Skindred hit the road again after almost three years break from doing any major UK tour to support the release of their 5th, and most recent album, Kill The Power.
Feral Sun dropped out of supporting Skindred after just a few days, meaning Chemia were left to warm the crowd up, there was no complaining from us though- it just meant that Skindred’s set was extended to an hour and 20 minutes long for the rest of the tour.
Skindred’s stage presence and the way Benji (lead vocalist) acts whilst performing is compelling and like no other live band. His unique approach to getting the crowd excited, involves using insults and irrational statements towards fans which somewhat provoked them to create bigger, better and crazier mosh pits during pretty much all of the set.
There’s no question about how Skindred worked their way up to the top of British reggae metal when you see their on-stage flair and genius which they’ve obviously acquired from years of tours and countless shows around the globe…
Opening up with a classic, Rat Race was a guaranteed track to get the crowd going for the night ahead. Probably one of their most well-known songs which is fuelled by its catchy chorus and their usual fuse of reggae and metal.
An interesting twist, yet not uncommon within their sets was their rendition of Macklemore’s Thriftshop. Typically an unusual song to cover for a reggae metal band song but nonetheless Skindred made it sound like their own and the crowd was as chaotic as ever.
The encore began with Benji taking a lead in talking about influences for the band, like Metallica, Slipknot and AC/DC, each of which seemed to have some significance in shaping how the night played out. They came on stage to Thunderstruck by AC/DC and finished their set by partially covering Slipknot’s Duality mixed with their own song, Warning. Overall, a really great night due to Skindred’s unique music and their energy throughout.
Don’t forget to check out our interview with Skindred from this years Breakout Festival.