Italy's deathcore purveyors Stigma are set to conquer the globe with the release of their debut manifesto When Midnight Strikes! With its blend of spastic riffs, mammoth breakdowns and lyrical themes revolving around horror-flick favorites such as vampires and werewolves, When Midnight Strikes! annihilates the competition.

Stigma formed in 2000 with vocalist Stefano "Vlad" Ghersi and guitarist Morgan Ferrua. The two left their old school hardcore origins in 2002 and along the way added bass player Flavio Magnaldi, drummer Stefano Ghigliano, and second guitarist Andrea Bailo resulting in the latest incarnation of Stigma. With two EPs under their belt, namely 2003's Metamorphosis and 2004's Epitaph of Pain the band has had the opportunity to play with internationally renowned artists such as Entombed, Napalm Death, Soulfly, Converge, Job for a Cowboy, Marduk, Bring Me the Horizon and The Black Dahlia Murder among others as well as appearances at Germany's Wacken Open Air and Slovenia's Metal Camp festivals.

After nearly a year of extensive writing and gigging, Stigma entered the studio with Ettore Rigotti (Disarmonia Mundi) in winter 2007 to record this long awaited debut. Accompanying the sonic onslaught that is When Midnight Strikes! is artwork created by Davide Nadalin (Nile, The Duskfall, Threshold), the music video for the first single "I am Dracula" filmed by WhereCloudsPart (Sick of It All, Boysetsfire, Sadist) as well as guest appearances by members of The Classic Struggle, Dark Lunacy and Slowmotion Apocalypse. Fans of The Black Dahlia Murder, Himsa, Bring Me the Horizon and At the Gates are sure to find something to get fired up over in Stigma. Extensive touring of Europe is to follow, so be prepared When Midnight Strikes!

(source: http://www.myspace.com/stigmahc)