Musical Reassurance With BENJI WEBBE From SKINDRED

Interview by Kris Peters
Australia, prepare to set your fazers to stun this September, with Welsh ragga metal legends SKINDRED primed to return to our shores for their biggest ever Australian headline tour! Opening proceedings on Tuesday 1 September in Perth, SKINDRED will head through Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney, and close out on Sunday 6 September in Brisbane.
Wielding a formidable (and deserved) reputation as one of the best live bands on the planet, SKINDRED have been stupefying audiences with their heart-thumping blend of reggae, punk, hip hop, nu metal, rock and electronica since forming in the late 90s. Hailing from Newport in Wales, SKINDRED's innovation and hybrid agility saw the group explode out of the underground and into enduring infamy, now with eight studio albums to date, multiple award wins, countless performances and millions of fans spanning the globe, all under the ardent gaze of frontman Benji Webbe.
Releasing their debut album Babylon in 2002, SKINDRED have consistently unleashed new music throughout their career, and 2026 is no exception with the hotly-anticipated release of their ninth studio album You Got This due out on April 17. Featuring the newly slimmed-down trio of Webbe, Mikey Demus and Arya Goggin working alongside GRAMMY-winning producer Jay Ruston (Diana Ross, Meat Loaf, Mr Bungle), You Got This picks up where the band's acclaimed 2023 album Smile left off, with vibrant dancehall hues fused with hooks, earworms and hard-hitting slammers all lying in wait on album #9; and it's a collection of songs that are also set to inevitably stun in a live setting.
On a live front, SKINDRED are certainly not your average band, with their exuberant brand of chaos never skimping on unity as well as pedal-to-the-metal technicality. Whether performing alongside the likes of KISS, Korn, Papa Roach and Rob Zombie, or leaving festival crowds in a sweaty euphoria on some of the biggest global stages, it's not hyperbole to declare that a SKINDRED live show is something you'll be talking about for years, if not decades, to come. Most recently delighting Aussie fans in 2024, performing as part of Knotfest Australia, SKINDRED's previous down under performances have been praised time and time again.
HEAVY sat down with Webbe to talk about the album and more.


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