Skindred - Babylon

 Its good to see something original and new on the metal scene. And this shit is seriously original. it seems to have been dubbed "raggametal" or some kind of reggae, metalcore, nu-metal, hip-hop mutation. But the thing is, it works like a charm. Theres nothing more refreshing than hearing a few chunky metal riffs only to stop dead to let black lead singer Benji rip out a few reggae/rap style vocals at hyper speed only to slam back into action in an epic chorus of a new but effective mix of different cultures styles of music.

Skindred's first album does exactly this, it perfects the bridge between these different genres and makes it its own. Bursting into action with the extremely catchy and anthemic "Nobody" which in itself should be enough to make you addicted to the album. Another favourite of mine is the song "Pressure" is an extremely feel-good song. And im sayin this from someone who usually hates feel-good music. But it manages once more to pull off this completely obscure style to perfection. Its the sort of song you can just imagine chilling on the beach to. Try saying that about most metal songs!!! 

Alright ill have to admit the guitar and drums are seemingly uncomplicated and simple, but in a way that still allows the music to flow and be incredibly catchy at the same time. The vocals make the album for me though. One complaint i would have for this album is it has too many of those crappy intervals that most metal albums have. Like its the norm sometimes for there to be maybe one soft part for 30 seconds to a minuite of an album where it builds up to a song or something... but dont you think 4 of those is a bit much? you get the intro then interlude 1,2 and 3! i mean at least call them something else. Also i think its a bit of a dissappointment when the song the album is named after isnt one of the best on the album...

Overall Skindred's Babylon would get a 4/5 from me. It was extremely impressive from such a new genre to pull somthing off which was so successful. Just....too many intervals and too simple musicianship from the rest of the band. Making singer Benji stand out from the rest maybe a bit more than he should.