Double Review: "Silent Chaos Serpentine" and "Psalms of Conscious Martyrdom" by Stigmata

Posted by Chris the Mad Scientist on October 21, 2010 at 6:08 PM

Metal is not exclusive to any one country or location, as any fan of the genre knows. Where the spirit and drive to play heavy and loud exists, metal will find a way. So it is with Sri Lankan group Stigmata, a powerful and unique group with the heart of metal deeply embedded in all five members. Stigmata is one of only thirteen groups identified by the Encyclopedia Metallum as being located in Sri Lanka, a country better known for its civil war and tea production than any sort of music scene. Nonetheless, Stigmata has a lot of skill and potential appeal. Their two most recent albums, Silent Chaos Serpentine and Psalms of Conscious Martyrdom, are the stuff that makes most bands into humongous successes.

Silent Chaos Serpentine boasts a surprising number of influences, most of which appear in the first two songs. The most prevalent style is a Nevermore-influenced style of progressive thrash with power metal vocals. Vocalist Suresh de Silva is a monster with a microphone, effortlessly switching from a harsh, barking scream to soaring clean singing, and then moving to a mid-range clean vocal with a very martial, commanding presence. "Jazz Theory" is where this album really starts to get engaging, with a mariachi-like section suddenly breaking into the middle of the song and providing a delightful and informal interlude. "Lucid" opens with a gorgeous clean-sung intro that sees de Silva reaching Bruce Dickinson levels of emotion and expression, and he keeps that level of excellence for the entire song. "Wingless" has the feel of an Opeth song for its intro and refrain, transitioning into and out of an Unearth-style riff on the verses, making for an amazing contrast.

While the production on Silent Chaos Serpentine is not the greatest, it is still better than what you'll hear from a lot of black metal bands, and the stylistic diversity adds more than enough to the record to make up for the low production value. In its basic interpretation, Silent Chaos Serpentine is a largely successful attempt at achieving a fast, heavy, thrash-inspired power metal album with harsh vocals and epic compositions. In other words, this album is a much better version of 3 Inches of Blood's first album, Battlecry Under a Winter Sun. The inclusion of multiple different styles and outside influences is what pushes this album from being solid to exceptional.

However, the music gets even better on Psalms of Conscious Martyrdom, an album that pushes boundaries and dares to be more than what conventional metal fans would consider acceptable. De Silva shows just how far Stigmata has come in the first half of "SpiralComa", managing to sound like Rob Halford one moment and Dani Filth the next. It truly takes a rare and talented vocalist to pull that contrast off, and de Silva does it with remarkable ease. It's one of many amazing bits of musicality included throughout the entire album, giving Psalms of Conscious Martyrdom the feel of a treasure hunt, building anticipation for the next piece of musical delight to be uncovered.

From the astounding bass solo by Javeen Soysa on "Purer (Libera Nos a Malo)" to the brilliant layered vocals on "The Summoning Cry of Aries"; from the grandiose composition of "A Dead Rose Wails for Light" to the diverse and complex influences on "Od(d)yssey", there is not a moment on this album that is boring or stale. Every section of every song is dynamic, always moving towards something or creating a transition into a new part. The rising and falling atmosphere gives Psalms of Conscious Martyrdom a truly interconnected feel, leaving the audience feeling linked with the album's entire structure from start to finish.

Stigmata has thrown down the gauntlet with these two albums, making the statement that they are here to expand the horizons of metal as much as they are able. Silent Chaos Serpentine lays a solid foundation of expressive progression, and Psalms of Conscious Martyrdom adds endless options for growth and expansion onto the foundation. If this is what metal from Sri Lanka sounds like, then Stigmata needs to start cultivating a scene there quickly, because both of these albums can be seen as stepping stones to creating something even more intelligent, grand, and brutal in the future. This is a band definitely worthy of being followed by all metal fans.

Silent Chaos Serpentine Score: 7.5 out of 10

Psalms of Conscious Martyrdom Score: 8.5 out of 10

Track Listings

Silent Chaos Serpentine
1. Swinemaker
2. Forgiven, Forgotten
3. Jazz Theory
4. Lucid
5. My Malice
6. Wingless
7. Solitude
8. Book of Skin

Psalms of Conscious Martyrdom
1. SpiralComa
2. Purer (Libera Nos a Malo)
3. The Summoning Cry of Aries
4. Nothing
5. A Dead Rose Wails for Light
6. If Alpha Meets Omega
7. Od(d)yssey
8. March of the Saints

Album Personnel

Silent Chaos Serpentine
Suresh de Silva - Vocals
Andrew Obeyesekere - Lead guitar
Tennyson Napolean - Rhythm guitar
Vije Dhas - Bass guitar
Ranil Senarath - Drums

Psalms of Conscious Martyrdom
Suresh de Silva - Vocals
Andrew Obeyesekere - Lead guitar
Tennyson Napolean - Rhythm guitar
Javeen Soysa - Bass guitar
Taraka Senewirathne - Drums

Stigmata
Download - stigmata's performance at the Melbourne forum...



