SkindredYou got this. Three little words you probably hear all the time; possibly as an offhand comment when you’re seeking advice.
They’re also the three words that open Skindred’s latest album of the same name, albeit with a cheeky robotic vocal. It’s the title of the Welsh ragga metal pioneers’ first album to hit #1 on the UK Albums Chart, and their ninth in their storied discography.
Led by the charismatic singer Benji Webbe, who possesses an epic, kaleidoscopic vocal range, Skindred are renowned as one of the best live bands to come out of the UK. He’s offered guest vocals for the likes of Korn, Bullet for My Valentine, Soulfly, and more, and starred in bands such as Mass Mental (along with Metallica’s Robert Trujillo), Dub War, Diamond Spider, and his own solo project.
A busy man with his main gig and with other projects, what he loves most is the moment he hits the stage and stuns fans with pure energy and passion.
“My approach is knock them dead, no matter where,” Webbe deadpans from his home, on Zoom with The Music.
“Whether it’s headline, support, opening, just go on there and give it your heart and soul. No different approach. I mean, the best thing about headlining is you get to play more songs, and you get to have more fun, get to talk more shit, you know, and I’m happy with that.”
Skindred were last in Australia in March 2024, when they appeared on the Knotfest bill and shared the stage with Halestorm on a run of sideshows. This week, they bring their You Got This show to our shores.
“If I wasn’t coming to Australia to actually give my heart and soul, I wouldn’t bother even coming,” Webbe admits. “It’s a long way to come to give your heart. You’ve got to give your A game, and we’re bringing our A game for sure.”
He adds, “I was talking to someone yesterday, and they said, ‘Yeah, records are really cool. Making a record is really cool.’ But for me as a singer, as a performer, it’s about the live show. I mean, fuck the records. Honestly, I don’t care about records.
“Records ain’t shit. It’s the live performance because that’s something that happens only once. I mean, you might do it every night, but for me personally, it’s a chance to try and get it better every time.”
Reflecting on his experience touring Australia, Webbe shares that he has friends in Australia, but what brings him here, time and time again, is performing for fans.
The Nobody singer muses, “I got a lot of friends in Australia who have moved to Australia from the UK, and that’s a good thing because you get to see them; other than that, you’d never see them, you know what I mean? But other than that, a gig’s a gig, no matter where you are. It could be in Japan, or it could be in Oklahoma. A gig’s a gig.”
Even with how much he loves to tour, Webbe can’t deny that he’s delighted by the success of Skindred’s most recent albums: Smile, released in 2023, and You Got This, which arrived in April 2026.
“I got a massive smile on my face. I went to put the bins out this morning, and I thought, ‘I’ve got a number one album. It’s amazing,” he tells The Music.
The frontman looks back on the band’s career, particularly with chart success – or lack thereof, until quite recently.
“Our first album went to number zero,” Webbe says. “Our second album went to number zero. Our third album went to number zero. Our fourth album went to number 47. Our fifth album went to number 50. Can you see what I’m trying to say here?
“Our ninth album, hang on a minute, let’s go back. Our eighth album went to number two, and our ninth album went to number one. That’s fucking good going, sis. That’s a hard-working band who’s put the hours in, and they’re doing something correct.”
As Webbe has noted, their commercial success has been anything but instantaneous. “You’re not talking about a band that came out last year. I mean, we’ve been doing shit since 1999. It’s mad.
“I’m actually blown away. I got to say this, though, I’ll be honest with you. It’s all about the people who’ve come to love Skindred in the UK. I know for a fact that so many people come to love Skindred through the live performance, and they just wanted us to do well, and I’d seen that on the last two campaigns that we had for Smile and also You Got This, for sure.”
Webbe is actually pleased that album #9 ended up being their first #1, noting that it’s better to not have things happen quickly, as Skindred have had the time to develop their craft. “It really makes your art form become better, stronger, and maybe faster and harder because you’ve worked so hard for it, you know?
“Skindred is a band that we’ve earned our stripes; we’ve worked hard, and every show for me is the last show I’m ever going to do,” he adds, “So, I’m giving you all I got.”
