the Templars / Bottom of the Barrel split

Much as I’d like to go into amazingly geeky detail about this record, it’s nigh-impossible to find any sort of information about Oink! at all. All I can find out is that Oink! was a skinhead ‘zine that came out of New Jersey in the mid-to-late ’90s, and each issue came with a 7″ of some sort, featuring oi, punk, and ska bands. This split we have here is between American oi stalwarts the Templars and New York’s Bottom of the Barrel. Both tracks are strong examples of how oi actually used to have some serious low-end ass kicking qualities, as opposed to today’s “steetpunk.”

Don’t get me wrong… I love bands like the Briggs. But I miss what the Dropkick Murphys sounded like on those first few singles, before Mike Mccolgan left and they developed their Pogues fetish. Even Street Dogs only lasted an album before they started getting all Billy Bragg on me. I just like my punk rock with some rock to it, not tin whistles all the fucking time.

Anyhow, this 7″ is insanely hard to track down. It came out in 1997, and came with Oink! Skinzine #4. It’s on grey vinyl, and my copy didn’t have a cover, which you can see above, courtesy of Templar Fanatic. No clue as to pressing numbers.

the Templars / Bottom of the Barrel – Oink! split 7″