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Unearthing The Metal Underground: The Sri Lankan Metal Scene, Part 2

Each week in "Unearthing the Metal Underground," we'll be putting a few quality underground bands in the spotlight in an attempt to get the word out about them. The column has returned for the new year to expose three more great projects from the Sri Lankan metal scene. Today I'll be introducing three more bands from Colombo, Sri Lanka, where the metal scene is the most active.

Back in the 90’s, metal was practically unheard of in Sri Lanka. Very few people were into rock music, which is what almost every Sri Lankan non-Metal fan calls any type of music with distorted guitar parts. At a time when the Internet was only available to the public very few places in Colombo and file sharing programs were unheard of, a very small, underground community existed who shared CD-R’s of videos and mp3 albums in a country which is known for its fairly conservative views that lead to society labeling rock music as the Devil’s music and the usual bullshit. This is, of course, nothing new in the realm of metal and its origins.

Stigmata

Then came 1999, the year which gave birth to a project who today are known as one of most significant metal bands in Sri Lanka, Stigmata. Responsible for Sri Lankan metal anthems such as "Andura" and "Jazz Theory" and after 1 EP and 2 Full Lengths titled "Morbid Indiscretion," "Hollow Dreams" and "Silent Chaos Serpentine" respectively, Stigmata is currently recording their third and yet untitled full length, which will hopefully be released this year. They are also one of the two bands (the other being psychadelic grunge unit Paranoid Earthling) who have performed outside Sri Lanka in countries such as Malaysia, Maldives and India.

Check out Stigmata on their MySpace page and the live video of "My Malice" below.

Spleen Saint

Spleen Saint, is a five piece outfit who craft their art by delving into waters of melodic black/death metal and are also considered as one of the most prominent extreme metal projects among the few who exist in Sri Lanka. Although the band has had a few single releases (available for free download on the Sri Lankan Heavy Metal portal, www.rock.lk), among which are local favorites such as "Rise Again," "Postmortem Lover" and "Hiding Behind the Shadows of Zion," the band is currently recording one of their latest creations titled "Guilty Conscience Deletion," and their upcoming debut full length, which will probably and hopefully, see daylight this year. In the meantime, check out more of their music here.

Plecto Aliquem Capite

Last but not least is another salient Sri Lankan project that has been making waves in the scene today, Plecto Aliquem Capite. Labeling themselves as an experimental black metal project, Plecto Aliquem Capite takes pride in fusing depressive black metal, noise and Sri Lankan classical music by using violins and woodwind instrumentation and purging out their own begrimed version of extreme music. With a few single releases and an EP, aptly titled "Atrocities," which contains personal favorites such as "Broken Glass Fuck" and "Moses," under their belts, the band is currently working on a couple of split releases that are to be announced shortly. To inhale the complete essence of this project, the reader is requested to pay a visit to their official Myspace and take a listen to tracks such as "Rewards of Seeking Wisdom," "Seevali" (included in the "As Agony Unfolds" with Raaksha and Pogrom), and the upcoming masterpiece, "Stoned Guru Ramblings," which will be one of their best creation up to date.

You can check out the first part of Unearthing the Metal Underground in Sri Lanka here, featuring Earthlings, Fallen Grace and Unholy Sermon.

Check back every Monday as we delve into a different scene or genre to unearth some new underground metal bands.