Skindred

A Welsh metal group that fuses reggae rhythms with chugging nu-metal riffs, Skindred’s idiosyncratic style draws from a wide range of genres that also include hardcore punk, jungle, ska, hip-hop, dancehall, drum’n’bass, and dubstep. Emerging in the early aughts, the band topped the Billboard reggae charts with their 2002 debut, Babylon, while reaching the upper echelons of the U.K. metal charts with high-energy efforts like Volume (2015) and Big Tings (2018). Smile, the stalwart metaller’s eighth long-player, appeared in 2023.
The group emerged from Newport, Wales in 1998, after the dissolution of vocalist Benji Webbe’s previous band, Dub War. Rehearsals for a new project featuring other Dub War veterans didn’t work out, but soon Webbe had hooked up with bassist Daniel Pugsley, guitarist Mikey Dee, and drummer Dirty Arya, and Skindred were officially born. The debut LP, Babylon, first appeared in 2002 and 2003, with sporadic success in parts of Europe and the U.S. metal underground. But it wasn’t until a year or so later and Lava Records’ involvement that the album really took off. Skindred re-released Babylon in August 2004. Lava’s version, which reached number one on the Billboard reggae charts, featured different cover art, and included newly recorded material in addition to the original Howard Benson-helmed songs. The band released Roots Rock Riot in 2007, followed by Shark Bites & Dog Fights in 2009. Both LPs performed respectably on the US Heatseekers chart. Two years later, they released their fourth album, Union Black, which did not have a U.S. release. After issuing Kill the Power (which included the Rasta-rocking shredder “Ninja”), they left BMG and signed with Napalm Records for the release of their sixth album, Volume, in 2015. The effort peaked in the Top 20 of the U.S. Heatseekers chart, while landing in the Top 30 of the U.K. charts. The band returned in 2017 with “Machine,” featuring Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell and Reef vocalist Gary Stringer. The single was the first taste of album seven, Big Tings, which arrived in 2018 and peaked at no. 26 on the UK Albums chart. The band inked a deal with Earache ahead of the release of their eighth full-length effort. Released in 2023, Smile saw the group deliver a bombastic set of amped-up dancehall metal jams that included the explosive single “Gimme That Boom.” ~ Johnny Loftus & James Christopher Monger