About Skindred
Skindred is a Welsh band that fuses heavy metal with other genres, most notably reggae. Formed in Newport in 1998, they are well known for their energetic and involving live performances and have won several awards including "Best Live Band" at the 2011 UK Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards and the "Devotion Award" at the 2011 Kerrang! Awards.
Dub War was formed in Newport, Wales in 1993 and eventually signed with Earache Records, releasing two full-length studio albums on the label during that decade: Pain and Wrong Side Of Beautiful . Pain hit #1 in the UK Independent Album chart. Dub War’s metal crossover sound set the template for which lead vocalist Benji Webbe and his band mates in Skindred would later adopt and perfect.
Originally, Webbe started his career in music with a group of friends that filmed a music video to go along with a song named "Point of No Return" that was sung on location in Newport in 1990, alongside, Que, John Friendly and Steven Draycott. Benji tried to form a band out of the people featured in the video however the name was changed to Dub War. The band thereafter disbanded in 1999 due to disputes with the label, which have since been rectified.
Webbe later formed Skindred with bassist Daniel Pugsley, guitarist Mikey Demus and drummer Arya Goggin after Webbe was unable to put together a new project featuring other members of Dub War. In 2002, Skindred released its debut album, Babylon. After being reissued in 2003 by RCA Records, the album was re-released by Lava Records on 14 August 2004. AllMusic writer Johnny Loftus wrote that "Skindred doesn't seem to consciously want the reinvention tag; it has simply tapped into the same lack of pretension that fueled Korn and Living Colour's Vivid – records that were made visionary by an unadulterated honesty in both delivery and craft. highly recommended for fans of literate genre jumpers like Soulfly and System of a Down, or any heshers looking for some heavy-hitting firepower that hasn't fallen victim to the anvil of corporate assimilation."
In the United States, Babylon charted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Reggae Albums chart, No. 5 on the Top Heatseekers chart and at No. 189 on the Billboard 200, and the single "Nobody" peaked at No. 14 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and at No. 23 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in 2004. In 2005, the single "Pressure" peaked at No. 30 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. In 2006, Babylon once again charted at No. 1 on the Top Reggae Albums chart.
Map & Directions To Venue
