St. Petersburg is home to many famous music groups and rock bands. Today new singers appear daily, songs are written, musical shows are created, and so that against their background they can hear a new young group, it is not enough to have a voice and be able to play musical instruments. It takes talent, combined with incredible ability to work and determination.
“Stigmata” is a group that managed to make it not only heard, but also loved by thousands of fans both in Russia and abroad.
Group birth
Although officially the group was formed in St. Petersburg in 2003, in fact its non-replaceable founders - Dan and Taras - started playing together back in 2001, when the team did not even have a name.
The group of "Stigmata" from 2003 to 2006 included:
- Bass - Dan.
- Guitar - Taras.
- Drums - Nick.
- Vocalist - Nel.
The hardest part fell on the shoulders of these guys - the promotion of the group and the composition of the first album. At the beginning of their creative development, the musicians experimented a lot to find their own style, and not imitate their idols like Sepultura or Pantera.
To have money to record their songs, maintain a website and print flyers, the musicians worked, and rehearsed in the evenings and weekends. The desire to be heard about them led to the fact that at each rehearsal they not only wrote new texts and music, but also made several cover versions for each song.
At all significant musical events in St. Petersburg, they handed out their flyers, which led to the result - the first performance at the Polygon club, with which many future rock stars, like Stigmata, began. The group made itself known and began to take part in the warm-up at concerts of other groups, in various competitions, to give concerts in small halls on their own, so that as many people as possible could hear about them.
All this led to the fact that they signed a contract with Kapkan Records to record the first album.
Dream Conveyor
In the fall of 2004, Stigmata’s best songs were featured on her first album, The Dream Conveyor. To promote it, young musicians make a tour of the cities of Russia, giving 15 concerts and gathering the full halls of their first fans at solo concerts. This creative period was marked by participation in such a prestigious festival as Isthmus.
The first album included 10 songs, including “Living from scratch”, “Glass Love”, “Paradox” and others. In the debut issue, the band members revealed their musical talents, although the lyrics became the strongest side of this work.
In this regard, the musicians spend a lot of time searching for a new sound and writing songs for the next album. It was released in the summer of 2005 and was more successful than the first.
"More than love"
The second album "Stigmata" (group, St. Petersburg) released with the obvious growth of musicians as professionals. Not only texts are interesting, but also music and performance. It included 12 songs, each of which is a small story with its unhappy, but philosophical and life ending.
For example, in the song “Freedom chooses death”, the main character is precisely death, which comes daily to people. The conclusion is simple: maybe she will come today for any of you. Despite the theme, the song does not seem to be the verdict of life - “with a sharp blade I opened my way to parallel worlds”. Finding oneself is the main philosophy of this song.
The group continues to work hard and hone its skills. In 2006, not only the first DVD about her was released, but the composition also changed.
Nick left the band, his place was taken by drummer Phil, well known in the rock environment of St. Petersburg. The group also included a new, fifth member of Duke, who gave a special sound to their music with his songs.
A new round of career
At the end of 2006, Stigmata released the single “Ice”, which instantly occupies the top line of alternative music charts. The video for this song became so popular that it won first place in the “Song of the Year” nomination at St. Petersburg Alternative Music Awards in 2007.
The song attracts more and more fans, and the group goes beyond the borders of not only their native city, but also the country. This gives rise to the organization of the first large-scale international tour in the near and far abroad.
Despite the busy concert schedule, musicians do not stop working on new songs, and the next step on the success ladder is the single “September”, which has become the most popular on alternative art channels.
No one was surprised by the new round that Stigmata made. The group signs a contract for the release of the next album with the largest producer of rock music in Russia - Navigator Records. The release of the album, entitled Stigmata, coincided with the arrival of the new drummer Feud'or.
In the same 2007, the guys performed at the Wings rock festival, where they shared the stage with the country's most famous rock bands.
Stigmata
The third album combined the hit singles “Ice” and “September” with new songs. Although the lead singer of Stigmata Nelson believes that their best song has not yet been written, the album has increased the number of fans of musicians.
The project included such songs as “God will forgive me”, “Last Sip”, “Give Up Hope” and others. All works speak of a new level of professionalism of the group. These are not beginner experimenters, but real representatives of high-quality alternative rock. Although all participants have different preferences in cinema, books, drinks and food, they are unanimous in their opinion that the Stigmata is their life, second home, favorite business and friends.
Stigmata today
Today the group is a team of professionals in the style of hard rock. A tour of 2007 in the cities of Russia, Latvia, Ukraine, Belarus and Estonia showed their popularity and relevance. Full halls and stadiums are the result of young musicians working on themselves and their songs.
The guys continue to record new albums, give concerts and take first places in the charts of alternative music. All this talented people have achieved through hard work and faith in themselves and their music.
In show business, you have to work hard to break up and become known as Stigmata. Similar groups appear in St. Petersburg and Russia every year, but not everyone is able to go a creative path to success in such a short time.
Fans of the group are waiting for new songs of their idols and the next ups in their career, and the musicians will never disappoint them.