I had to give Albert and Gilbert away to a more conducive environment. Broke my heart to do that 'cos I never though in my 25 years of sinning, living, screwing up, learning from most of my mistakes, doing whatever it is that I do best that I would grow attached to two tortoises. I trust though that we found them a good home; and there's a star tortoise there as well named Tina... and if you've read my Albert posts you'd definitely figure out that the cocky bastard must be having the time of his life.

Right that's off my chest. For what it's worth the three dogs are still here driving me a little crazier everyday.

I want to THANK you; all of you who've made the effort to go check out Stigmata's latest tunes, news, gimmicks and also our myspace out it's passed 30, 750 views now... And that's no small feat for a Band hailing from a paradise nestled in the large Indian Ocean's arms.
Things are finally materializing for us and it's taken over a year to get back on track because we surrounded ourselves with too many people who were with us for a 'ride', kids who
only wanted to reach puberty and experience life's oddest and most precarious moments, individuals who serenaded us with their praises and advocacy only to use us, climb outta their proverbial holes and tombs and get more exposure, use our contacts and then give us their rendition of a Judas Kiss ultimately.

But here is the best part... I have absolutely ZERO anger about it. Regret yes, of course... 'cos time wasted can never be retrieved or brought back. That is the thing I regret the most... the fact that we were on our high horses and didn't really open our minds and hearts and see through the transparent, plastic, trend infested hoards who surrounded us. And here's why we couldn't...

One thing was the intoxication... we were too high most of the while... and no matter who says what if you're high enough in times of triumph and tribulation you tend to mix up the two, neglect yourself and the things that really ought to matter... and finally you become a parody of everything you hate to become.

Second thing was that we made a lot of bad decisions. We were influenced by a lot of folks around us because we actually THOUGHT they had our best interests at heart. This part was worse than the constant inebriation I tell you. 'Cos the reality is that no one else can have our best interests at heart.

Third; we allowed our internal conflict as a unit and a team to be seen, assessed and viewed like it was some reality fucking sitcom to too many people.

Four; we kind of sought the company of the wrong type of women... and by that I am not being discriminating it's just that there are always those who catch you in their intricate webs for all the wrong reasons and although you might even know this - sometimes you tend to just go with the flow and not question the fuck ups - paving the way towards a world of right royal fuck ups... unnecessary fuck ups and after awhile things start to fall into place but you can't make sense of the pieces.

Five; the combination of all of this made our existence a very putrid one. Our visions got blurred, our goals seemed to dangle like a marionette puppet on a string on a dark horizon just before us always calling to us, but always out of reach. And the fact that we were high and on our high horses made these things worse.

It's different here you know; especially for us. 'Cos we have been a Band now for almost 10 years and it's true that I've been doing this since I was 14 or 15... but still you get used to a lifestyle and then it's hard to do any self reflection 'cos arrogance and pomposity tends to shape the ugly face of an ego and then everything goes down in flames.

We've come to realize - sometime ago in fact - that we need to clean up, get our focus back on the things that matter, patch things up with each other, tie a leash on the fucking egos and build it a dog house inside the vaults of ourselves, we needed to learn how, and we needed to re-analyze everything... because things were changing and people who used us as a mere entity and a brand were stabbing us and slitting our throats in our sleep. And boy was it a long, worthless sleep.

Look at us now... More focused, more united than ever. We've found a very special, spiritual place that keeps all of us together... conjoined spirits not wandering restlessly anymore but voyaging with a purpose... a purpose that is compatible with our goals and visions. It was time to not remain quiet and turn the other cheek, it was time to show who the pioneering Rock/Metal Band in the country really was, and when it came down to beeswax and honey that we 5 merry bastards could outsmart, outplay and make sushi out of anyone - especially the new generation of flavor of the week hit squads - who dared step on our path.

It was bye, bye sleep... bye, bye justifications and excuses and time to re-own this house... this home of ours... We'll fight fire with fire and give as much as any of our adversaries sought to give. All the wolves in sheep's clothing are now scattering about with their transparent skin sacks on fire. And I am sadistic enough to appreciate retribution served on a nice, silver platter.

BUT we realized the most important thing... that none of these things matter at all... and don't mean fuck all if we are unable to appreciate the REAL things that we've sidelined and somehow put aside for way too long.

Our FANS... our true FRIENDS... OURSELVES. We are doing a ton of promotions and press now; we've come down from our high horses and we've shunned the egos aside - at least we are humble enough to admit and accept all of this - and are calling out to our fans from 1999 to 2009... EVERYONE who still is willing to give us a chance. We were so full of ourselves and we needed to wake the hell up pretty fast because we were pissing on our own wake... and that was not just disturbing it was downright demeaning.

There are people who've stuck with us through all of this from the word go; when we were just school kids struggling to play 'Unforgiven 2'. When we had short hair, big goofy smiles and looked like chipmunks till we took to the stage and even then had a tendency to concoct mayhem (that always came naturally). There are people who love us for our 'Hollow Dreams' era (not just our first record but the entire country's first metal album released in 2003) and those who love us for our 'Silent Chaos Serpentine' era. To hell with divisions.
By Jupiter's left hairy testicle and his right shiny testicle a Band needs to evolve... and we did evolve, always have... but in the process of progression we'd forgotten some of our dearest fans and friends... not intentionally but because our heads were so far up our asses that we couldn't appreciate the roots... the past. And anyone who forgets where they come from - anyone like that is a useless case that might as well slit their own throats and drown in their own blood if you ask me.

So we've picked up the shattered pieces and shards and glued them together, we've re-stitched old wounds and given all our scars their due. Ok... we've made mistakes and I would say a LOT of them and about one year ago we started to distance ourselves from certain people and that's one of the best decisions we've made in our lives. These Judas's and Brutus's can wallow in their stews. Fine with us. Just stay the hell away from us.

So we've sent out a strong, honest message to the people who've believed in us, people who've loved us and then felt betrayed, people who couldn't stand to see the Rock Star syndrome crush us like we were flies under a construction vehicle's tires.

With a conscience that has been scrubbed and cleaned up, minds that aren't clogged with fables and lore and bodies more fit than ever... Stigmata are focused and ready to write not just a few chapters but an entire book of this new era; one where we are taking on our foes strategically and tactfully, one where if they spit on our faces we cut out their tongues, one where we are ready to take on the world without letting ANYTHING get in our way.

Change does not come to those who wait for it.

Change comes to those who fight for it.

And I'll be damned if we are ever going to lose track again... ever.