I don't know exactly why, but I often prefer music by the bands that are less favored than their contemporaries. So considering the spectrum of classic Italian hardcore, I jam STIGMATHE probably twice as often as a WRETCHED or NEGAZIONE record - or an old Yugoslavian hardcore band over ANTI-CIMEX - or THE FARTZ over anything by BLACK FLAG. I haven't quite figured out why my tastes have formed this way, but I'll get back to y'all on that...
STIGMATHE stands out for cranking some of the most unique and interesting hardcore to ever come out of Italy. Their steady, driving rhythm section is punctuated by great vibrant guitar riffs, and even greater vocals - it's not as unhinged as much of the other great Italian stuff, but still retains so much power. Side A of this EP contains two catchy hardcore songs at a galloping pace with full drums and bass, thin but tuneful guitars (cool leads!), and raspy vocals with a demanding presence. On side B, "Italia Brucia" defies any comparison to anything I can thin of. It's probably one of the catchiest punk songs in existence - it has this sort of traditional salsa beat/melody thing with catchy sung vocals, but still within the realm of hardcore punk. I really don't know how else to describe feel of it - but I can see it being quite a good time played to a squat full of Italian punx!
STIGMATHE was apparently only active from 1983-1986, giving us this EP, the even better "Lo Sguardo Dei Morti," a couple tracks on the killer "Raptus Negazione & Superamento" compilation LP, and a super rare live tape. The guitarist went on to form a cool goth band called THELEMA, who apparently existed through the last decade.
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