Stigmata (band)
Encyclopedia
Stigmata is a Sri Lanka
n heavy metal
band based in Colombo
, Sri Lanka
, formed in 1999. This band is not to be confused with the legendary hardcore/metal band, Stigmata, from Troy, Ny.
band Arch Enemy
. The band's style is a mix of thrash metal
along with some death metal
, and hard rock
influences, laced with nuances of classical, Latin, jazz, blues, baila, and eastern rhythms.
With bass player Shehan Gray and drummer Anik Jayasekara they released their first single, "Fear", which topped the local radio rock-chart show. In 2000 they recorded another, "Voices," which was a sensation in the stagnant local music industry, and was a chart topping hit. In 2001 the band took on drummer Dilukshan Jayawardena following the departure of Jayasekara due to personal reasons. The band released their first EP
, Morbid Indiscretion
, in 2002, containing the singles "The Dying Winter Sleeps," "Thicker Than Blood," and the instrumental "Andura." At the time the band also covered music by international bands such as Deep Purple
, Metallica
, System of a Down
and Led Zeppelin
as well as bands not so popular in the country at that time such as Iron Maiden
, Iced Earth
, Judas Priest
and Cradle of Filth
, which made them revolutionary by exposing Sri Lankans to music many in the country had never heard before.
, in August 2003 on the local Rock Company label. The band continued to influence many youth in the country to form their own Heavy Metal bands and carve a unique Sri Lankan Heavy Metal sound.
In 2004, Vije Dhas became Stigmata's bass player, after Shehan Gray left for Australia. Former drummer Dilukshan temporarily stepped in after Nishantha Fernando left the band earlier that year. In 2005 the band found permanent drummer Osanda Wangeesa and the range of the band was further increased, with the addition of double bass drumming. In late 2004 the band also recorded the successful acoustic track titled "Lucid" which made innovative use of the Indian tabla
, played by Sri Lankan percussionist Jananath Warakagoda. This was a prelude to the heavier, electric version of this song released on the bands' second studio album, Silent Chaos Serpentine, in February 2006. This was followed up by concerts in the Maldive Islands in June 2006. Drummer Ranil 'Jacky' Senarath joined the band in August 2005 after the departure of Osanda. Vije Dhas left the Band in 2008 and the Band now have their longtime friend and bassist extraordinaire Javeen Soysa who performed with the Band in Maldives in 2006. In October 2008 the Band was featured on Ultimate Guitar's Unsigned Artists Of The Month
In 2009, Stigmata released A Dead Rose Wails for Light which is also available on Band's myspace, while the Band was recently interviewed and asked to perform A Dead Rose Wails for Light for Ian Wright's "Out of Bounds" a travel series on the Discovery Channel. The band headlined for the SUE (Southern Ultimate Explosion) 2009 in Johor Malaysia.
making them the first ever Sri Lankan band to tour there.
Former members
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band based in Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, formed in 1999. This band is not to be confused with the legendary hardcore/metal band, Stigmata, from Troy, Ny.
Early years
Suresh De Silva, Andrew Obeysekara and Tennyson Napolean formed the band in 1999 at S. Thomas' College, Mt Lavinia, where they were schoolmates. They chose the name Stigmata from the 1998 album Stigmata by melodic death metalMelodic death metal
Melodic death metal is a heavy metal music style that combines elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with elements of death metal. The style was developed during the early and mid-1990s, primarily in England and Scandinavia...
band Arch Enemy
Arch Enemy (band)
Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a supergroup, from Halmstad, formed in 1996. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, and Eucharist to name a few. It was founded by Carcass guitarist Michael Amott along with Johan...
. The band's style is a mix of thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
along with some death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
, and hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
influences, laced with nuances of classical, Latin, jazz, blues, baila, and eastern rhythms.
With bass player Shehan Gray and drummer Anik Jayasekara they released their first single, "Fear", which topped the local radio rock-chart show. In 2000 they recorded another, "Voices," which was a sensation in the stagnant local music industry, and was a chart topping hit. In 2001 the band took on drummer Dilukshan Jayawardena following the departure of Jayasekara due to personal reasons. The band released their first EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Morbid Indiscretion
Morbid Indiscretion
Morbid Indiscretion is the first EP by Sri Lanka-based heavy metal band, Stigmata. The EP was released on May 23, 2002. The EP sold out in less than 3 months. All three songs would appear on their next album, Hollow Dreams....
, in 2002, containing the singles "The Dying Winter Sleeps," "Thicker Than Blood," and the instrumental "Andura." At the time the band also covered music by international bands such as Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
, Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, System of a Down
System of a Down
System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California. The band was formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian , Daron Malakian , Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan...
and Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
as well as bands not so popular in the country at that time such as Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
, Iced Earth
Iced Earth
Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band from Tampa, Florida. Originally formed under the name "Purgatory" in 1984, Iced Earth has released a total of ten studio albums, one live album, three EP's, two compilations and boxsets...
, Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
and Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band, formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal, and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily...
, which made them revolutionary by exposing Sri Lankans to music many in the country had never heard before.
