Dear Friends, Metal-heads and Martyrs of Stigz…
There’s so much going on in our uncanny world at the moment that it isn’t fair that you are kept in the dark. In fact that has never been something that we’ve wanted, but like life is unpredictable and reality is warped to the point of draining our existence of its mystery, beauty and purpose countless issues have surfaced time and time again. 2008 was a very difficult year for Stigz. We had reached a crossroad where we needed to re-evaluate a lot of stuff as a band; everything from A-Z and when we realized that we had taken a lot of things for granted and got too absorbed in our own indulgences that we had to make a serious decision to cut the crap and get the hell back on track. We realized we were surrounded by many people who were just confused, opportunist, parasites that sucked off us, we were too caught up in insignificant, trivial shit and worried about everyone around us, but ourselves. We changed a lot of things. We had to kick some shit around, sever many ties and wake up to make a better year out of 2008. We are many things… but we have always been a band that’s been honest with our fans, there’s no illusion of grandeur there. And through the years we’ve turned our backs on so many people who love us, who’ve stood by us and many who are the real heroes of this story.
So to all of you who’ve stood by us in our humble beginnings, through the ‘Hollow Dreams’ era and through the ‘Silent Chaos Serpentine’ saga… We are truly, truly, truly SORRY for any screw-ups on our part and we THANK YOU for believing in us.
So we entered 2009 with a furious passion, strategy, purpose and a new awakening and the last 5 months have been nothing short of phenomenal.
We said bye, bye to the parties, bid farewell to the substances and came down our high horses to make things right once again… knowing that there will be repercussions for our actions, that’s simply how the pendulums of this earth swings. But we are not a band that’s ever been intimidated, afraid or threatened by anything or anyone else and if we must bite the bullet in the name of consequence then so be it. Besides so many jealous, shallow and close minded Neanderthals have tried to blemish our reputation and the good name of Stigmata in the last few years, while others with their ulterior motives, hidden agendas and dramatic bug-shit have tired to de-motivate us, lied to our fans, our peers and built a pre-fabricated bubble of rivalry and competition that it was time to show the little guns how to tango in the fire… it was time for us to very cordially and emphatically say ‘Fuck You’ back.
The Band:
Stigmata haven’t had it easy since we started in 1999/2000, there have been high points and so many low points with line-up changes, tragedy, catastrophe, adversity that it truly amazes us to think we are going to hit the big number ‘10’ next year. You know how most bands these days who play 2 gigs a year, take the easy way out and record their music, get some airplay, a few reviews and then walk the walk and talk the talk like they are the ‘shit’… but a real Metal fan can’t be cheated. What makes Metal stand apart from the rest of the countless packs is the integrity, the honesty, the raging fire to achieve the impossible and the essence of it all; that they know their stuff, they can compose great music and perform it live like only professionals could. Most of these guys keep changing bands every few years the way they change their underwear, while for others it’s about getting laid, getting high and jerking-off in their spotlight of 15 minutes of fame. For Stigz and a handful of others it’s about longevity, about showing the world that Sri Lankans and Asians can scar and scorch the face of the sun with our talent, it’s about loving what we create and accepting that we are who and what we are. All what needs to be known right now is that Stigmata is in a very good place, we are unbreakable and we are driven beyond comprehension. Any problems we may have within the band internally have all been resolved. There might be another change within our ranks but fear not, it’s under control and we’ll elaborate on that very soon.
2009:
The year began with a BANG and a brilliant opportunity presented to us by our old friend Delon Weerasinghe who hooked us up with legendary travel icon Ian Wright who interviewed Stigmata and asked us to perform ‘A Dead Rose Wails for Light’ for his new travel series ‘Out of Bounds’ which airs on the Discovery Channel. Over 1 billion people around the world watch this program and it was an honor for us to meet Ian and his crew who were the most humble, down to earth guys that our Rock Star Poseurs could learn a thing or two from. He was funny, charismatic and most of all very supportive since he was a Rock fan himself. The interview went great and we performed ‘A Dead Rose…’ for him three times. We had some of our close friends and fans over, and the shoot was at Andrew’s place on his rooftop. So a BIG thank you goes out to all of you who were there and to Andrew’s folks for enabling us to raise some merry hell and rattle the foundations of every home along Templer’s Road.
Press/Media Exposure:
Stigmata is at no.11 on www.themetalforge.com on the site’s Top 50 CD Reviews of All Time. Some mighty big bands up there… and ‘Silent Chaos Serpentine’ received a brilliant review and has been on the poll for over two years now.
Featured as one of the Top Unsigned Artistes of the Month in ’08 on www.ultimate-guitar.com with ‘SCS’ hailed as a guitar inspired record.
