STIGMA

Founded in 2021 by singer Gerald Zinnegger and guitarist Markus Mantau and quickly joined by René Chlebnitschek on bass and Bernd Paptistella on drums, Stigma's new album is the logical continuation of a journey that began with the two EPs Last Order (2022) and First Call (2023). Initially still heavily influenced by acts such as Alice Cooper or the later Metallica, the quartet quickly found their own compositional approach: They neither wanted to lay down fashionable accents nor bury what should ultimately matter – the pure song itself – under musical frills and glitter. From the first to the last note, everything compositional is therefore subject to the strict dictation of remaining honest, glare-free, and appropriate to the song without compromising the fun in rock.

Following this premise, their album Second Chance revolves around the central existential questions of working people at the heart of society in an almost metal-atypical way, proving the meaning of existentialism through simple stories of common life with well-dosed detours into philosophy.

Shouter Gerald, who delivers the lyrics with an intense baritone, sums up the diversity of themes on the new record: “Second Chance is an album about resilience, transformation, and duality. It explores the highs and lows of human experience, relationships and social challenges. The title speaks of the possibility of growing stronger through adversity and complements the trajectory we set out on with our first two EPs.”