Skindred
Babylon
By antiGUY
First impressions are important and to
be honest, I really didnt know what to make of Skindred the first time
I heard them. But they did make a big impression. That exposure came last
year when the band was touring with Slaves on Dope. The only previous exposure
I had to Skindred was a couple hours earlier on their tour bus when the
lead singer begged off doing a video interview with our editor. (Their
bass player readily agreed to do it.)
I walked into the Whisky A Go Go that night
not knowing what to expect. I figured they were just another numetal or
rap-rock band. As with most assumptions, I was wrong. Skindred hit the
stage with a furious blend of punk, metal and reggae. While I was used
to the first two it was the third ingredient that really set the band apart.
Lead singer Benji Webbe vacillated between reggae chants and punk infused
screams. The energy was captivating and the driving music was delivered
with a trancelike flourish. Skindred held the crowd with a firm grasp,
inspiring an equal number of fist pumping and involuntary dancing, especially
when they performed their heavy dancehall like anthems. I walked
away still not knowing what to make of them, but I knew they were on to
something special.
Fast forward to the present: Skindred are
now getting their chance to break things out to the next level with the
major label release of their debut Babylon. Some of the song titles
may sound familiar to those that purchased the album of the same name that
was released by Bieler Brothers in 2003, but the album underwent a facelift
and clocks in with an extended track listing (17 songs in all, counting
the hidden track).
One of the biggest attractions of Skindred
is the dichotomy between dance-ability and headbanging. It is an unimaginable
tightrope walk that seems to come naturally to Skindred. Perhaps
that comes from the previously untested mix of reggae with punk and metal.
Whatever it is, Skindred uses it to great effect.
Babylon demands our attention, not
only for its eclectic mix of style but also for the precision of its execution.
If Skindred breaks out in a big way, this just may be an album that proclaims
a new movement in rock. Some have tried in vain to put a label on Skindred,
but the band defy the practice because a simple label cannot be devised
that would adequately describe all of the styles that the bands sound
encompasses. If this is an evolutionary offshoot of numetal (a genre
I dont particularly care for), I for one welcome it and feel that Skindred
goes a long way in making up for loosing Limp Bizkit on us.
In many ways, Skindreds use of reggae
is a parallel to how Led Zeppelin reinterpreted the blues. Zeppelin took
a firmly established style and took it into a new heavier direction and
helped create an entirely new style in the process. The same can be said
of Skindreds creative incorporation of reggae. This is also something
to keep in mind when reading reviews of Babylon because when Zeppelin
first burst onto the scene, many critics had a hard time figuring out what
to make of Page and company. Some just wrote it off as a bastardization
of the blues and we may hear a similar claim about Skindreds interpretation
of reggae. But it might be wise to remember that history has proven the
shortsightedness of those critics wrong.
Even if you hate numetal, Skindred is a
band that you definitely should not write off. They deserve a fair listen.
They may not appeal to everybody but if you are looking for a real break
from the normal, then you cant go wrong with this CD. Its not a perfect
album, but it is a great album. Moreover, if it takes off like it has the
potential to, then you can smugly tell everyone you saw the writing on
the wall long before they did.
CD Info
Skindred
Babylon
Label: Lava
/ Bieler Brothers / Atlantic
Rating: 
Tracks:
Intro
Nobody
Pressure
Start First
(Interlude 1)
Selector
Bruises
(Interlude 2)
Set It Off
Firing The Love
Tears
World Domination
Fear, The
(Interlude 3)
Babylon
Beginning of Sorrow |
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