Skindred, Alien Ant Farm and Spineshank deliver a night to remember

A sold-out O2 Academy Birmingham was the perfect setting for a bill bringing together Spineshank’s industrial aggression, Alien Ant Farm’s melodic mischief and Skindred’s irresistible collision of metal, reggae and dancehall. Three bands with distinct identities, united by songs designed to make standing still seem thoroughly unreasonable.

Spineshank provide the evening’s most abrasive opening statement. Asthmatic and Synthetic make a formidable pairing, their combination of mechanical rhythms, serrated guitars and explosive vocals establishing an uncompromising tone. Frontman Jonny Santos is central to that attack, his vocal approach moving between raw hostility and the melodic hooks that give these songs their staying power.

(Can’t Be) Fixed and Cyanide 2600 sustain the pressure before Violent Mood Swings delivers another dose of tightly controlled chaos. Smothered offers a reminder that beneath the aggression lies a sharp understanding of melody. Shinebox and Detached keep the set moving, with little room for the intensity to dissipate.

The closing stretch is especially strong. Beginning of the End leads into New Disease, whose immediate hook remains one of the band’s most potent weapons. The Height of Callousness then turns the screw before Dead to Me completes a bruising opening set.

Alien Ant Farm bring a welcome change of musical colour without sacrificing momentum. Their songs favour elastic grooves, nimble guitar work and choruses that can conceal some surprisingly inventive arrangements.

Courage is an ideal introduction, followed by Wish, with Dryden Mitchell’s distinctive vocals giving the performance its familiar character. Wrong Things makes way for Movies, a song whose combination of vulnerability and bounce still gives it considerable appeal. It is a reminder of the strength of Alien Ant Farm’s own material, with the band’s songwriting deserving attention beyond their most famous cover.

These Days continues that melodic thread, while Last Dantz, What I Feel and Storms give the set room to explore different shades of their sound. Naturally, Smooth Criminal provides the finale. Their transformation of Michael Jackson’s song remains a brilliantly effective piece of rock reinvention: the unmistakable central riff, the rhythmic snap and the heavier treatment fitting neatly together. It is a crowd-pleasing conclusion to a set with plenty more to offer along the way.

Then comes Skindred, and the evening changes scale.

Benji Webbe remains the band’s great focal point: a vocalist and entertainer with the personality to command a room this size. Alongside him, guitarist Mikey Demus, drummer Arya Goggin and bassist Tommy Gleeson supply the force and flexibility that make Skindred’s stylistic collisions work.

My People opens proceedings before Set Fazers and Rat Race establish the range of their attack. Demus’s guitar provides the crunch, but the rhythmic space around those riffs is equally important, allowing Webbe’s vocals to dart between melody, rhythmic delivery and full-throated aggression.

This Is the Sound and Pressure reinforce the foundations before That’s My Jam brings another huge hook into play. Skindred understand the value of a chorus that can unite a room, and their set offers a generous supply.

Big Em Up and Radio 01633 carry the momentum forward, before a cover of Van Halen’s Jump adds a gleeful diversion. It fits comfortably within a performance built on the pleasure of bringing different musical worlds together.

You Got This and Broke lead into Kill the Power, one of the strongest examples of the band’s ability to combine a direct message with an enormous musical punch. Can I Get A follows before Nobody delivers that unmistakable combination of reggae phrasing and heavyweight riffing.

By this point, the set has demonstrated how much character Skindred can draw from a relatively simple formula: a commanding voice, a compelling groove and a riff that lands exactly where it needs to.

Gimme That Boom supplies another emphatic burst of energy before Warning brings the evening towards its explosive conclusion. Then comes the inevitable Newport Helicopter, a staple of Skindred's live shows, with the crowd removing their shirts and waving them above their heads. It makes for a spectacular sight. Few songs are better suited to closing a Skindred show, its shifts in pace and crushing payoff giving the performance a suitably oversized finish.

Across three sharply contrasting sets, this sold-out bill offered aggression, melody and personality in abundance. Spineshank bring the bite, Alien Ant Farm supply the hooks, and Skindred turn the whole thing into a celebration.

By Andy Shaw