by Dylan Graham

Throughout November and December, Welsh reggae metal band Skindred are embarking on a mammoth UK tour, one of the dates being a ÔÇÿhomecomingÔÇÖ gig at CardiffÔÇÖs Tramshed on the 24th November. The tour is in support of the groups latest LP ÔÇÿBig TingsÔÇÖ, which was released in April.

Recently I spoke to Arya Goggin, the SkindredÔÇÖs drummer, about their upcoming UK tour and what to expect from the Cardiff show.

So youÔÇÖve got quite an extensive UK tour coming up. Are you excited to get out and play these shows?
Yeah I canÔÇÖt wait, being a musician is a dream come true. WeÔÇÖre very fortunate that we can do as many shows across the UK as we are doing. Most bands do maybe 9 or 10 gigs at most but I think weÔÇÖre doing about 31. ItÔÇÖs pretty rad.

ThatÔÇÖs great. One of your dates is at the Tramshed in Cardiff. How do the Welsh shows compare to the rest of the country?
Believe it or not weÔÇÖre actually a Welsh band, so anywhere we play in Wales feels like a hometown show. WeÔÇÖre based in Newport, but Cardiff is just down the road. Benji (singer) always has a great time. HeÔÇÖs like the mayor of Newport these days, so coming to Cardiff is kinda like the royal visit.

So, what should people expect from these live shows?
ItÔÇÖs going to be very up close and personal; a very hot and sweaty old school punk rock gig. I think weÔÇÖre just going to go out there and try and rip peoples heads off for an hour and a half. The last shows we did were big Brixton Academy sized venues with three to four thousand people a night minimum. This tourÔÇÖs going to be different. Most venues are four to five hundred capacity, the Tramshed is going to be one of the biggest gigs on the tour. ItÔÇÖll be good fun.

You released your 7th studio album ÔÇÿBig TingsÔÇÖ back in April. How did the new material go down at the festivals you played over summer.
ItÔÇÖs been great, theyÔÇÖve been really really good. We were playing three to four songs off the record and people already knew the words. I think ÔÇÿBig TingsÔÇÖ is more of a singalong kind of album, itÔÇÖs very anthemic. People are still doing circle pits and walls of death but theyÔÇÖre also singing all the words. I think with Skindred that was always a big barrier for us. Now weÔÇÖve got big choruses that people can sing back. They were already singing songs like ÔÇÿNobodyÔÇÖ and ÔÇÿKill the PowerÔÇÖ, but with ÔÇÿBig TingsÔÇÖ we look out into the crowd and people are singing every word. ItÔÇÖs really cool.

Finally, what does the future hold for Skindred?
Do you know what? IÔÇÖm hoping more of the same. You can never take this job for granted. Next year weÔÇÖre doing a tour in Europe in February. WeÔÇÖre also going to America again. WeÔÇÖre playing ÔÇÿShip RocksÔÇÖ which is a rock n roll cruise, which will be weird. We donÔÇÖt want to take a long time off between albums, we want to create as much material as we can at a decent pace. Next year weÔÇÖll probably start thinking about doing something new, with hopefully a new album out in 2020.

Tickets are on sale now for SkindredÔÇÖs tour.