‘Hollow Dreams’ and ‘SCS” were reviewed on Dubai’s top webzine www.themetalreporter.net this year.
Stigmata featured as Sri Lanka’s finest band on www.metal-archives.com.
‘Silent Chaos Serpentine’ reviewed on www.tmetal.com with a great rating.
‘Silent Chaos Serpentine’ reviewed on extreme metal site Black Belle Music www.freewebs.com/bbmrev/stigmata.htm.
‘A Dead Rose Wails for Light’ was reviewed on www.nonelouder.com.
Print Media Local 2009:
Stigmata cover story and feature on the Sunday Times Magazine (April 12 issue).
Stigmata cover story and feature on the Nation Soul Magazine (April 19 issue).
‘A Dead Rose Wails for Light’ reviewed on the April issue of the Leisure Times.
On the Net:
Check out the brand new Myspace layout created this week by Tenny which features international tours, local gigs, reviews, gig photographs, music and live videos, recording sessions, discography, Stigmata tunes and loads more. It’s the Official Portal for all things Stigz and has now passed a monumental 38, 950 views!!! http://myspace.com/stigmatasrilanka
See the new video for Stigmata’s acclaimed first sing le “A Dead Rose Wails for Light” off our new record on our myspace, www.youtube.com and also on the number 1 local site for all things Metal and Rock in Asia www.loudisland.com.
Stigmata has nearly 120, 000 collective views on www.youtube.com, so check out live clips, videos, studio sessions and more.
International Tours:
We have two gigs in Maldives pending at the moment and we are negotiating Aussie, Dubai, India and a few other countries to tour.
However Stigmata is billed to headline Southern Ultimate Explosion 2009 in Malaysia on the 11th and 12th July at the Rookies Club. Stigz will play alongside the likes of Predicate Not Defined, Deona Cult Deluna, Fear MNN, Karmapura, Wynken Delirium, Blind Tribe, Flying Sahara just to name a few. Stigz will perform for one and a half hours on both days starting at 6.15pm.
The Recording:
It’s been exactly one year since we started recording album number 3 and there have been complications along the way. And since Stigmata isn’t a band to depend on studio gimmicks and technological tricks like most we take pride in having to lay down every single arrangement and part to perfection. We are returning to the studio today (6/05/2009) almost one year since we laid the drums down last Wesak. Javeen’s prepared to nail the bass down this week, and this time around we are working to a strict 2-3 week deadline because we have a very special friend in Europe who has agreed to do the final mix and master of the new record in Germany. We are hoping everything works out to plan and despite the obvious delay there is a lot of good that’s come out of it. One is that we are fortunate to be able to work with this super cool dude, who we will reveal in due course and another is that ALL the new tracks have finally taken their permanent shape, a lot of changes have been made and because we’ve performed some of these songs locally and internationally we have been able to really work on the tracks, on every detail intricate or otherwise. From the grand opus “March of the Saints’ to the mind-fuck trip of ‘The Summoning Cry of Aries’ to the ethereal rapture of ‘Nothing’ and the crushing ‘Spiral Coma’… all the songs have a new life now. Consider all the earlier recordings and versions of the tracks as demos if you may. Those of you who were at “Our Silent Revolution” at the Punchi Theater witnessed the songs with their new snarling, snapping ferocity.
Metal 4 the Nation with the iconic Orth:
Tyronne Silva drummer extraordinaire and Tech/Death legends Orth are set to embark on a two week tour of Sri Lanka with Stigmata as support in August this year. Being the first island-wide Extreme Metal Tour everyone’s super excited and working hard to make the Metal 4 the Nation Tour a mega success. Let me take time to say that it is a real honor to perform with such great musicians and we in Stigz are looking forward to raising some merry hell!!!
Thank You for taking the time to read this. We hope to keep you updated monthly on everything that’s new and worth discussing. Ladies; you know we appreciate every single one of you and Gentlemen; without you we wouldn’t be able to have the most kick ass gigs in town… and without you guys imagine how desolate the pit would be? You guys make it worth it. Every struggle, all our pain and all the blood we’ve shed…
So be not afraid, step into our world…
Ride the Lunar Tide
Stigmata 
PS – To the handful of people on their sanctimonious trip that Rock in Sri Lanka is dead… what can we say? You guys better either stop whatever it is you are smoking or switch substances pretty fast. Just get on FB or the Net and you’ll see how hard most of the Bands are working. Sri Lankan Rock ‘n Roll is in a better place than it’s ever been. The poison godmachine and radio mediums are irrelevant and dying fast. Deal with it.
