Source: Rhian Westbury
The past year has seen Newport hailed reggae metal masterminds Skindred go from strength to strength. 2014 saw the release of their fifth studio album Kill The Power. Soon followed a packed out sweat fest at the end of 2013 at London’s Forum. 2015 possibly boasts their biggest challenge to date; impress a bunch of glam metal goers with a genre infusion of reggae, punk, rock and everything in between. Easy enough. Right, sure it is…As the clock struck 7:00pm, Skindred accepted the challenge.
After The Imperical March fuelled the fire for a high-octane set, frontman Benji Webbe takes to the stage fashioning his usual eccentric style. Partnering a faux fur jacket with enough bling to shake a stick at, the band take a crowd of Panthers and turn in them into Tigers. Roars echo on the floor as Benji says: “get your f***ing arms up you bastards!”. The crowd respond with jumping in sync with heavy hip-hop metal success ‘Kill The Power’. From the outset there’s a feeling that the band are ready to play better than ever have. That’s exactly what we get.
Source: Rhian Westbury
Known for always slipping in a cheeky cover or two, tonight is no exception. An unexpected turn of events finds Metallica’s ‘Sad But True’ and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ ‘Thrift Shop’ fusing together for the coolest metal rap mash-up. Two iconic tracks in their field, put together? Yes, it really happened, and it was genius. The crowd, although filled with fans covered in hair spray and sporting inflatable parts (enough said), got involved. Webbe’s impeccable ability to take newbies and make them a part of the Skindred family is second-to-none.
Whilst being taken on a journey back to 2004’s Need For Speed Underground 2 soundtrack in the form of ‘Nobody’ was head-nod worthy, nothing was more so than closer ‘Warning’. The infamous Newport Helicopter has become a fan favourite at Skindred shows, and at Wembley, it was quite the sight. After the four second countdown, us seated folk are treated to a spectacle of clothes flying carnage. How better to end your set? There isn’t a better way.
