The Mic's Lucy Redfern took a trip to Sheffield to see Welsh metal group Skindred.
Within the metal community, only a handful of bands have earnt a reputation for their live shows quite to the standard of Skindred. The explosive Newport quartet have been fusing metal with reggae and hip-hop for a quarter of a decade, embarking on their 25th anniversary tour, celebrating their latest album Smile. Selling out yet another venue, Skindred hit Sheffield on the 3rd of November, reigning reggae metal chaos on the Leadmill for what was set out to be yet another energetic show.
Supporting Skindred, Nu-metal quintet: Blackgold stormed the stage. With an unmistakable similarity to the revolutionary socialist political views of Rage Against the Machine, the group brought an aggressively charismatic performance which emphasized the bands anti-establishment views. As the lights dimmed, Skindred entered the stage, triggering a surge of shoves and screams, immediately setting the tone for the gig. Kicking off their setlist with their massive single Set Fazers, singer Benji wasted no time creating Skindred-style chaos across the venue. Diving deeper into the band’s discography, they would next play Babylon creating a wave of nostalgia across the venue.
Throughout the gig, in classic Benji style, the frontman used every opportunity to engage with the crowd. Through anecdotes, speeches and explanations of the backstories of specific songs such as L.O.V.E., the band created a personable environment where even through the crowd’s mayhem I was left with a feeling of relatability to the quartet. Benji demonstrated a skill of utilising the stage to address certain social issues whilst still being able to maintain a lighthearted air to the show. At one point the frontman explained his childhood dream to start a rock band that could fuse reggae music with metal - a genre which has always been predominantly white, highlighting the importance of bringing all cultures and races together with music.
"At one point the frontman explained his childhood dream to start a rock band that could fuse reggae music with metal - a genre which has always been predominantly white, highlighting the importance of bringing all cultures and races together with music."
But of course it wouldn’t be a Skindred show without the bands self-claimed ritual - ‘The Newport Canon.’ Probably seeming crazed to anyone else but completely iconic to Skindred fans, the whole crowd stripped off to swirl whatever piece of clothing they could find around their head as the band played the song Warning. With a couple of shirts/jackets ending up in the rafters of the venue it was the perfect way to top of the wonderful disarray of a Skindred gig.
This definitely won't be the last Sheffield sees of Skindred and even more certainly won't be the last I see of them!
Lucy Redfern
Edited by Tabitha Smith
Featured Image courtesy of Skindred Official via Facebook
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