Review: Stampin’ Ground / North Side Kings

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Stampin’ Ground / North Side Kings
“Allied Forces”
(Thorp Records)

The brutal hardcore oi of Britain’s Stampin’ Ground is lent to songs by Judge, Vio-Lence, Cro-Mags, Knuckledust, Agnostic Front and Inside Out on this split CD where the two bands pay homage to their “hardcore, metal and thrash heroes.”

However, it is the American hardcore band North Side Kings that really stands out. The group’s choice of S.O.D.’s “Fuck the Middle East” spells out the reason for doing this album but the better tracks are the punk-metal “I’d Rather be Sleeping” (D.R.I.), “I Want More” (Suicidal Tendencies), the theme to The A-Team and Cro-Mags’ “Malfunction”.