts are genuinely quiet
- **Length:** 6:48

- `0:00` A · **intro**, instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: vocals, other
- `0:24` A · **build** (bar 9), instrumental — energy and brightness climbing without a break
- `0:46` B · **lift** (bar 17), instrumental — a short rise that does not resolve — a fill or a transition, not a build — playing: drums, other
- `1:10` B · **breakdown** (bar 26), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: drums, other
- `1:28` C · **peak** (bar 32), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass
- `1:50` C · **peak** (bar 40), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass
- `3:36` D · **build** (bar 78), instrumental — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: bass
- `4:09` C · **lift** (bar 90), instrumental — a short rise that does not resolve — a fill or a transition, not a build — playing: drums, bass
- `4:33` C · **build** (bar 99), instrumental — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: drums, bass
- `4:55` C · **peak** (bar 106), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass
- `6:25` A · **outro** (bar 139), instrumental — the closing fall — playing: drums, bass, other

**Drops** at 1:30 (bar 33), 4:08 (bar 89). A drop is a moment, not a stretch.

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Ed%20Rush%20%26%20Optical%20Bacteria) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=2J0PiJBgLmg)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.