Babylon | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 3 July 2002 | |||
Studio |
| |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 51:06 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Howard Benson | |||
Skindred chronology | ||||
| ||||
Babylon | ||||
Singles from Babylon | ||||
|
Babylon is the debut studio album by Welsh heavy metal band Skindred. The band was formed from members of the disbanded band Dub War,including leader Benji Webbe,and signed to RCA Records in 2002,who released the album on 3 July. The band felt that they were being treated poorly by the label,and left in 2004,signing with Bieler Bros. Records,who released the album internationally in association with Lava Records. Each version released featured a significantly altered track listing.
Promotion of the album included performing on a tour led by Korn. Two singles were released:"Nobody" and "Pressure",for which music videos were produced. Babylon has been well received by critics for its fusion of alternative metal and reggae. In 2004,the album peaked at number one on the Billboard Top Reggae Albums chart,number five on the Top Heatseekers chart and at number 189 on the Billboard 200. In 2006,the album again ranked at number one on the Top Reggae Albums chart.
Singer Benji Webbe formed Skindred in 1998 with bassist Daniel Pugsley,guitarist Jeff Rose and drummer Martyn "Ginge" Ford after Webbe was unable to put together a new project featuring other members of his former band,Dub War. [1] Skindred recorded their debut album,Babylon with producer Howard Benson. The album was first released in 2002 by RCA Records, [2] and reissued in 2003 with an altered track listing,achieving some success in Europe and amongst fans of heavy metal in the underground music scene in the United States. [1] Band members Martyn "Ginge" Ford and Jeff Rose left the band following the release of the album,citing poor treatment by RCA. [2] The band left RCA to sign with Bieler Bros. Records,who released the album internationally in association with Lava Records in 2004. This version featured different artwork,removed the songs "Falling Down," "Kiss and Make Up," and "Together",and included new interludes featuring dancehall musicians Jatoman Busha and Herbius Darussalam,and four new songs:"Start First","We Want","Tears" and "The Beginning of Sorrows". [1]
Babylon features a style which the band refers to as "Ragga metal",fusing heavy metal,punk rock and reggae influences. [3] [4] Benji Webbe has also jokingly referred to the band's musical style as "nu-reggae",in reference to the term nu metal. [5] In his review of the album,Allmusic critic Johnny Loftus wrote that Babylon brought a new edge to the "blaséworld" of rap rock,writing that "Emerging from the ashes of Dub War,Benji Webbe and company eschew that band's fetish for freely shifting sounds,in favor of a more focused ragga-rap-metal attack. It's not merely a facsimile of last year's money-making metal model. No,what little repetition does exist here comes from the dancehall influence,the harping and chatting over a nonstop groove." [6]
IGN reviewer Justin Falzon compares Webbe to "a flexible mesh of Jonathan Davis and Beenie Man",writing that "comparing his apparent vocal mastery to any one (or two) artists is nigh impossible. He screams,he wails,he growls,he rolls,and he jumps all over the register at will;it's an altogether astounding virtuoso performance. Unfortunately the music itself - slightly less funk than 311,slightly more punk than Limp Bizkit,and much more reggae than both - can't possibly keep up with Webbe's vocal apocalypse." [7]
Skindred toured in promotion of the album alongside Breaking Benjamin,Chevelle and Instruction,in a tour led by Korn. The band also performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien . [8] The first single from the album,"Nobody",was released on 3 October 2005. [9] A second edition of the single was released the same day,containing a remix of the song. [10] A music video for "Nobody" was produced,and appeared in solid rotation on Fuse TV and MTV2. [8]
The second single from the album,"Pressure",was released as a 7" on 6 February 2006. It contained the album version of the song and the "Happy Roses Baggy Mix" of "World Domination". [11] [12] A CD single of "Pressure" was released on 6 February 2006. It contained the album version of the song,the "Drum N Bass Fix Pressure" remix,and the non-album track "Rude Boy 4 Life",as well as an Enhanced CD feature containing the song's music video. [13]