Setlist:
1. Andura
2. SpiralComa
3. Purer (Libera Nos A Malo)
4. Jazz Theory
5. The Summoning Cry of Aries
6. March of The Saints

Length: 45:18

Sound Quality: A-

MP3: http://www.mediafire.com/?e832mkq524a6adb

Dead Meadow, Stigmata @ The Forum Theatre, Melbourne (14/10/2010)

Gig Reviews by Domam, 17th October, 2010

Things started to get a little weird when the creature came on stage. He was about 6”2, covered completely in long brown hair. There was a red light where his eyes should be. He came on stage towards the end of Dead Meadow’s mind bending set, lumbering around in front of the crowd, shaking his hairy fists.

In any other place, with any other band, the creature would have seemed out of place. But under the star spangled ceiling of the Forum Theatre and with the band exploding around him, the creature’s presence, like the music, seemed just right.

Dead Meadow are in town for The Melbourne Festival, joining the likes of John Cale, Boredoms and The Drones for a month of musical madness, and on Thursday night the Washington three-piece proved to be the definition of psychedelic.

Things got off to a very loud but heart-warming start, with a set from Stigmata, who are (to borrow a phrase from John Darnielle) “the best ever death metal band out of…Sri Lanka.” Heroes in their home country, the hirsute five-piece are the first Sri Lankan act to tour Australia, and their set was just about the furthest thing you could imagine from a country known for cricket, tea and civil unrest.

With leather pants and hair down to their elbows, they looked like characters from Guitar Hero and sounded like it too. It was all windmills and face melting solos, blistering speed metal from the sub-continent. The tone of track titles like Spiral Coma and A Dead Rose Wails For Light belie the infectious enthusiasm of the band, lead by the permanently smiling Suresh De Silva. They seemed to be having a ball onstage, and though the set dragged a little towards the end, you’d have to be a pretty cold soul not to want to root for these guys.

Stigmata were loud, but Dead Meadow were deafening. They come onstage to a swirling wall of feedback and pulsing strobes, picked up their instruments, and from the first crunching chord from Jason Simon’s guitar, it was all very intense.

It’s somewhat hard to write about particular songs in this set. Obviously there were highlights, like the woozy blues of Good Moanin or the psych dirge At Her Open Door, but Dead Meadow have always been less about the tracks, and more about the feeling they create.

Songs seemed to cascade together, one riff melting into another. It was entrancing. While Simon is obviously the nucleus of the band, he is given great support from bassist Steve Killie and drummer Stephen McCarty, who keep things tight and focused, while Simon blasts out the sound. Needless to say, he is an excellent guitarist, switching with a flick of a pedal from blues, to psych to floating Pink Floyd-esque soundscapes.

As a frontman Simon had just about the least stage presence I’ve ever seen. He barely spoke to the audience, and to be honest, it was a good thing, as all anybody was thinking about was the music.

Everything just came together. The Forum has always been a great venue, and its cavernous space and pulsating light show put you in a very cool headspace. As the creature shuffled onstage, smoke swirled, lights pulsed and Simon’s guitar yelped and kicked the gig to a close.

Stigmata - in Melbourne.. more pictures...

Stigmata - Live in Melbourne

AILD states Sri Lankan gig as their most memorable!

As I Lay Dying bass player Josh Gilbert, who joined the band in 2006, recently talked with the StarPhoenix.

StarPhoenix: Describe As I Lay Dying's latest album The Powerless Rise.

Josh Gilbert: (Lead singer) Tim Lambesis wrote most of the lyrics, so the whole album centres around how he thinks, and we in the band agree with him, that people in general place a lot of importance in having material possessions or money. The album is kind of offering a solution to that. That way of thinking just dooms yourself to unhappiness. I guess it's just about having a more community-centric view on the world. Most of the problems you think you have are definitely due to financial reasons. It's not the deepest, most philosophical concept. It's pretty simple. But the record focuses on viewing simplicity as a positive thing.

