Stampin' Ground @ Dali, Cork

Formed in 1995, Stampin’ Ground changed the face of metallic UK hardcore forever. With their

relentless work ethic, unflinching lyrics and savage musical onslaught, they proved once and for all

that a UK metalcore band could hold its own against their international counterparts.

They recorded two well-received EPs, ‘Dawn of Night’ and ‘Starved’ (1996), and an incendiary first

album, ‘Demons Run Amok’ (1997), for German label, We Bite. Heavy touring, both in the UK and

Europe, and an intense live show, soon saw the band building a strong following.

Original vocalist Heath was replaced by Adam Frakes-Sime from Blood Oath in 1998, and they really

started to come into their own with second album, ‘An Expression of Repressed Violence’ (Kingfisher

Records), that saw a much faster aspect to their sound bursting to the fore, the hardcore influences

being fused with Slayer-esque guitars and double-kick drum mayhem.

However, it was with the ferocious third album, ‘Carved from Empty Words’, released by Century

Media in 2000, that they realised their full potential, and the band hit the road across Europe and

the States, touring with everyone from Agnostic Front and Hatebreed to Biohazard and Soulfly.

The band’s fourth and final album was 2003’s ‘A New Darkness Upon Us’, supported by more

extensive touring and a now-legendary appearance on the main stage at the first Download festival,

although several line-up changes, including the departures of founding members Ian Glasper and

Antony Mowbray, saw Stampin’ Ground eventually folding in 2006.

Fast forward almost twenty years to 2025, when three-fifths of the classic ‘Carved from Empty

Words’ line-up reunited to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of that seminal album. Adam

Frakes-Sime, Adrian Stokes and Ian Glasper teamed up with Paul Fletcher from Unite and Jim

Saunders from The Seventh Cross and M**der One, to breathe new life into those much-loved songs

one more time.

A sold-out headline date in London and appearances at Damnation and Revolution Calling festivals

were so well-received, it’s apparent that people still want to hear those classic songs, and the band

can still do them ruthless justice. You can expect more live chaos and maybe even some new

material in 2026.