I was very pleased with what Italian band Stigma (the one from Piedemonte, of course) did in the past. Albums like When Midnight Strikes! and Concerto For The Undead (both of them released via Pivotal Recordings, in respectively 2008 and 2010; reviews updated on respectively 18/04/10 and 21/12/10 in this site’s Archives-section) were honoured by positive reviewing taken care of by undersigned ;-). Unfortunately, after twelve years of activity (shortly after the mini-album The Undertaker, reviewed by colleague Jeroen; see April 21st 2011-update within Concreteweb’s Archives-tab), the band broke up in 2012. Four of the members from Stigma’s latest line-up (Stefano Ghersi, Andrea Bailo, Flavio Magnaldi, and Stefano Ghigliano), however, decided to form a new band, slightly different from Stigma, but still recognizable, and implementing the experience they built up throughout the years. The new band is called The Doomsayer (FYI: there was an Italian act called Doomsayer, without ‘the’ as prefix, during the very early nineties, bringing terrible Death / Thrash) and now debuts with Fire Everywhere on major label Candlelight Records.
The main difference in between the former act and this young band, must be the more melodious song writing and the more modern play. Besides, it comes with a more ‘international’ approach, combining elements from the current European scene with the American one. It’s rather a Metalcore-oriented thing going on with Fire Everywhere than a Death Metal-inspired one, and the initial Hardcore influences from the members’ long lost past sort of resurrect by means of the songs on this recording. But the difference in between The Doomsayer and Stigma isn’t that enormous, for the stylistic execution and sublime song writing are intensively recognizable. And since I did like the defunct predecessor, I cannot but appreciate this successor, can I?!