Amy and myself got the chance to have a talk with Stampin' Ground frontman Adam Frakes-Sime before their gig with December and The Haunted at the Birmingham Academy. Questions asked by Amy.

MM: How would you describe Stampin Ground to someone who has never heard the band?
Adam: Basically, Stampin’ Ground are a metal band that you can dance to. We take hardcore rhythms but with metal riffs. Energentic Metal so you get the best of both!

MM: What bands/individuals have had the biggest influence on you?
Adam: The band is into lots of different things, obviously there are key bands that we are all into, Slayer and Maiden for example. I’m into bands like Danzig, Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd etc, our guitarist Scott is into more traditional metal with the swords and dragons and stuff and Mobs is into old punk.

MM: Your latest album "Carved from Empty Words" was highly praised in the UK metal press. How was it received in Europe and the US? Adam: It went down pretty much perfectly everywhere as far as the reviews go.

MM: Were you happy were you with the end product?
Adam: Yes definitely, you can’t really take to much notice of the review because after all its only one persons opinion and you can’t believe your own hype. It’s obviously nice to read the good reviews but it doesn’t really bother me either way, good or bad. You have to keep it all into perspective.

MM: We thought the drumming on that album was amazing, how does Neil Hutton compare to Ade?
Adam: To be honest he knocks spots off him. He is infinitely better. Ade is an excellent drummer but the main reason we got rid of him was, we felt his drumming was less of a priority to him than it once was because his drumming was actually deteriorating. The way we got Neil was we saw him in one of his side projects and we’ve always said that guy is exactly what we want, so we got in touch with him and it all worked out eventually.

MM: How is the material for the new album coming along and is there a release date for it?
Adam: The album is written, its been written for along time but we haven’t got around to recording it. It should be in the next couple of weeks. We haven’t got a date either its just being negotiated but I’d like it to be out before summer as it’s a lot easier to get on festivals if you’ve got a new release.

MM: When & where was your greatest ever gig? Adam: I don’t know. I always enjoy playing but the big ones are probably the best. We played the Full Force Festival 2 years ago and that was awesome, we didn’t expect the kind of reaction we got there. Also, we did a tour with AFI about a year and a half ago which was a totally different crowd for us, we went down well at all the shows with them really. We have also played in Iceland, which was cool because not many bands play there. I think the last band to play there was Sick of it All years ago, before that was Iron Maiden.

MM: If you could choose any 3 bands past or present, who would you like play alongside?
Adam: The classic Danzig line-up, Classic Maiden and either the Beatles or the Stones.

MM: What are your favorite 3 albums of all time?
Adam: Probably the first Danzig album, "Powerslave" by Iron Maiden and …..(stops to think about it!) "Thriller’s" pretty amaizing isn’t it!

MM: What do you think of the UK metal scene in general at the moment?
Adam: I think it’s pretty embarrassing at the moment. Metal’s doing well here, but there isn’t a lot of bands that I personally regard as any good. To be honest no matter how big the metal scene gets it doesn’t really affect us because we’ve never had a large injection of cash to force us down the kid’s throats with advertising. The only way kids get to now us is by word of mouth and stuff anyway.

MM: What do you think of file sharing programs like Napster & Kazaa?
Adam: I really don’t know. I don’t actually use them myself. To be honest I don’t agree with it because the artists deserve to get money for their work, but I suppose if that’s the only way some people are going to hear it, its better than not hearing it at all.

MM: Finally what do you miss most when you’re on tour?
Adam: To be honest with you, what most people moan about on tour doesn’t really affect me. Food wise, I prefer not having to cook for myself anyway and prefer eating sandwiches and as for being around a load of blokes (I’m not into that way!) there’s always someone to have a laugh and get pissed with. So there’s nothing really I miss.

Thanks to Donna at Century Media (http://www.centurymedia.net), Adam for the interview and the rest of SG for an excellent gig. You can visit SG at http://www.stampin-ground.com or contact them at sg@stampin-ground.com.