In the United States,the album charted at #1 on the Billboard Top Reggae Albums chart,#5 on the Top Heatseekers chart and at #189 on the Billboard 200,and the single "Nobody" peaked at #14 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and at #23 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in 2004. [14] In 2005,the single "Pressure" peaked at #30 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. [14] In 2006,Babylon once again charted at #1 on the Top Reggae Albums chart. [14]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [15] |
Audio Video Revolution | [16] |
Eagle Eye | favourable [17] |
IGN | (7.7/10) [18] |
TuneLab | favourable [19] |
Critical response to the album was positive. Allmusic critic Johnny Loftus wrote that "Skindred doesn't seem to consciously want the reinvention tag;it has simply tapped into the same lack of pretension that fueled Korn and Living Colour's Vivid -- records that were made visionary by an unadulterated honesty in both delivery and craft. [...] highly recommended for fans of literate genre jumpers like Soulfly and System of a Down,or any heshers looking for some heavy-hitting firepower that hasn't fallen victim to the anvil of corporate assimilation." [6] IGN reviewer Justin Falzon called the album "a welcome attempt to innovate today's mainstream metal",writing that it "can be decidedly erratic,but nonetheless fascinating and difficult to dismiss" and concludes that "Skindred manages to place themselves outside the cookie-cutter conventions,nearly pulling off something fresh in the process." [7]
Audio Video Revolution reviewer Paul Lingas wrote that "most of the tracks are somewhat short,but too many of them blend one right into the other and end up sounding like noise [...] look for Skindred to plant themselves firmly on the map with this debut album." [20] TuneLab reviewer Jay described Babylon as "Party beach-type music for metalheads", [21] and Eagle Eye reviewer Edward Savoy called Skindred "the musically enlightened head-bangers dream". [22]
Three editions of the album were released,each with a different track listing. [23] [24] [25]
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Set It Off" | Skindred | Skindred | 3:03 |
2. | "Kiss and Make Up" | Skindred | Skindred | 3:43 |
3. | "Pressure" | Skindred | Skindred | 3:22 |
4. | "Sicker" | Skindred | Skindred | 4:00 |
5. | "Selector" | Skindred | Skindred | 2:23 |
6. | "Babylon" | Skindred | Skindred | 3:34 |
7. | "The Fear" (contains elements sampled from "London Calling") | Skindred | 3:46 | |
8. | "Bruises" | Skindred | Skindred | 2:42 |
9. | "Together" | Skindred | Skindred | 3:31 |
10. | "World Domination" | Skindred | Skindred | 2:24 |
11. | "Nobody
| Skindred | Skindred | 8:18 |
Total length: | 48:17 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Set It Off" | Skindred | Skindred | 3:03 |
2. | "Nobody" | Skindred | Skindred | 3:56 |
3. | "Babylon" | Skindred | Skindred | 3:34 |
4. | "Selector" | Skindred | Skindred | 2:23 |
5. | "Firing the Love" | Skindred | Skindred | 3:37 |
6. | "Pressure" | Skindred | Skindred | 3:31 |
7. | "Bruises" | Skindred | Skindred | 2:42 |
8. | "The Fear" (contains elements sampled from "London Calling") | Skindred | 3:46 | |
9. | "Falling Down" | Skindred | Skindred | 3:12 |
10. | "Kiss and Make Up" | Skindred | Skindred | 3:43 |
11. | "World Domination" | Skindred | Skindred | 2:24 |
12. | "Together" (contains the hidden track "Brainkiller".) | Skindred | Skindred | 7:44 |
Total length: | 43:55 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Producer | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Intro" |
|
| 0:28 | |
2. | "Nobody" | Skindred | Skindred | Howard Benson | 3:56 |
3. | "Pressure" | Skindred | Skindred | Howard Benson | 3:31 |
4. | "Start First" | Skindred | Skindred |
| 2:49 |
5. | "Interlude 1" (featuring Herbius Darussalam) |
| 0:16 | ||
6. | "Selector" | Skindred | Skindred | Howard Benson | 2:23 |
7. | "Bruises" | Skindred | Skindred | Howard Benson | 2:42 |
8. | "We Want" | Skindred | Skindred |
| 3:01 |
9. | "Interlude 2" (featuring Jatoman Busha) |
| 0:28 | ||
10. | "Set It Off" | Skindred | Skindred | Howard Benson | 3:03 |
11. | "Firing the Love" | Skindred | Skindred | Howard Benson | 3:37 |
12. | "Tears" | Skindred | Skindred |
| 3:00 |
13. | "World Domination" | Skindred | Skindred | Howard Benson | 2:24 |
14. | "The Fear" (contains elements sampled from "London Calling") | Skindred | Howard Benson | 3:46 | |
15. | "Interlude 3" |
|
| 0:26 | |
16. | "Babylon" | Skindred | Skindred | Howard Benson | 3:34 |
17. | "The Beginning of Sorrows" (an acoustic version of "Pressure" appears as a hidden track) | Skindred | Skindred |
| 11:06 |
Total length: | 51:06 |
Information taken from Allmusic. [26]
Hed PE or (həd) Planetary Evolution, is an American rock band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1994, the band is known for its eclectic genre-crossing style, predominately in the fusion of gangsta rap and punk rock it has termed "G-punk", but also for its reggae-fused music.