SP: So do you think that's an attitude your fans can get on board with?

JG: We don't want to be a political band because, first and foremost, we want to be just a metal band that is musically entertaining and that other musicians can respect. But we really encourage fans to really read the lyrics and be aware of the message. At the same time, we don't want to ram that message down their throats. If they are just there for the music that's cool too. There's a lot of bands that I don't care to read the lyrics of because they're probably not something I'm interested in. I love Cannibal Corpse, but I'm not actually into slaughtering people. (laughs)

SP: How is the new album different from previous ones?

JG: It has been a slow growth. I've been a fan of the band since before (2003's) Frail World Collapse. But every record is pushed a little more toward cohesive songwriting. It started out as a more spastic, chaotic sound and every record it articulates a bit. This record, over the last record which was my first one with As I Lay Dying, we definitely spent a lot more time writing songs.

All around the details are a lot more thought out. We wrote a lot more songs and made cuts. I think about 40 songs were written. It was definitely a record where we would get an idea and really experiment with it.

SP:What has been your weirdest fan experience during your time with the band?

JG: There's actually not many weird ones. But there are these two girls, and I actually know them now because they come to every show anytime we're around Philadelphia. They bring gift cards and food gift certificates. It's just insane that these two girls are so stoked on our band and know all our songs. It's not weird at all, it's just crazy.

SP: What was your most memorable gig?

JG: We played Sri Lanka last December, which was the first time a band had played there in like 15 years because they had a civil war. The last person to play there was Ricky Martin before we played. The promoter said he was expecting 3,500 people, which is crazy. We can't even really draw that where we're from. We get there and this guy had bought pyro for us. And I guess Sri Lanka is famous for jewels, so they took our album for An Ocean Between Us to some jeweler; he made a mosaic out of jewels of our album cover. Then during our show a serious monsoon starts, so probably half the audience leaves, which was definitely nowhere near 3,500. But it was still a huge show; we were stoked.

SP: How does the band spend its time on the road?

JG: I think exploring is one of my favourite things, especially now because I'm into this hobby called Geocaching. The object is to use some sort of GPS and basically people hide these things called Geocaches, which is basically a small object with a log with it. You basically hide it somewhere and you give the co-ordinates but you try to make it hard to find. They are in every urban area in the world. There are literally like two million of them.

People make them really hard to find. There's been times where I've looked for one for like two hours and not found it. It sounds super nerdy, but if you have nothing to do it's great.

SP: What's your favourite album ever?

JG: It's between probably Deftones' White Pony, Andrew W.K. I Get Wet and At the Drive-In Relationship of Command. I do have a Deftones White Pony tattoo, though, so maybe that means it's my favourite.

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/entertainment/Dying+Josh+Gilbert+stresses+simplicity/3601742/story.html#ixzz11Nu5Ddpf

As I Lay Dying bass player Josh Gilbert, who joined the band in 2006, recently talked with the StarPhoenix.

StarPhoenix: Describe As I Lay Dying's latest album The Powerless Rise.

Josh Gilbert: (Lead singer) Tim Lambesis wrote most of the lyrics, so the whole album centres around how he thinks, and we in the band agree with him, that people in general place a lot of importance in having material possessions or money. The album is kind of offering a solution to that. That way of thinking just dooms yourself to unhappiness. I guess it's just about having a more community-centric view on the world. Most of the problems you think you have are definitely due to financial reasons. It's not the deepest, most philosophical concept. It's pretty simple. But the record focuses on viewing simplicity as a positive thing.

SP: So do you think that's an attitude your fans can get on board with?

JG: We don't want to be a political band because, first and foremost, we want to be just a metal band that is musically entertaining and that other musicians can respect. But we really encourage fans to really read the lyrics and be aware of the message. At the same time, we don't want to ram that message down their throats. If they are just there for the music that's cool too. There's a lot of bands that I don't care to read the lyrics of because they're probably not something I'm interested in. I love Cannibal Corpse, but I'm not actually into slaughtering people. (laughs)

SP: How is the new album different from previous ones?

JG: It has been a slow growth. I've been a fan of the band since before (2003's) Frail World Collapse. But every record is pushed a little more toward cohesive songwriting. It started out as a more spastic, chaotic sound and every record it articulates a bit. This record, over the last record which was my first one with As I Lay Dying, we definitely spent a lot more time writing songs.

