Warthur London-based Skunk Anansie's debut album presents an accessible sort of alternative rock-influenced metal that managed to become an unlikely hit on the pop charts in the midst of Britpop.

The band's major asset is frontwoman Skin, whose angry diatribes against racism, sexism, homophobia and elitism struck a chord with many listeners. Skin makes no apologies for being angry - as pointed out on And Here I Stand, she's got plenty of reasons to be - and her lyrical attack takes no prisoners and certainly is not designed to sooth the consciences of white liberal listeners. (See, for example, the track Intellectualise My Blackness, which firmly takes aim at privileged white men who talk up how hiply feminist and anti-racist they are but demonstrate otherwise by their behaviour.) At the same time, she isn't a one-note vocalist either; It Takes Blood And Guts To Be This Cool But I'm Still Just a Cliche reveals a self-deprecating sense of humour, whilst songs such as I Can Dream and Weak manage to shine a light into her emotional inner world without compromising the image of uncompromising strength she cultivates.

The second secret weapon in the band's arsenal is bassist Cass, who far from being content to simply strum a standard alt-rock rhythm uses his bass like a soloing instrument in order to add a subtle twist to the music, reminiscent of a somewhat more varied take on Tim Commerford's bass playing in Rage Against the Machine, whilst guitarist Ace and drummer Robbie France (who would leave the album after the recording of this album so suddenly that he doesn't even appear on the cover art) play in a more or less unsurprising and at points slightly pedestrian style. On balance, the combination of the unique bass playing and Skin's highly individual style as a frontwoman earns this one an extra star; I don't think it'd stand up as a metal classic, or more generally as a rock classic, but it's a fun album which showcases a rather different take on what alt-metal could be.