Skindred – You Got This Album Review

Skindred – You Got This

Album Review

Release Date: 17^th April 2026

Words: Phil Ingham

You know you are not going to get something middle-of-the-road with Skindred. And with ‘You Got This’, their ninth studio album, the Newport ragga-metallers typically refuse to stay in a lane.

With this record, Skindred double down on what they’ve always done best: heavy music with groove, positivity delivered in bucket-loads, and songs destined to rock live venues.

From the opening moments, the intent is clear. The title track roars like a Welsh dragon. Built on thick, swinging riffs and a hook that doesn’t let go, it sets the tone for the album. There’s a directness to it that straddles the line between confrontation and optimism, and this approach runs through the album.

That momentum carries straight into ‘Can I Get A’. It’s swaggering and rhythmled, built to be shouted back as much as listened to. Skindred have always understood that groove is as important as heaviness, and here they lean hard into that truth. The result is a song that is equally at home in a mosh pit or disco.

When Skindred go hard, like in ‘Born Fe Dis’, This Is The Sound’ and ‘Big Em Up’, it’s Skindred distilled; lean, loud, and unapologetic. That being said, the band don’t sacrifice melody for muscle.

It is also a joy to hear them lean into ska and reggae. ‘Broke’ is set to be the soundtrack to many a summer beer garden session and ‘Glass’ starts slowly but grows into something of an epic – Mikey Demus all-too-briefly taking the guitar for a walk is the highlight of the track.

Another highlight is ‘My People’, a song that takes the album in yet another direction as it flirts with nu-metal. It will fit superbly into the Halloween show at Ally Pally with Alien Ant Farm, Spineshank and Orgy.

The slimmed-down version of Skindred, now a trio, has lost none of its impact and if anything the reduction in number has concentrated the band’s DNA. Benji Webb raps, croons and shouts his way through the eleven songs, Demus brings his characteristic riffage and drummer Arya Goggin drives an impeccable rhythm throughout.

It’s a genre-busting record. One minute you’re headbanging, and the next you’re shouting out ‘Woop Woop’ like you’re at a 1990’s pop concert. And it all feels right.

The highest compliment I can give to the album is that it captures the high energy and raucousness of Skindred’s live shows.

Ultimately, You Got This succeeds because it is honest. It’s not chasing trends, not apologising for its identity, and not trying to rewrite the Skindred rulebook. It’s heavy, groovy, uplifting music made by a band that still believe in the power of what they do — and so they should. This is the band at the top of its game.

Band Members:

Benji Webb (vocals)

Mikey Demus (guitar)

Arya Goggin (drums)

Track Listing:

You Got This

Can I Get A

Born Fe Dis

This Is The Sound

Broke

Glass

Big Em Up

Do It Like This

My People

Give Thanks

Dred Or Alive (bonus track)