By Jonny Bakes
Picture the scene: Thousands of people taking their shirts off and whipping them around in the air like they just don’t care. Now you all know what this means, it’s the Newport Helicopter! Which can only mean one thing, I’m going to be talking about South Wales’ greatest (and maybe only?) “Ragga Metal” export- the almighty Skindred! Don’t get your hopes up too much though, as this isn’t an unexpected new album drop; instead what we’ve got is a re-issue of the album that arguably cemented the band’s position on the metal scene, the 2007 sophomore release ‘Roots Rock Riot’.
Now if there was a Skindred album worthy of a reissue, in a fancy vinyl format of course, it has to be this one as it is an absolute testament to the tenaciousness of Benji and the crew. After the release of ‘Babylon’, Skindred were unceremoniously dropped front heir label at the time, resulting in the loss of guitarist Jeff and drummer Ginge, there were some boots to fill before Skindred could dust themselves off and head out to America to record what would become ‘Roots Rock Riot’ and the rest, as they say, is history. Fast forward to today, and Skindred are sitting happily on a treasure trove of seven full length albums, a Golden Gods award for best live band, and Benji even has a solo album to boot! So, after that rocky start to their career, I think it’s fair to say that ‘Roots Rock Riot’ is the album that put the band on the trajectory to end up where they are now.
But what’s new with this reissue? Well firstly it seems to have had a little bit of a polish, but nothing too drastic as to change the sound, which is good because there’s nothing that needs changing! It is enough to just to make it that little bit crisper when compared the version currently available on streaming platforms. But what you’re probably really interested in is what little goodies have been resurrected to include in this release. Well that I can happily reveal! We’ve got ‘It’s a Crime’, which was previously only available on the Japanese release, the previously unreleased ‘Struggle’ and an acoustic cover of ‘Destroy the Dancefloor’.
‘Struggle’ is a pretty emotive acoustic ballad, complete with string accompaniment, which is a pretty big surprise but, wow, this is a song that’ll absolutely get under your skin. It tugs at all those same emotions that ‘Saying it Now’ did when they played that song live at Bloodstock back in 2017 (which resulted in many a hug being dished out during the performance). ‘Struggle’ is an incredibly powerful song, and definitely feels like it’s something that has come from the more mature Skindred, or perhaps has just been polished by a band who have now come out the other side of the ringer and are able to pick up a song that may have been written at the height of the struggles back in the mid-2000s and put a reflective spin on it for this release. As for the acoustic cover of ‘Destroy the Dancefloor’? Well for something that on paper looks like it shouldn’t work, it really does!
Potentially, this reissue could be worth it for ‘Struggle’ alone. But really it’ll be a great addition to your collection if you’re late to the Skindred party and want to check out this sophomore album. Or if you’re a well-established Skindred fan and record collector, I have a feeling that this is the first time that it has been pressed into vinyl format, so it’s a great opportunity to add it to your collection! I’m certainly intending to head down to my local record shop to grab a copy on Friday!
- ‘Roots Rock Riot’ is re-released this Friday. You can get your copy HERE.
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