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| Sunday, 14 December 2003 |
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Unpredictable : Stigmata's Christmas gig by Umangi de Mel
'Black Christmas', the Stigmata X-mas gig promises their fans a very merry rocking X-mas. 'The catch of the show is we won't tell you where it is... if you want to catch us for 'Black Christmas', you're gonna have to do a bit of research," Suresh says with a very 'pierced' look on his face. 'Black Christmas' which will be held on December 19th will feature two other rock-steady bands opening for Stigmata. Paranoid Earthling, Stone Broke and Stigmata will do their own versions of Christmas Carols in addition to what they'll play, "We'll be playing tracks off the album, some of our new material and a few covers by 'Never More', 'Iced Earth' and 'Arch Enemy'," says Suresh. However, the highlight of the show will be the carols, "We'll re-work the carols, twist and re-make to perform in a cool twisted way," they say. Daring to be what they are, yet being admired by many up and coming bands Stigmata explain the reason they call it 'Black Christmas.' "Well, 'Black Christmas' doesn't necessarily connote anything which is negative but just that we like the different theme. The usual X-mas themes are either green or white but black complements and illuminates our style and our genre of music. Hence we will be depicting the spirit of X-mas in an unpredictable, non conventional manner." The guys reveal to the eager fans that there'll be an opportunity for a handful of fans to win tickets and CDs in advance, "Well it's done through a little contest which will be held through our website - www.stigmatarocks.com" Stigmata's hit album 'Hollow Dreams' has apparently sold over 1500 copies and the guys seem to have had a great year. "We actually thank everybody who supported throughout the year which has been a great one and we wish to conclude it on a high note which is going to be a superb show. 'Black Christmas' will be our last show for this year so best not miss it," says Suresh. They are a band that doesn't lack fame on name and people to hero worship them. "We approach things differently. We are more confident as a band especially in the context of composing new material," Suresh says adding that they could be more heavy, complex, diverse, aggressive innovative and that they possess more power depth, variety and a level of maturity, both characteristically and conceptually. Talking about having to keep up with the emerging musicians they say that they have a positive outlook about the matter. "As we've always said, competition will always motivate, it helps us remember that we've got to keep improving to take ourselves to the next level," they say and continue, to explain. "As a band we've created an innovative style of our own. We are one of the many bands that play mix genres, especially when it comes to heavy metal and hard rock. Not many bands blend different styles. Stigmata says that they incorporate Thrash. Speed, Progressive power, Depth, Classic rock, Black, Dark wave, Baila, new classical stiff and Fusion. "We just magnify on these aspects." Of course they sound very confident when they say that they are a solid outfit. "There's a lot of talented bands out there which we respect but still, in terms of tightness, the stage show, showmanship, and originality we feel that we are one of the leading rock bands." The youngsters look up to them and their popularity knows no end, speaking of which they say they are always willing to lend a helping hand. "We are straight forward and genuine, not just as five individuals but as one whole outfit since we remember the struggle that we had to go through when we started owing to a lot of senior folk and our so called industry," says Suresh and adds that they will always stand to help and guide any focused rock band. Suresh talks about their stage performance, "I think a very few bands do what we do in terms of conviction, honesty and a level of seriousness. Despite our present popularity our initial philosophy hasn't changed, which means we will still give our 150 per cent and perform irrespective of the size of the audience, and the crowd knows it." Getting down to discuss the main people behind the growing talent in the industry. Suresh says that unlike at the inception of Rock Company has broken down a lot of barriers for rock musicians in Sri Lanka. "We are not only thankful to Rock Company but we feel that it's about time that bands united as one for a genre of music which has been ignored, neglected and never taken seriously which is now clawing open a lot of sceptic eyes." Finally Stigmata says that they give news to a lot of people. "There's a revolution for rock and heavy metal and it's here to stay," they conclude. |
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In an era where scepticism seems to have blinded many folks, a
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