Skindred + Crossfaith
Published
This Gig was a fucking workout. Before Crossfaith even took to the stage circle pits sprang into motion, sweeping up anyone in their way and persisting through the entirety of Crossfaiths signature energetically charged set.
The band themselves tore through songs in a similarly devastating fashion combining fan favourites with tracks from their new album 'Xeno'. It’s rare to see a band this hectic still sounding so tight musically, but the band’s sporadic stage presence not once hindered their ability to play.
The cutting keyboard parts drew attention to where it was needed for each song to shine, helping them break away from some of the same old metalcore tropes. The crowd stepped it up a notch again as Benji Webbe came out for Wildfire and Crossfaiths take The Prodigy’s Omen segued perfectly into the Skindred party.
With some bands you can get exactly what you expect, but be left feeling cheated - you want something fresh, a twist in the plot-line. With Skindred, exactly what you expect is exactly what you want. A party. This is a whole different ball game to Crossfaith’s insanity. This is like watching your drunk Uncle at a wedding party eat an entire melon, skin and all, then declare himself the Melon King (true story). A feeling near indescribable, full of wonder, amazement and joy. And that’s only the first song.
The music alone is enough for a fun time, but there’s much more to it than that. Always a highlight for me is Benji’s stage banter, his thick welsh accent so set apart from his Jamaican crooning and his ever flamboyant outfits are a sight to behold. But Benji will take none of your shit. If you’re not having fun, if you’re not dancing, if you’re not doing the Newport Helicopter he will see and he will call you out on it. So this gig was a fucking workout. But it was more than that. It was a fucking party.