All around the details are a lot more thought out. We wrote a lot more songs and made cuts. I think about 40 songs were written. It was definitely a record where we would get an idea and really experiment with it.

SP:What has been your weirdest fan experience during your time with the band?

JG: There's actually not many weird ones. But there are these two girls, and I actually know them now because they come to every show anytime we're around Philadelphia. They bring gift cards and food gift certificates. It's just insane that these two girls are so stoked on our band and know all our songs. It's not weird at all, it's just crazy.

SP: What was your most memorable gig?

JG: We played Sri Lanka last December, which was the first time a band had played there in like 15 years because they had a civil war. The last person to play there was Ricky Martin before we played. The promoter said he was expecting 3,500 people, which is crazy. We can't even really draw that where we're from. We get there and this guy had bought pyro for us. And I guess Sri Lanka is famous for jewels, so they took our album for An Ocean Between Us to some jeweler; he made a mosaic out of jewels of our album cover. Then during our show a serious monsoon starts, so probably half the audience leaves, which was definitely nowhere near 3,500. But it was still a huge show; we were stoked.

SP: How does the band spend its time on the road?

JG: I think exploring is one of my favourite things, especially now because I'm into this hobby called Geocaching. The object is to use some sort of GPS and basically people hide these things called Geocaches, which is basically a small object with a log with it. You basically hide it somewhere and you give the co-ordinates but you try to make it hard to find. They are in every urban area in the world. There are literally like two million of them.

People make them really hard to find. There's been times where I've looked for one for like two hours and not found it. It sounds super nerdy, but if you have nothing to do it's great.

SP: What's your favourite album ever?

JG: It's between probably Deftones' White Pony, Andrew W.K. I Get Wet and At the Drive-In Relationship of Command. I do have a Deftones White Pony tattoo, though, so maybe that means it's my favourite.

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/entertainment/Dying+Josh+Gilbert+stresses+simplicity/3601742/story.html#ixzz11Nu5Ddpf

High-Speed Owl - Yantra Mantra

Good day fellow rockers,

Highspeed Owl, a project I began last summer with a couple of my friends is coming to life. It started as a demo track for raven06 but after hearing my friends feedback it caught more attention than at first. I felt that it had potential for a concept. A concept which I have alwasy been interested in since I reside far away from my motherland and my beloved mates. The concept, which is sharing music/melodies through the internet and composing them from different places in the world is nothing new to our cyber culture. We fancy the same fashion with Milk Drop Revelation. I should also mention that there's no originator for this concept. And this isnt a band or a group. It is more of a community for people like you and me who just love exploring music in its many elements despite being stranded in vast distances. Hence Highspeed becomes this open ground to open minded musicians around the world.

Currently messenger, Justin Strollo from Rinse Repeat and Slow Moses and myself have been bearing Highspeed Owl using different gadgetry and instruments.The unit has brewed a brand new track called "yantra manra" and its 80% carved. Guitars by me, the hyptonizing flutes plus rattling thovil sounds by messenger and the inspiring vocals by Justin Strollo. We just need that last element to throw the track overboard and set it sail out in the open waters. I'll leave you to find out what this element is. If anyone is interested please pm me or reply to this thread and we'll send u the almost completed track. www.myspace.com/highspeedowl

Psalms of Conscious Martyrdom – Album

“Shut your eyes for they will burn

The Sun will spit its charring rays

while the hoards begin their march

Shut your ears; for their drums will burst

The shouts and screams of the multitudes, prepare yourself for the worst”

- March of the Saints – Stigmata

These five lines describe the unforgiving fury with which Stigmata’s third full length Psalms of Conscious Martyrdom will hit you. And trust me when I tell you, you will want to feel it make full contact with every bodily altar you posses, while you try to wrap your mind around its ferocious intricacy.

For those of you unfamiliar with Stigmata, they are the pioneering Heavy Metal act in Sri Lanka, the tiny island nation where Heavy Metal as a music genre and culture has seen a revival and expansion of heartening proportions over the last ten or so years. And throughout these ten years, Stigmata have been a torch bearer for the movement having released the country’s first Metal record ‘Hollow Dreams,’ followed by their second studio album ‘Silent Chaos Serpentine.’ And with their third record, ‘Psalms of Conscious Martyrdom,’ Stigmata’s statement to the metal world is one that is ambitious as it is bold – Metal is alive and kicking in Sri Lanka, and Stigmata is ready to wrap the metal world around their psalms and inject it with a venomous dose of what they call ‘Pure Sri Lankan Metal.’