Skindred are a Welsh reggae metal band formed in Newport in 1998. Their musical style mixes heavy metal, alternative rock and ragga. The band also integrate elements of punk rock, hardcore punk, reggae, dancehall, jungle, ska, hip hop, drum and bass, dubstep and various other influences into their music. They are well known for their energetic and involving live performances and have won several awards including "Best Live Band" at the 2011 UK Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards and the "Devotion Award" at the 2011 Kerrang! Awards.
Dub War are a four-piece metal band from Newport, Wales. Formed in 1993, the band's musical style is a mix of metal, punk, and reggae.
Credit to the Nation are a British hip hop group, who had chart success in the 1990s and are best known for their Nirvana-sampling single "Call It What You Want". The band is fronted by Matty Hanson and was initially noted for fusing a conscious hip hop style with political elements taken from the British left-wing and anarchist movements. Following their initial split in 1998, the band reformed in 2011.
Scream Aim Fire is the second studio album by Welsh heavy metal band Bullet for My Valentine. The album was released on 28 January 2008 in the United Kingdom and the preceding day in the United States through Jive Records. Since its release, Scream Aim Fire has sold over 1,400,000 copies worldwide. It is the band's most commercially successful effort in Australia, earning a gold certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) in addition to a gold certification from the band's native British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
Roots Rock Riot is the second album from Welsh rock band Skindred. It was released on 23 October 2007 in the United States.
Clive John "Benji" Webbe is a Welsh singer, best known as the lead vocalist and synthesizer player for the reggae metal band Skindred. Aside from his main project, he is also active in Diamond Spider, Dub War, Mass Mental and his own solo project. He has featured on albums by Bullet for My Valentine and Soulfly.
Benji is a fictional dog in a series of films and a television series. Benji may also refer to:
Shark Bites and Dog Fights is the third studio album by Welsh band Skindred, released in September 2009.
"Nobody" is the first single from Skindred's 2002 / 2004 debut album, Babylon. It also appears on Need for Speed: Underground 2 and MX vs. ATV Unleashed soundtracks. "Nobody" peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 23 on its Modern Rock Tracks chart in 2004.
"Stand for Something" is the first single from Skindred's 2009 album, Shark Bites and Dog Fights, released as a digital download on Myspace on August 11, 2009.
Mutiny Within is the debut studio album by New Jersey heavy metal band, Mutiny Within, released on February 23, 2010 in the US, and on April 26, 2010 in the UK, both through Roadrunner Records. The album was recorded at Bieler Bros. Studios in Pompano Beach, Florida, produced by Jason Bieler, and mixed by Martyn "Ginge" Ford and Jeff Rose at Not-In-Pill Studios, Newport, Wales. This album was released in two different versions: the standard edition, which was released as a CD and included eleven tracks and a small illustrated booklet with lyrics; and the special edition, which was digitally released and included the eleven album tracks plus four bonus tracks. The self-titled debut album sold around 900 copies in the US in its first week of release, landing at position No. 41 on the "Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers)" chart.
Mass Mental is an American rock band. It was formed in 1995 by former Suicidal Tendencies and current Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo and former Dub War and current Skindred singer Clive "Benji" Webbe.
Union Black is the fourth album from Welsh reggae metal band Skindred. It was released on 25 April 2011 in the United Kingdom and on 1 July 2011 in Europe. The album is notable for featuring more usage of dubstep, hip hop and drum and bass elements than previous works.
How to Write Love Songs is the only studio album of the short lived rock supergroup Mass Mental?. It was released solely in Japan, and has only gained attention worldwide due to internet uploads and imported CDs. A limited run was released in March 2016.
Kill The Power is the fifth studio album from Welsh rock band Skindred. It was announced on 29 April 2013, and was released on 27 January 2014. A Music video was released for "The Kids Are Right Now".
Volume is the sixth studio album from Welsh rock band Skindred. It was released on 30 October 2015.
Xeno is the third studio album by Japanese metalcore band Crossfaith. It was released on 16 September 2015 through Ariola Japan, Razor & Tie and UNFD. It was produced by Josh Wilbur.
Big Tings is the seventh studio album from Welsh rock band Skindred. It was released on 27 April 2018.
Westgate Under Fire is the third studio album by Welsh ragga metal band Dub War, released on 5 August 2022 via Earache Records. It is the first album of new material by the band since Wrong Side of Beautiful in 1996.