Skindred - Kill The Power (2014)

Newport's Skindred have somehow managed to appear at the metal Download festival and top the US reggae charts. This curious achievement has been on the back of "ragga metal", an odd hybrid of rock, soul, hip-hop and power-pop "whoah whoahs". It's all fronted by Benji Webbe, who sings in a Jamaican accent in the way only a Welsh rasta can. His penchant for reggae is most apparent on More Fire, surely the world's first skank about calling the emergency services. Having seen previous combo Dub War struggle, Webbe pulls out every crowd-pleasing cliche. He tells us we can run but we can't hide, and at one point even rewrites Ian Dury ("Reasons to be tearful, 1-2-3"). Ye may titter, and purists will be infuriated, but it makes for a strange yet eventful journey where his band sound like everything from the Red Hot Chili Peppers playing a power ballad to (gulp) protest boyband. If one track doesn't appeal, at least there'll be something completely different along in a moment.