Welsh band Skindred bring their reggae alt- heavy metal to Liverpool’s O2 Academy and in all fairness it feels like the whole of Liverpool has turned out to see them, hence the Academy 2 being at capacity.
It is definitely one of the hottest venues; by the end of the set the venue is so humid that my hair looks like Monica in Friends “The One In Barbados”. I digress.
As testament to Skindred’s 13 year (and counting) career, there are a range of fans here tonight, some who have almost certainly been fans from the beginning, right through to a new wave of fans - a couple of whom are accompanied by their parents. This highlights the appeal of Skindred as their career spans over a decade.
Skindred are currently touring their fourth studio album Union Black, their new offering being as fresh and relevant as ever. The gig is exhilarating, and thankfully for us shorties Benji Webbe has a penchant for standing on speakers so we get a fairly decent view of this dynamic front man.
Dynamic and modest as Benji thanks the crowd for their support over the years and declares that they are in a band because they just wouldn’t cut it working in Asda.
This is a highly modest statement; there isn’t a soul in the room who wouldn’t agree that if indeed the band members were the subservient of corporate chains then their musical talents would have been wasted, and we would have been deprived of a great band.
Tonight Skindred give us future classics from the Union Black album such as Warning, which on the album has a guest vocal from Papa Roach front man Jacoby Shaddix. There is also Doom Riff, with its catchy woah, woah, woah’s – which get the crowd chanting. Living A Lie highlights how Skindred fuse a number of styles together with finesse; there is reggae, rap, alt heavy metal and of course Benji’s fierce vocal.
Yet, at the same time, because the combination of all this is so intense it can be easy to overlook just what a good voice Benji does posses. With Gun Talk, contrary to what its title may have us anticipate, it is a fairly chilled out affair that also manages to incorporate some Jungle into it.
Blasts from the past include Nobody, Destroy The Dancefloor, Calling All Stations –it is difficult to choose highlights as quite frankly the whole set was a highlight.
Benji could also take up motivational speaking if the band ever packs up as he passes on some words of wisdom from his Grandmother; who told him that if anyone ever doubts you or says that you can not achieve what it is you want to do, then just say to them “fuck you” – wise words. The band then launch into Calling All Stations.
Skindred have a musical prowess that is awe inspiring, and I don’t think I’m alone when I say - I’m glad they never filled out that Asda application form.
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