And it’s the same for his bandmates, guitarist Mikey Demus, drummer Arya Goggin, and bassist Tommy Gleeson – touring with Skindred following the departure of longtime bassist Daniel Pugsley in 2025. “That’s how we do it. It’s the only way to do it.”
You Got This is an album that explores a multitude of styles. The title track features some robotic vocals and a chunky guitar riff; Can I Get A, This Is the Sound, and My People balance cheerleader-type backing vocals with energetic performances from Webbe; Broke goes acoustic and reggae, while Glass and Give Thanks are beautiful showcases of ragga metal.
Elsewhere, Big Em Up finds the band exploring dance music and somehow sounding just as heavy. Do It Like This has a hip-hop beat and an addictive nu-metal chorus. And the deluxe edition of the record, featuring an extra song with Dred or Alive, is effortlessly epic – heavy and catchy in equal measure.
It’s an all-killer, no filler type of record. Glass, featuring an incredible performance from Webbe, came from a place of loss.
“I’ve lost so many friends and loved ones and people who empowered me over the years,” Webbe recalls. “But a friend of mine who – basically, when I was a kid, I used to think, ‘Oh, being into rock music, I’m a black guy, I shouldn’t be into rock music, you know?’
“And there was a fella that came to my house one day, a black man, and he said to me that you can do what the fuck you want, man. If you like the Sex Pistols, don’t hide it. Enjoy it. Celebrate it. And that really set me free. He was always, throughout my whole life, somebody who was encouraging, uplifting, and empowering to me.
“I lost him last year or the year before. I just wrote a song about my friend Trevor Seivwright, who empowered my life. I can honestly say that losing Trevor was a real blow to my life, and I wrote that song about Trevor.”
Webbe is thankful for technology and apps like WhatsApp so that he can look back on decades of memories with Seivwright – messages, voice messages, and photos. But since losing Trevor, he notes that he’s lost other friends, so Glass goes out to numerous loved ones now.
“It’s a heartbreaking song, and it’s a full-on performance. When I finished the song in the studio, the producer [Jay Ruston] said, ‘You really sang that from your heart.’ And I really did. Glass is a strong song. It means a lot to me.”
With Broke, exploring not having any money despite pouring so much energy into hard work, Skindred show an acoustic-led side of their sound. Webbe says changing things up is essential, and points to a band like The Clash, whose repertoire includes Rock the Casbah, London Calling, and Should I Stay or Should I Go.
“The Clash just played music, and I love the fact that Skindred got the ability to do that. We just make records,” he explains. “If you listen to You Got This, it goes where we want it to go. I think music is about that. Fortunately, I mean, when I buy an AC/DC record, I want it to sound like AC/DC.”
He adds, “But I think there’s bands like Skindred and The Clash that can afford to go where we want to go, you know? And Broke, for me, was inspired by working all the fucking time and never having no money, and I know you can relate to that, and a thousand other people can too.
“That’s the reality. And I thought about The Clash, and I thought, ‘What would Joe Strummer say?’ And for me, when I sang Broke, I wanted to be Joe Strummer. I was trying to channel my inner Clash, inner Joe Strummer.”
Big Em Up, meanwhile, is an anthem about friendship. It’s about being there for your mates. Webbe reveals that he wrote the song for former bassist Daniel Pugsley.
“When we wrote Big Em Up, we were in the studio recording, and you might not know, we lost our bass player during the recording of the album. Basically, I was trying to show him that I loved him, and I cared for him,” he says.
“That’s what the inspiration was behind the lyrics on that song, you know. I was so passionate about the love I had for him. What I wanted to share with that particular song, I wanted to Big Em Up, because he felt like people don’t listen to him. There's so many people in the world who we have to give the respect to and Big Em Up.”
You Got This, despite brimming with positive energy, is quite a personal record. But Webbe doesn’t mind baring his soul – “I got nothing to hide,” he says. Even the album title comes from a personal experience.
Initially, the singer wanted to name the album after the area code of his home city, Newport, South Wales: 01633.
When he’s on stage, Webbe is a bit of an MC, repping Newport and the area code of 01633. “The word rapper is not what I want to use, but I use our area code, and I pick up our sound,” he notes. “Skindred is not just a heavy metal band; it’s a sound system.