Hollow Dreams and Silent Chaos Serpentine
In 2003, drummer Nishantha Fernando joined the band following the departure of Dilukshan for higher education. The success of the original singles released up to this point culminated in the band launching their first album, Hollow DreamsHollow Dreams
Hollow Dreams is the début full-length studio album by Sri Lanka-based heavy metal band, Stigmata. The album was released in 2003. Another noteworthy factor is that this was the first Heavy Metal album released by a Sri Lankan band.- Track listing :...
, in August 2003 on the local Rock Company label. The band continued to influence many youth in the country to form their own Heavy Metal bands and carve a unique Sri Lankan Heavy Metal sound.
In 2004, Vije Dhas became Stigmata's bass player, after Shehan Gray left for Australia. Former drummer Dilukshan temporarily stepped in after Nishantha Fernando left the band earlier that year. In 2005 the band found permanent drummer Osanda Wangeesa and the range of the band was further increased, with the addition of double bass drumming. In late 2004 the band also recorded the successful acoustic track titled "Lucid" which made innovative use of the Indian tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
, played by Sri Lankan percussionist Jananath Warakagoda. This was a prelude to the heavier, electric version of this song released on the bands' second studio album, Silent Chaos Serpentine, in February 2006. This was followed up by concerts in the Maldive Islands in June 2006. Drummer Ranil 'Jacky' Senarath joined the band in August 2005 after the departure of Osanda. Vije Dhas left the Band in 2008 and the Band now have their longtime friend and bassist extraordinaire Javeen Soysa who performed with the Band in Maldives in 2006. In October 2008 the Band was featured on Ultimate Guitar's Unsigned Artists Of The Month
In 2009, Stigmata released A Dead Rose Wails for Light which is also available on Band's myspace, while the Band was recently interviewed and asked to perform A Dead Rose Wails for Light for Ian Wright's "Out of Bounds" a travel series on the Discovery Channel. The band headlined for the SUE (Southern Ultimate Explosion) 2009 in Johor Malaysia.
Psalms of Conscious Martyrdom (2010–present)
The bands third album, Psalms of Conscious Martyrdom, was released on June 26, 2010. The album was popular enough to help stigmata get a tour of AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
making them the first ever Sri Lankan band to tour there.
Style and lyrical themes
The lyrical themes of the band are generally from poetry by the bands' vocalist lyricist Suresh and cover topics such as apathy, child abuse, politics, war, social degradation and inner struggle. However the Band's Third Album sees Stigmata dealing with fresh themes like Psychic Voyages, Spiritual and Para-Psychological Endeavors, Suicide etc.Studio releases
- 2003: Hollow DreamsHollow DreamsHollow Dreams is the début full-length studio album by Sri Lanka-based heavy metal band, Stigmata. The album was released in 2003. Another noteworthy factor is that this was the first Heavy Metal album released by a Sri Lankan band.- Track listing :...
- 2006: Silent Chaos SerpentineSilent Chaos SerpentineSilent Chaos Serpentine is the second full-length studio album by Sri Lanka-based heavy metal band, Stigmata. The album was released in January 2006....
- 2010: Psalms of Conscious MartyrdomPsalms of Conscious MartyrdomPsalms of Conscious Martyrdom is the third studio album by Sri Lankan heavy metal band Stigmata, released in June 2010. The album has been described as "an incredible journey through passageways of extreme metal with amazing technical dexterity, infectious melodies and heavy grooves to rip the skin...
'
Various artists compilations
- 2003: Rock Company Compilation I
- 2005: Rock Company Compilation II
- 2008: Sri Lankan Heavy Metal Compilation Volume 1
Singles
- "Fear" - (1999)
- "Redemption" - (1999)
- "Voices" - (2000)
- "Thicker than Blood" - (2002)
- "The Dying Winter Sleeps" - (2002)
- "Extinction" - (2003)
- "Lucid" (Acoustic) - (2005)
- "Solitare" - (2006)
- "My Malice" - (2007)
- "A Dead Rose Wails for LightA Dead Rose Wails for LightA Dead Rose Wails for Light is a single by Sri Lanka-based heavy metal band, Stigmata. The Single was released in 2008 and was performed on Ian Wrights 'Out of Bound' on Discovery Channel., The single was later released on the bands third album, Psalms of Conscious Martyrdom...
" - (2008/9) - "Purer (Libera Nos a Malo)" - (2010)
Band members
Current members- Suresh De Silva - vocals, lyrics (1999–present)
- Tennyson Napolean - rhythm guitar (1999–present)
- Andrew Obeysekara - lead guitar (1999–present)
- Paniy Appa Perera - bass guitar (2008–present)
- Jonna Payasinghe- drums (2011–present)
Former members
- Yohan Gunawardena - drums (1998–1999)
- Shehan Gray - bass guitar (2000–2004)
- Anik Jayasekara - drums (1999–2001)
- Dilukshan Jayawardena - drums (2001–2003), (2004)
- Nishantha Fernando - drums (2003–2004)
- Osanda Wangeesa - drums (2004–2005)
- Vije Dhas - bass guitar (2004–2008)
- Ranil "Jackson" Senarath - drums (2005–2009)