Skindred/Black Gold/Lake Malice -
The Junction, Cambridge, Friday 13th October, 2023
As we set off for Skindred in Cambridge Junction for their Smile Tour, a mere 30 miles away we were far for smiling, as the journey took nearly 90 minutes. Rain poured down the whole way, on our eventual arrival we certainly weren’t smiling!
A pretty full crowd was already in place to see opening act of the night, Lake Malice start proceedings. I am not familiar with the Brighton based alt. Metallers but they quickly grabbed my attention with their opening set. Alice Guala worked the stage and crowd in impressive fashion. So even not knowing the songs at all I still felt fully engaged by the performance.
Due to her vocal and lyrical style I personally noticed glimpses to bands like Jinjer and In This Moment in their overall sound. Guitarist, Blake Cornwall was also a strong presence on stage too. I won’t be surprised to see Lake Malice rising the musical ranks quite quickly once they release a full debut album which I am sure isn’t far away. I think I will give them a listen after seeing them live here.
Black Gold were the second/main support of the evening and this masked band certainly looked interesting as they took to the stage. Sadly, my interest waned rather quickly as their musical style didn’t do much for me. There’s little written about them on the internet to base much on them but they claim to be bringing back Nu-Metal. I was in my early-mid teens when Nu-Metal was all the rage and I don’t see these reaching the heights the big hitters from that era did.
I could hear the likes of the Beastie Boys, Rage Against The Machine and Limp Bizkit in their sound. The lead singer interacted with the crowd well and there was a large portion of it who appeared to be enjoying them, so worth checking out if you’re into this style of metal. For me, as already mentioned they weren’t really my thing.
The sold-out Cambridge Junction buzzed with exited anticipation awaiting Skindred to take to the stage. The sound system played Queen’s 'Don’t Stop Me Now' and AC/DC’s 'Thunderstruck' which helped build up the atmosphere to almost a frenzy within the crowd, before a note had even been played!
The standard intro of the remixed 'Imperial March' from Star Wars saw the band arrive on stage. 'Set Fazers' from latest album 'Smile' opened the set and immediately the crowd were bouncing to Benji and co.’s Reggae infused metal groove.
The likes of 'Babylon', 'That’s My Jam '(with Nelly’s 'Hot in Here' intro), 'L.O.V.E. (Smile Please)', 'Kill the Power', 'Nobody' and 'Gimme That Boom' featured in the set list. The show also offered an acoustic version of 'Life That’s Free' and of course ended with Cambridge Junction doing the “Newport Helicopter” to show closer Warning.
Vocalist, Benji commanded the stage and audience with his humorous quips and demeanour. At one point he offered a jesting jibe at the people rudely chatting at the bar rather than listening to the band they were here to see. “Racist”, he playfully claimed with a wink and a grin. His flamboyant array of outfits and sunglasses helped prove what a showman he is. Lead Guitarist, Mikey Demus looks mega cool with his huge beard and hat his playing delivers more than the X factor.
It is no surprise to know that they will be playing Wembley Arena in March. The only surprise is that they haven’t already in their well-established career. I have seen Skindred a few times in a supporting role and at Download Festival. This was as good as each of those times, if not better as they had a full headlining set to deliver!
I would highly recommend seeing Skindred live as they deliver a party like, feel good show. We may not have been smiling on the wet journey to the venue, but we left with a smile on our face after this great show! Music is all about Unity, Benji Webbe’s tasselled white jacket states this clearly.
Review By Carl Mace
Photographs by Paul Mace