Representative Albums: "Roots Rock Riot," "Babylon," "Shark Bites and Dog Fights"
Biography
Skindred blend reggae and dancehall with searing thrash and punk influences for a striking take on heavy metal hybridism. The group emerged from Wales in 1998, after the dissolution of vocalist Benji Webbe's previous band, Dub War. Rehearsals for a new project featuring other Dub War veterans didn't work out, but soon Webbe had hooked up with bassist Daniel Pugsley, guitarist Mikey Dee, and drummer Dirty Arya, and Skindred were officially born. The debut LP, Babylon, first appeared in 2002 and 2003, with sporadic success in parts of Europe and the U.S. metal underground. But it wasn't until a year or so later and Lava's involvement that the album really took off. Skindred re-released Babylon in August 2004. Lava's version featured different cover art, and included newly recorded material in addition to the original, Howard Benson-helmed songs. The band released Roots Rock Riot in 2007, followed by Shark Bites and Dog Fights in 2009. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
Benji Webbe
Mikey Demus
Dan Pugsley
"Dirty Arya" Goggin
Former members
Jeff Rose
Martyn "Ginge" Ford
Skindred is a Welshrock band from Newport. The band was formed in 1998 following the disbandment of vocalist Benji Webbe's previous band, Dub War. Skindred's musical style mixes heavy metal, punk rock and reggae. The group refers to this style as "Ragga metal".
Dub War was formed in Newport, South Wales in 1993, and eventually signed with Earache Records. According to vocalist Benji Webbe, "They would not let us record and just wouldn't give us money to live on, this made us fight internally till we had no option other than to go our separate ways or kill someone or each other."[1] Dub War disbanded in 1998, and Webbe formed Skindred with bassist Daniel Pugsley, guitarist Mikey Demus, and drummer Dirty Arya Goggin after Webbe was unable to put together a new project featuring other members of Dub War.[2] In 2002, Skindred released its debut album, Babylon. After being reissued in 2003 on another label, the album was finally released by Lava Records on August 14, 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."[3]
In the United States, Babylon charted at #1 on the Billboard Top Reggae Albums chart, #5 on the Top Heatseekers chart and at #189 on the Billboard 200, and the single "Nobody" peaked at #14 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and at #23 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in 2004.[4] In 2005, the single "Pressure" peaked at #30 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.[4] In 2006, Babylon once again charted at #1 on the Top Reggae Albums chart.[4] On October 23, 2007, Skindred released its second album, Roots Rock Riot on Bieler Bros. Records. In the United States, the album peaked at #6 on the Top Heatseekers chart and at #22 on the Top Independent Albums chart.[5]
Musical style
Skindred fuses heavy metal, punk rock, hip-hop and reggae influences. The band refers to this style as "Ragga metal".[6][7] Benji Webbe has also jokingly referred to the band's musical style as "nu-reggae", in reference to the term nu metal.[8] Although Skindred has sometimes been compared to Bad Brains,[9] Webbe states that "To someone who doesn't know anything about reggae music, of course we're going to sound like Bad Brains. It's like someone who doesn't know anything about opera might say that Pavarotti sounds just like Mario Lanza. But when your ears are trained and you know what you're looking for, you're going to say, 'Shit no, Mario Lanza don't sound nothing like Pavarotti.'"[8]
