July 3, 2002 - Skindred and Babylon

Eight days after my last release a new band joins my library when Skindred released their debut album "Babylon" on July 3, 2002. But who is Skindred? They are a five-piece nu-metal band from Newport, Wales consisting of drummer Martyn Ford, bassist Daniel Pugsley, guitarists Mikey Demus and Jeff Rose and lead singer Benji Webbe. Skindred are a very unique band and they self-dubbed their style "ragga-metal", a combination of nu-metal, punk rock and reggae! That's quite the combination! Let's check out what these Welshmen are all about!

The album begins with a short "Intro" as Benji raps very quickly in this thirty second intro. It leads right into the album's lead single "Nobody" and Benji sings in a smooth high voice at first, only to explode into some fast vocals that are part rap, part metal with some great heavy moments. The guitars and bass are groovy and catchy but it's Benji'a relentless vocals that are the highlight for sure as he is just all over the place with his unique vocal style. The chorus is unbelievably catchy with Benji sounding great singing quickly and loudly overtop some super catchy and heavy guitars. These guys are certainly unlike any other nu-metal band, and I love the constant energy and spitfire vocals! They quiet things down briefly, Benji raps so damn fast in the absence of noise, then they slam nicely back into the catchy chorus to finish things off. A pretty fantastic way to show everyone what Skindred is all about! Track 3 is the other big single "Pressure" and it's got a really catchy lead guitar riff that starts us off and everyone builds nicely around it. There's some cool guitars in the verse while Benji leads another torrid verse and he sounds great holding some long notes in another really catchy chorus. I don't think it was wuite as high energy as the last song, but it was still nonstop thr whole way through and another really catchy and cool tune! The next track is "Start First" and they dive right into a pretty catchy chorus with some catchy drums, then settle into a simpler, quiet verse with Benji singing in a lower voice than the first couple songs. I'm surprisingly not as big on this lower voice and I like his really high moments much  better. The chorus is louder and solid and after a couple rounds Benji leads a catchy new verse with some high singing and some snippets of fast rapping. A solid tune for sure, but they can't all be catchy singles I guess! Track 5 is "Interlude 1", the first of three interludes, and it's a mere 16 seconds long! A Jamiacan/rasta voice talks overtop a catchy little drum beat, and that's all this is! A little bridge of the gap that takes us right to "Selector" which starts with a nice heavy riff, then Benji takes off on his own with a super fast and catchy verse that just makes you wanna get up and bounce around! The music is upbeat and pretty solid, but this song is Benji all the way as he just does not let up at all with him spitting out vocals almost every second of the song! It's really quite impressive and this is one of my favourite songs on the album, it's just so damn catchy! Track 7 is "Bruises" and it's got a great, heavy main riff and of course lots if fast vocals by Benji as he goes all over his range from whispering, to screaming, singing high and low, and everything in between. He sounds pretty heavy while spotting out the fast chorus and the guitars are on point on this one with a catchy and cool chorus riff. I was headbanging the whole way through! The next track is "We Want" and it's got a way different vibe than anything we've heard so far, with no metal guitars and instead a slow acoustic guitar riff leading the way and a much more relaxed, not quite full-on reggae, but close vibe. Benji sings a soft verse to match the mood and while this is obviously not the headbanging coolness of the other songs, they are really nailing this lighter mood. It's pretty pop-y once they fully get going, but it's still a showcase for Benji as his constant singing is the highlight yet again. Track 9 is "Interlude 2" and it's 28 seconds of fast drums and a computer-y guitar note on repeat that sets the stage perfectly for "Set It Off". Benji starts to rap a verse overtop the same backdrop as the interlude, until everything but the vocals stops and the heavy guitars come thundering back in and sound super epic, all while Benji continues to rap. The chorus has some groovy and catchy guitars and Benji nicely mixing up his singing and some nice heavy screaming. It's a super catchy and pretty awesome song! Track 11 is "Firing The Love" and it's got some low, dirty bass and some pretty cool guitars from both guitarists. Benji sings a high verse that sounds pretty good and everything sounds pretty sweet. Benji goes way lower in the chorus, showing off his impressive vocal range, and after another round there's even a guitar "solo", that's really both guitarists, but they play off each other really well and it sounds pretty good. Another pretty sweet and unique tune! The next track is "Tears" and it's got a slow, very laid-back vibe that is reggae-esque and pretty chill. Benji sounds good rapping at times in the verse and the guitars turn heavy as things somehow smoothly shift to the loud chorus. This was unlike any song on the album with it's nice mixing of reggae and metal and even though it's not one of their better, high energy songs, I still liked it. Track 13 is "World Domination" and they kick right into a heavy chorus riff with Benji doing some really cool high vocals overtop. They move from here into a similarly heavy main riff that is nice and bouncy and Benji is the highlight yet again with some spitfire vocals that are super fast, super high and pretty damn cool. This short song is packed with nonstop goodness the whole way through, and after the song finishes we even hear Benji say "Man, that's a take!" It sure was, well done! Up next is "The Fear" and it's got another laid-back, reggae-esque feel to it with some acoustic guitar keeping the pace. Benji does a great job of alternating singing and rapping in the verse and he leads a fast, epic chorus as well as he is once again spitting out vocals pretty much the whole song. Once again with the lighter song, it's obviously not a headbanger, but it's done really well. Track 15 is the final interlude, "Interlude 3", and it's got some trippy, distorted guitar and vocals for most of the 26 seconds, until they start to set up the next track, the title track "Babylon". It's a pretty catchy main guitar riff and Benji comes in firing away with some super fast but articulately pronounced vocals and he is just one hell of a vocalist! Things sound relentless and pretty sweet and after a couple cool rounds they break things down with a fantastic low, heavy part with Benji doing a couple great low screams! This album sets a pretty high bar with no real weak songs at all (interludes excluded), but this was still easily one of the best songs for me, so heavy and cool the whole way through! The final song on the album is "The Beginning Of Sorrows" and it's listed at a little over 11 minutes long. It starts off nice and heavy, then they settle into a groovy verse with some cool bass, some chugging guitars and of course some good singing by Benji. They slam really nicely into the heavy chorus, and together these two riffs sound really sweet! This is a prettt great way to "finish" the album, but the song really ends at the 3:50 mark, then after about three and a half minutes of silence we get a bonus track, "Pressure (Acoustic)"! It's an acoustic version of the single "Pressure" and it's definitely a lot different than the electric version! It's a good deal slower, and it's somehow now a groovy reggae-rock tune! Benji still sounds great singing in this slower voice and it's a pretty interesting acoustic version! Also a cool way to actually wrap things up!

That is the end of "Babylon" and I thought it was a pretty sweet album! These guys play a very unique and interesting style and they are really good at what they do. There's lots of catchy and heavy guitars and Benji Webbe is a one of a kind vocalist with a range that is just all over the place! The fact that this album is so great makes it all the more shocking that this is the only album I have by Skindred in my library! Their second album didn't come out until 2007 and it was nowhere near as good as this one, so average and forgetful. This one was special though and definitely a worthy addition to the library.