Review and Photos: Phil Wright
Skindred the Welsh hard rock wizards, and some might say the best festival set band in the world? return with their latest album ‘You Got This’. An unbelievable landmark ninth album release. The follow-up to 2023’s album ‘Smile’ was always going to be hard to beat as it reached number two in the UK charts. ‘You Got This’ has every reason to outshine it if the songs featured tonight are anything to go by. It’s also clear that the band show no signs of slowing down.
So onto Wednesday night at Sheffield’s ‘sold-out’ Foundry, the crowd were whipped into a frenzy even before the band entered the stage, warmed up well by a great support act choice in Sheffield alt rock trio Floodhounds, followed by pre-set rock tunes blasting through the sound system. Appearing on stage in his usual understated way.. lead singer Benji bounced along to Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, clearly in full party mode and on launching into the opening track ‘This is the Sound’, the Foundry erupted.
The band played a set featuring songs from the new album interspersed with former live show bangers, showcasing their unique mix of reggae, rap and hard metal. The sound just vibrated through the body, and to be 100% honest, I have only just got my hearing back! This high-octane show was spectacular, and the energy never stopped all night, with magical moments and surprises delighting the Skindred faithful.
The set featured album track ‘Can I Get A’ and this for me is perhaps an example of the reason why this band consistently have crowds swarming prior to them hitting the stage at any live show or festival. The song oozes ‘feel good’ vibes as it crosses the pop/rock boundary with the force of a sledgehammer. In fact, some might say that Skindred invented ‘feel-good vibe songs’!
This is one gig I’m glad I didn’t miss. And to top off this special album launch night, Benji announced that ‘You Got This’ had reached the No. 1 spot on the official vinyl album chart.
I highly recommend that you to see the band live this year and check out the new album.
Information about Skindreds latest tour dates and new album can be found here: https://skindred.net
The video for Skindreds latest release ‘My People” can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TcW8u-NLAA
