Arts
Darkness, temple bells and sounds of heavy metal
Stigmata: Suresh in full cry
Thematically amplifying the rebellious and defiant spirits from growling vocalists to drummers in black masks, the momentum only kept growing at Colombo City Hotel last Sunday (May 
as Refuse/Resist, Stigmata’s latest show boasted a four-hour set of heavy metal music that addressed controversial themes such as corruption, greed and violence.
Stigmata was performing along with some of Sri Lanka’s upcoming heavy metal bands and it was Nefertem that opened the show with a cover of ‘Worth Fighting For’ by Judas Priest. The crowd was receptive, swaying to the music before being blown away by their second song, an original called ‘Unholy Reaper’ – a tribute to the Grim Reaper. The crowd went berserk as vocalist Eza Edirisinghe showcased his vocal abilities in ‘River Runs Red.’
Next up was their very first original, ‘Us United’ composed by their lead guitarist Rusiru Uyanahewa and rhythm guitarist Gihan Lakshitha. Eza himself wrote the lyrics. Athula Anton accompanied him on bass and Sanjeewa ‘Sanju’ Kandubadaarachchi on drums. The song was dedicated to the metal community in Sri Lanka (the band identifies itself as heavy metal and melodic black metal). Their final original for the night was ‘Demon Science’ and they closed with a cover of ‘Ending Credits’ by Opeth.
The venue was engulfed in darkness with the slow ringing of temple bells that got louder and louder, accompanied by religious chanting – this was the calm before the storm. Suddenly, the lights illuminated the stage, revealing Abyss, a brute metal band that was formed five years ago. Vocalist Chè Weeraratne stood still with his head bowed, removing his hoodie, which revealed his Che Guevara shirt. He was accompanied by lead guitarist Arun Jilukshan, Tharuka Indrakumar on rhythm guitar and Sahan Mendis on bass guitar. Drummer Romain Nimarsh performed in style adorned in a black mask. They rolled into their first original, ‘Devious Embrace’ and progressed onto ‘Shatter’, ‘False Preach’ and ‘Imbecile’ before covering Sepultura’s ‘Spit.’ Abyss ended their set with ‘Traitor’ to the sound of cheering and a multitude of devil-horns from the crowd.
Nefertem: Opening act
Up next was Sevexth, an avant-garde band that experiments with a plethora of heavy metal sub-genres such as groove metal and progressive metal. Wearing turquoise sarongs, they piqued the crowd’s interest. Although the band has been around for four years, the new line-up that has been active for one and a half years has rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Senuri Pannipitya and drummer Avishka Senaratne. Oshi Hewadewa accompanies them on bass guitar and Arun Jilukshan (also lead guitarist of Abyss) on lead guitar. The band opened with ‘Eternal’ a song written by frontman Pranil Abeysinghe and rolled into ‘Butterfly Effect.’ The band enticed the audience with more originals such as ‘Vendetta’, ‘Eli’ and ended their set with ‘Rose’ inspired by the film ‘The exorcism of Emily Rose.’ The lights dimmed back down and the room was engulfed in darkness once again.
Headliner Stigmata opened with ‘Our Beautiful Decay’ off their latest album ‘The Ascetic Paradox’ and followed it with a slower ballad from their album ‘Silent Chaos Serpentine’ called ‘Lucid.’ As the set progressed, the crowd observed Suresh clawing at the yellow and black hazard tape while singing – he was eager to break free. Their energy was infectious and soon a mosh pit was formed during ‘Jazz Theory.’ Suresh finally crossed over the tape and found himself in the heart of the crowd. The pure heavy metal band ended with ‘Extinction,’ a song they had not performed in recent years.
Finally all the vocalists from the evening joined Stigmata to close the show with ‘Refuse/Resist’ by Sepultura. The crowd enjoyed seeing Stigmata perform a cover – a rare treat for their fans.
Launched 16 years ago, Stigmata shows no sign of slowing down. They are excited about their next gig on May 28 at The Shore by O in Mount Lavinia at 7 p.m. – where they will be accompanied by Salvage.
They will be playing a two hour set which will be more expansive and performing some covers as well. “There is a sense of synergy between Stigmata and Salvage,” Suresh says, confident that the crowd will enjoy it.
Stigmata’s lead guitarist Andrew Obeysekere and rhythm guitarist Tennyson Napolean