First impressions are important and to be honest, I really didn’t 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 band’s sound encompasses.  If this is an evolutionary offshoot of numetal (a genre I don’t 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, Skindred’s 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 Skindred’s 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 Skindred’s 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 can’t go wrong with this CD. It’s 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. 
 

• Visit the Official website.
• Listen to samples and Purchase this CD online

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