And after giving the album a few hundreds spins on my player, I must say their statement as gallant as it is, makes quite a compelling case.

The record starts off with the seven minute epic ‘Spiral Coma’ that begins with the warm blow of a conch shell that gives way to front-man Suresh De Silva’s whispered growls and shrieks, that in turn welcome the fast paced, intricate and hard-hitting guitar riffs that carry and shift the song from tempo to mind boggling tempo. And from the very start of the record, one of Stigmata’s core musical elements, which is the musical dexterity and chemistry between axe-men Andrew Obeyesekere and Tennyson Napoleon is apparent as they build and weave a guitar partnership that is stylistically contrasting yet complementing. The guitar onslaught which continues throughout the album; with Tennyson’s crunchy riffing style and Andrew’s more fluid and climaxing style of playing; is a solid case as to how guitarists with vastly different playing styles techniques can superbly complement and build on each other.

And while I’m on the subject of guitar work, most tracks off the album are artfully nourished with guitar solos that carry Andrew’s lead guitar trademarks of speed, clarity, fluidity and evocative composition skills. I use the term artfully here for the reason that while Andrew is probably one of the most, if not the most musically advanced members of the band, his solos on the album never seem to overshadow or overwhelm the compositions as a whole. The album’s fourth track the nine minute ‘Nothing’ in particular is a guitar delight with a rapid and power-driven solo by Tennyson leading into a true masterpiece by Andrew that carries enough feel and emotion to quite honestly makes you shut your eyes and feel your very essence carried delicately yet unwaveringly into a musical orgasm. Andrew also does some remarkable solo work on the Album’s only instrumental track ‘If Alpha Meets Omega,’ a track that is a powerful tribute to Andrew’s strong Malmsteen influences, but still carries his own playing idiosyncrasies and composition style.

On bass guitar and drums respectively, Javeen Soysa and Taraka Senewirathne, the two newcomers to the Stigmata family, do a commendable job of keeping up with the complex and challenging music that Stigmata bleeds out, on what is their first full length studio recording. On the album’s second track ‘Purer,’ which is also probably the album’s most straightforward and most approachable track, Soysa pitches in with a short but strong bass solo which adds an almost pre-climax anticipation before the song soars off again. Drummer Taraka too has his shining moments on tracks like ‘The Summoning Cry of Aries,’and the mammoth ‘March of the Saints,’ where he does a solid job of leading and carrying the songs through different time-signature and stylistic changes. While the two might still be in search of their signature touches within the Stigmata sound, within just around two years of being with Stigmata, their effort on Psalms of Conscious Martyrdom is everything their band-mates could hope for.

Topping off and soaring over the instrumental section is Stigmata’s front-man and vocalist Suresh De Silva. And as with the progression from Hollow Dreams to Silent Chaos Serpentine, De Silva has shown significant progress in range, variation, control and vocal strength. While he does not have the crystal clear highs like the Mark Boals or Millie Matjevics of the world, his vocal style does have a raw, almost rustic and powerful quality that make it quite endearing. And as a lyricist and songwriter he is truly in a class of his own. His lyrics might at first read be quite cryptic and hard to analyze, yet they do have a quality that fascinates and wins you over time. And songs like Nothing, Purer and A Dead Rose Wails for Light in particular, quite honestly put him right up alongside lyricists like Warrel Dane in my books.

In terms of recording quality and production strength, the Album is definitely the best piece of metal work I have heard from Sri Lanka. Studio Engineer Ozzie Nugara of Q Audio Sri Lanka, has definitely outdone himself in capturing the audio and assisting with the mixing and mastering of the album. No easy task considering the lack of resources, and especially in-depth knowledge on professional recording and producing of Heavy Metal music in Sri Lanka. That said I would still love to see the band offered the chance to record in a European or American studio abroad with more resources and with someone with more experience (dare I hope for Andy Sneap?) and see what new delights they could conjure up.

With Album’s like Overkill’s Ironbound, Ozzy’s Scream, Blind Guardian’s At the Edge of Time, and Soilwork’s The Panic Broadcast, to name just a few, 2010 has certainly been a year full of hope and good tidings for the coming decade in the metal world. And I well and truly believe that with a few well planned international tours, and the right people listening in, Stigmata is well on their way to finally carving out their own stigmata on the metal world’s skin.

Visit Stigmata’s official Myspace at – Myspace.com/stigmatasrilanka