“And when you watch us, you see that. So anyway, I’m on stage going ‘01633.’ This is the sound of the 01633 Skindred radio, that kind of stuff.” His bandmates all agreed on the title, but no one was buzzing like Webbe was.
Things changed after a fateful spin class at the gym with a friend named Kath. “I’m like, ‘Fuck, I hate spin,’” Webbe quips. But he went to the spin class, where he was one of three men among 30 women.
Webbe wanted to leave after about 20 minutes, but he stayed for a friend. “Kath kept shouting ‘You got this’ to the whole class,” he recalls. “And I went, ‘Wow, that’s so empowering.’ So, I actually finished the class, and I never thought of it. I got off the bike, said goodbye to Kath, and walked through the gym.
“A friend of mine who recently had a stroke was in rehabilitation, and as I walked past the PT he was working with, the PT said to him, ‘You got this.’ And it just hit me like a fucking ton of bricks. I went, ‘Wow, I want to call the album You Got This.’”
Webbe says that “even if you never fucking liked Skindred,” if you can help one person, it’s worth doing it. “So, I went to the guys in the band and the management, I said, ‘Guys, I went to the gym today,’ and I told them the same story I told you,” the singer says.
“And every one of them said, ‘Fuck. Yeah, that’s a great name for the album. You Got This.’ As much as I want to be known for singing, I really would like my music to be known for encouraging, uplifting, and pushing people to fucking finish the race, you know? I think that’s what’s important. You got this.”
It’s clear that Webbe’s mindset for You Got This and being a touring musician are aligned: he wants to give back.
“I’ll be honest with you, I say this all the time and the guys in the band laugh at me,” he chuckles. “I’m on a mission from God to bring people together, and for people to stop looking at what the differences are and look at what they got in common, you know? That’s what Skindred is about.
“No matter your nationality, your sexuality, no matter what, come in the room, we got an umbrella, it's called Skindred, and everyone can stand under that umbrella and feel the same warmth and the same love from the stage. That’s what’s important to me.”
It’s these lofty goals that Webbe believes separate him from some of his peers, particularly the ones who get burnt out from the touring life. “Not every fucker is like me, you know? Some people who are genuinely blessed, they don’t know the blessing that they got,” he begins.
“I’m talking about musicians who go on stage, and they’re grumpy bastards. They haven’t done a day’s work in their fucking life. But these people are paying hundreds of dollars sometimes to come and see them play, and they just get on that stage, and they’ve got no passion and no love.
“You know what? I’m thankful that it’s taken Skindred so long to get where we are, because I think I’ve learned a lot of lessons from watching people who get there really quick… I don’t think anybody is better than anybody. I mean, even these kids coming up on their YouTube channels, you know, everybody is blessed enough and the art form is beautiful, and that’s what we should all celebrate.
“Not just, ‘I’ve got a billion streams. Fuck off; who cares? Just live your life and enjoy what you do. I think that’s the magic of music. But a lot of people, they just don’t value what they got.”
It’s simple, really: Webbe just loves to play. “You put an audience in front of me, and I’ll give them a good time,” he says. “Me and the boys of Skindred would give them a good time.
“There’s people listening to this or reading this and they think, ‘Oh, reggae and rock, I’m not sure.’ Believe me, people, come down to the show and tell me it’s not good, and I’ll give you your money back. How’s that?
“I’ll give you your fucking money back if you don’t like Skindred or you think it’s not for me. I just love performing, and that’s what this band is about: the show.”
Skindred are currently touring Australia. Last-minute tickets are available here.
Destroy All Lines Presents
SKINDRED
AUSTRALIAN HEADLINE TOUR 2026
TUESDAY 1 SEPTEMBER - MAGNET HOUSE, PERTH
THURSDAY 3 SEPTEMBER - THE GOV, ADELAIDE
FRIDAY 4 SEPTEMBER - NORTHCOTE THEATRE, MELBOURNE
SATURDAY 5 SEPTEMBER - METRO THEATRE, SYDNEY
SUNDAY 6 SEPTEMBER - THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE
