Dub War
Encyclopedia
Dub War was a four piece metal
band
from Newport
, South Wales
, UK
. Formed in 1993, the band offered an innovative mix of metal
, punk
, and ragga influenced by bands like The Clash
and Bad Brains
. Their lyrics
were thoughtful and idealistic, drawing comparisons with the former, though musically they were closer to the hard rock
sound of the latter.
They released two album
s, via the metal label
Earache Records
; Pain, released in 1995 and Wrong Side of Beautiful in 1996. Dub War split in 1999 afer disputes with their label. After a short stint with the supergroup
Mass Mental
, lead singer Benji Webbe
went on to form Skindred
with Jeff Rose and Martyn Ford, although the latter left early on citing mistreatment from their label.
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
from Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
, South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Formed in 1993, the band offered an innovative mix of metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, and ragga influenced by bands like The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
and Bad Brains
Bad Brains
Bad Brains is an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of...
. Their lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
were thoughtful and idealistic, drawing comparisons with the former, though musically they were closer to the hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
sound of the latter.
They released two album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s, via the metal label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Earache Records
Earache Records
Earache Records is a heavy metal-oriented record label based in Nottingham, UK and New York, USA. It helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing many of the earliest grindcore and death metal records in the period 1988-1994.-History:...
; Pain, released in 1995 and Wrong Side of Beautiful in 1996. Dub War split in 1999 afer disputes with their label. After a short stint with the supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
Mass Mental
Mass Mental
Mass Mental was a short lived heavy metal band. It was formed in 1998 by Suicidal Tendencies and current Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo and former Dub War and current Skindred singer Clive "Benji" Webbe.-Biography:The band was formed when Benji’s old band Dub War disbanded after a dispute with...
, lead singer Benji Webbe
Benji Webbe
Clive "Benji" Webbe is a Welsh singer best known as the lead vocalist for the alternate rock band Skindred and as a former member of Dub War...
went on to form Skindred
Skindred
Skindred is a Welsh rock band from Newport. The band was formed in 1998 following the disbandment of vocalist Benji Webbe's previous band, Dub War. Skindred's musical style mixes alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and reggae...
with Jeff Rose and Martyn Ford, although the latter left early on citing mistreatment from their label.
Albums
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Words of Dubwarning |
| 1995 | Pain |
| 1996 | Wrong Side of Beautiful |
| 1998 | Step Ta Dis |
| 2005 | Demos 1998 |
| 2010 | The Dub, The War And The Ugly |
Singles
| Year | Single | From the Album | UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... placing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | "Respected" | Words of Dubwarning | - |
| "Mental EP" | Pain | - | |
| 1995 | "Gorrit" | - | |
| "Strike It" | 70 | ||
| "Enemy Maker" | Wrong Side of Beautiful | 41 | |
| 1996 | "Cry Dignity" | 59 | |
| "Soundclash EP" | N/A | - | |
| 1997 | "Million Dollar Love" | Wrong Side of Beautiful | 73 |
| "Dreams & Illusions" | N/A | - |