Stigmata

Stigmata is a Sri Lankan heavy metal band based in Colombo, formed in 1998. Biography Early years Suresh De Silva, Andrew Obeysekara and Tennyson Napoleon formed the band in 1998 at S. Thomas' College, Mt Lavinia, where they were schoolmates. They chose the name "Stigmata" from the 1998 album Stigmata by melodic death metal band Arch Enemy. The band's style is a unique style called "Pure Sri Lankan Metal" a mix of Sri Lankan origin fused rhythms and Eastern arrangements mixed cohesively into a framework of progressive metal and rock, thrash metal, speed metal, power metal along with tech death, death metal and hard rock influence, laced with a global sound incorporating multiple genres like jazz, Latin rhythms, classical, fusion, middle-eastern and Baila. They played their first ever concert at S.Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia in February 2000. With bass player Shehan Gray and drummer Anik Jayasekara, they released their first single, "Fear", which topped the local radio rock-chart show. In 2000 they recorded another, "Voices", which was a sensation in the stagnant local music industry, and was a chart-topping hit. In 2001 the band took on drummer Dilukshan Jayawardena, following the departure of Jayasekara due to personal reasons. The band released their first EP, Morbid Indiscretion, in 2002, containing the singles "The Dying Winter Sleeps" and "Thicker Than Blood" plus the instrumental "Andura" which inspired the Gajaga Wannama. At the time, the band also covered music by international bands such as Deep Purple, Metallica, and Led Zeppelin, as well as bands not so popular in the country at that time, such as Iron Maiden, Iced Earth, Judas Priest, and Cradle of Filth, which made them revolutionary by exposing Sri Lankans to music many in the country had never heard before.