Arts
Soul-searching issues meet killer sounds!
Picture a world spinning out of control, driven by the gods of lust, greed and profit, minds intricately carved with chaos, humanity ultimately bound toward that bitter ending. Combine this with a touch of killer vocals, distorted guitars, and heavy drum beats beautifully entwined with a Sri Lankan flavour.
This is The Ascetic Paradox (TAP) – Stigmata’s long-awaited new album which will have its launch show on Saturday, October 17 at the British School auditorium.
The album is unique and amazing in terms of music and theme.
The lyrics probe into the depths of the writer’s soul. Forged with a deep and meaningful concept, the album explores an array of mixed emotions, relating to the complexity of the human condition and the life unravelling before it.
At the Paragon Muzic Studio, last Sunday ( October 4) the album was played to the media and those closest to the band for the first time. The reactions at the listening, stood proof of the music’s power to move the audience.
‘TAP’ reaches out to each listener in a truly personal manner. The music takes a while to get used to, but once in your head the songs definitely keep coming back.
Both the lyrics and the artwork portrayed on the album reflect aspects of European folklore and Greek and Egyptian mythology.
Each of the characters depicted in the artwork is given a ‘familiar’ which according to European folklore of medieval times was believed to be a supernatural entity that would assist witches in their magic.
The familiars in the album art represent a person’s character, fitted inside an intricate clock mechanism and all connected to the one central lady of justice standing in the middle of the clock who symbolises piety or righteousness.
Each character represents a song off the record and each song is like a chapter in a book.
You need to follow the lyrics in order to follow the story or it would not make sense. However the final ending of the story is an open concept.
The seven characters also depict one of the seven sins, namely pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth.
Madhri Samaranayake, 29, the artist behind the fabulous album cover, explains the seven characters also represent different traits.
“So we have the martyr, the resurrector, the consigliore, the torturer, the tortured and the solitary lamenter.
They are all held together by a sensory deprived Lady Justice holding an ancient Egyptian scale of justice, which is a human heart in a jar being weighed against the feather of truth,” she says.
“The clockwork, lady justice, the consigliore (which is the rabbit playing chess), the torturer, the tortured and the eternal lamented (the harpist seated on skulls), were things Suresh had in mind.
I came up with the Martyr and the resurrector which luckily worked together,” she adds.
Stigmata frontman Suresh de Silva tells us the album, their fourth, is a “monstrosity of sheer epicness”.
“It’s been five years in the making and it means a lot to us because it has that aspect of stigmatizing with familiarity but not without much more intricate and subtle flavouring and shades,” he says.
The band has taken lots of risks with TAP, he admits.
“It keeps things fresh and excites us to know we have surpassed any expectations we had initially about creating something extraordinary, he says adding that this album is a body of world music in an extreme metal framework.
“It’s unlike anything you’ve heard before.”
‘Stigmata’ will introduce the album at a launch concert on Saturday, October 17 at 7 p.m. at the British School auditorium, Colombo 8.
The band has promised their faithful fans, a state of the art show with amazing audio and visuals, mesmerizing special effects and a brutal two hour set.
The set will include some of Stigmata’s classics and the new record played in its entirety.
The gig will also feature an exhibition called ‘Art of the Saints’ which will portray the designs, artwork, illustrations and photography of industry connoisseurs that have been a part of Stigmata’s journey at any point in their fifteen years.
Tickets pre-sold will be priced at Rs. 1,500 (limited number), while tickets sold at the gate will be priced at Rs. 2000.
Fans will also receive the original album with the concept art and the illustrated booklet and a free A3 poster signed by all the band members, along with their ticket.
Be sure to catch Stigmata on the 17th.