Skindred and The King Blues, Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton - review

And that probably explains their reformation in 2015 with the release of their Off with Their Heads EP.

Performing at the Wulfrun Hall in support of Skindred, the band sounded much tighter than they have in previous incarnations, with the focus still being on lead vocalist and occasional ukulele player Itch.

Opening with a storming 'Let's Hang The Landlord', the band proceed to blast through a 'greatest hits' set made up mainly of tracks from their 'Save The World, Get The Girl' record.

There's a new song premiered in 'Bullington Boys' whilst 'The Streets Are Ours' sees the whole room skanking.

The King Blues are a band designed to play to a multitude of sized venues and crowds and the Wulfrun Hall to perhaps an older audience doesn't seem like a challenge at all.

This could also be said of the headliners for the evening, Skindred, who are renowned for their energetic live performances and ability to perform in front of any size or type of crowd.

Taking to the stage to 'The Imperial March' the band blasted into 'Under Attack' from their latest release 'Volume' before taking it back with 'Rat Race' and 'Doom Riff'. And it's at this point the crowd went absolutely mental.

You could convince yourself throughout the evening that Skindred are in fact the favourite band of everyone inside the Wulfrun Hall. And with the performance they give, there's no reason why they shouldn't be.

Lead vocalist Benji Webbe is an excellent front man, taking time to remember trips to the Little Civic to play in front of 4 people as well as support slots with Steel Panther and the less applauded Lostprophets.

There are covers of both House of Pain and Justin Bieber whilst throwing Metallica's Sad But True into the middle of 'Trouble' seemingly for the hell of it. An unexpected slow moment comes in the form of 'Saying It Now' from the band's latest release, dedicated to a past friend whom Benji never got the time to say goodbye to before his untimely death.

It was then time to step up the energy once more with 'Kill The Power' and 'Nobody' before the band were joined by members from Ugly Kid Joe to initiate the infamous Newport Helicopter during 'Warning', which sees each crowd member flinging around an item of clothing to great effect. For those that have seen Skindred before it's perhaps nothing new, but after giving such a great performance there's no reason why you wouldn't go back again and again.

By Daniel Earl