I’ve had the chance to see Skindred a few times now, but only ever in a festival or special guest slot, so tonight will be my first time seeing them as headliners, and knowing what their show is like in those other environments then I can’t wait to see what tonight brings.
Broken Earth did a great job of warming up the crowd which this early on is looking pretty cosy with many in here early. Heavy songs and a great vibe make them perfect for tonight. Future Static are up next and up there smashing out their set. These songs are heavy, at times operatic, and just straight up brutal in others. Then the little surprises like this ridiculously heavy cover of ‘Gasolina’ was a treat. Two great openers who are ones to watch that’s for sure.
As the lights go down and ‘Thunderstruck’ plays the crowd are already pumped. Don’t peak too early!! Then as The Imperial March plays the band come on and immediately launch into ‘This is The Sound’ from their latest album and they are immediately commandeering this crowd. My god this is something to see. Wasting no time at all ‘Set Fazers’ is next and the intensity is off the charts as Benji dons an amazing piece of headwear and warms up the crowd even more with some vocal callbacks and taking us into ‘Rat Race’ and with the floor jumping and hands waving it’s fair to say they are locked in. I can’t say I’ve ever heard ‘if you’re happy and you know it’ added into a song before but here we are.
Jumping in a Time Machine for ‘Pressure’ which is a whole vibe in itself but a little bit of ‘Back in Black’ thrown in is a nice treat before rounding the song out. The Sydney choir is in full effect as they lead us cleverly into ‘That’s My Jam’ and this one is nice, chunky and catchy as all get up. My god that was awesome and the entire place had their hands waving and it looked spectacular. Benji and Arya remain on stage for an amazing medly of songs starting with ‘Radio 01633’ and then somehow including the Jet 2 holiday jingle but a huge circle pit just opened for a bit of ‘Master of Puppets’ and ‘Last Resort’ then ‘Jump’ and damn this is fun and from ‘Jump’ to ‘Jump Around’. This just works ha ha. Then the title track of their latest album ‘You Got This’ was just perfect. What a song that will forever be a part of the bands set for sure. The way that Skindred make the sounds and songs they do is just perfect. Tommy on bass is giving us a bass solo currently while the rest of the band have a quick break.
“Are you ready for some more bullshit?!” Benji asks before we all raise our fists for ‘Kill The Power’ and I do in fact not want to kill any power in here tonight as this band is off the charts. Issuing us a challenge and getting Ryan on stage for the “Skindred sandwich challenge” was entertaining and with another costume change for Benji and discussing their charting success they launch into ‘Can I Get A’ from ‘You Got This’ and hearing this live is so much heavier than the album and it’s marvelous. Setting up ‘Nobody’ the crowd joins in early and “this song’s called Nobody and I dedicate to every fucking body…” and as you can imagine the floor is doing its thing and hands are waving once again for this monster. The band leave Benji on stage to throw out some flowers before he leaves for what we can only hope is a quick break.
Coming back to introductions and some ‘Boom Shake The Room’ before more booming with ‘Gimme That Boom’ and they love this one. ‘Warning’ with a ‘War Pigs’ intro was great. It was the only song they could leave us with, and then the Newport Helicopter took flight and it is just an awesome site to see. Cooled the place down a little too. This is what I want a concert to be. Pure entertainment and enjoyment. The band stick around to get their dues, deserved dues, and there is zero way that anybody is leaving this gig without a smile on their face and a sense of just how amazing it was.
Benji I would like to say is possibly one of the best frontmen I’ve seen in many years. The level of charisma and energy exuded is just off the charts and with Arya, Mikey, and Tommy to balance it all and play the way they do… This band is nothing short of spectacular.
Skindred are the perfect live band and they showed us tonight exactly why.
Essential Information
Venue: Metro Theatre, Sydney
Date: September 5, 2026
Support: Broken Earth, Future Static
Presented By: Destroy All Lines
Website: http://www.skindred.net
Set List:
This is the Sound
Set Fazers
Rat Race
Pressure
That’s My Jam
Radio 01633 / Master of Puppets / Last Resort / Jump / Jump Around
You Got This
Kill the Power
Can I Get A
Nobody
Gimme That Boom
Warning
