Arts
10 rocking years of Silent Chaos Serpentine
Suresh de Silva at a recent show. Pic by Anuradha Bandara
2006 was a big year for Stigmata, the pure heavy metal band; for not only did it mark the release of one of their signature albums, the band also staged an album launch concert.
This year on Saturday, February 27, Stigmata will be reliving a decade of that album- Silent Chaos Serpentine (SCS) – at the Colombo City Hotel, with a show also featuring guest bands, Killfeed, Mass Damnation and Constellation.
Any local fan frequenting Stigmata gigs would notice that a majority of the songs that the band performs at any of their sets, would always be from SCS and in most cases this would be to please the chanting crowds.
“Can’t you see that there is nothing you can do that will change us , Or who we are… …”
And the roots of our souls, they run too deep, Forever’s dying, forever’s scarred,” the lyrics of ‘Jazz theory’ go deep into the roots of Stigmata, and give new meaning to the band’s 15-year journey, staying true to what they believed in.
Apart from ‘Jazz theory’, (which ironically does not have a jazzy touch to it), ‘Lucid’, ‘Swine maker’, ‘Solitude’ and ‘My Malice’ are all crowd pleasers to this day. The riffs from all these tracks are easily identifiable and never fail to receive an enthusiastic response from the fans.
“SCS is a “no frills, no nonsense record that completely captured, encompassed and embodied our spirits at the time,” said Stigmata frontman Suresh de Silva when the Sunday Times met him at his home surrounded by his canine friends (one of them trying to have a go at my feet) earlier this week.
“Some bands are blessed to release a debut album where everything falls into place. But some bands take time to develop their tone and sounds and I think our first album ‘Hollow dreams’ was the canvas upon which we figured out and realized who and what we were,” Suresh says.
“It was interesting because it took things to a whole new level. Hollow Dreams had a platform over here in Lanka but SCS was what opened the door for us overseas in terms of records and tours,” he adds.
SCS came out at a time when the war was still raging. There was a lot of unease and turmoil in the country. “That sense of urgency and that sinister factor was caught on record. It’s not a political record or a record on social commentary but it has always had underlying themes,” Suresh recalls.
Going by the reviews, the Americans, the Australians and the Germans seemed to love SCS. However, the Brits thought otherwise, “which was funny because they liked our latest album ‘The Ascetic Paradox’,” Suresh says.
The positive reviews saw Stigmata gain a growing following in the West. They also went on to headline the two day ‘Rock Storm’ festival in the Maldives, which was their first international gig.
“There was a sense of unity and togetherness among all the band members and all of us were heading in the same direction. Musically that was when we truly ventured doing something different. SCS was where we got our formula and identity,” Suresh adds.
The ten-year anniversary concert will kick off at 6 p.m. and tickets for the show will be priced at Rs 800 (pre- sold) and Rs. 1000 at the gate. Early bird tickets will be available at the Colombo City Hotel, TNL radio and via the band.