Stigmata
Stigmata is the second studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy, released on 5 May 1998. It followed Black Earth from 1996, and it was the record that took the band beyond Japan: this time it came out worldwide, through Century Media in Europe and North America, with Toy's Factory again handling Japan.
Session drummer Peter Wildoer plays on the album, having worked with Christopher Amott on his solo project Armageddon and its 1997 album Crossing the Rubicon not long before these sessions. There's a title track, and also a song named after the band's previous album, a nice nod for anyone following the story from the start. Stigmata was reissued in 2009 with new packaging and bonus tracks, and again in 2023 in several formats, so it's easy to find if you want to hear Arch Enemy in their early days.
Stigmata: tracklist and credits
9 tracks · 46:21Tracklist
- 1Beast of ManChristopher Amott and Michael Amott3:36
- 2StigmataMichael Amott2:12
- 3Sinister MephistoMichael Amott5:46
- 4Dark of the SunChristopher Amott and Michael Amott7:00
- 5Let the Killing BeginAmott, Amott, Liiva5:19
- 6Black EarthMichael Amott and Johan Liiva6:39
- 7Tears of the DeadMichael Amott5:56
- 8Vox StellarumFredrik Nordström2:08
- 9Bridge of DestinyChristopher Amott and Michael Amott7:45
- Produced by
- Michael Amott, Fredrik Nordström, Michael Amott
- Recorded at
- Studio Fredman
- Recorded
- October 1997, January 1998
- Mixed at
- Studio Fredman
- Engineered by
- Fredrik Nordström
- Mastered by
- Göran Finnberg
- Artwork
- Kris Verwimp
- Labels
- TOY’S FACTORY, Century Media
- Length
- 46:21
Line-up
- Fredrik Nordström · grand piano, keyboard · guest
- Christopher Amott · guitar
- Michael Amott · guitar
- Martin Bengtsson · electric bass guitar
- Daniel Erlandsson · drums (drum set) · guest
- Johan Liiva · lead vocals
- Peter Wildoer · drums (drum set)
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
Released the same week
Also released on 5 May
Every year →
More from Arch Enemy
Full discography →
The best of 1998
All of 1998 →
More on TOY’S FACTORY
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 5 May 1998 | ignored lone early release dated 1998-03-21 |
| Wikipedia infobox | 5 May 1998 | |
| Wikidata | 1998 | |
| US release | 5 May 1998 | earliest US date |
13 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XW | Century Media | 196589704672 | other |
| 21 March 1998 | JP | TOY’S FACTORY | 4988061871493 | original |
| 5 May 1998 | US | Century Media | 727701791227 | other |
| 5 May 1998 | DE | Century Media | 5051099721227 | other |
| 18 May 1998 | DE | Century Media | 7277017721225 | other |
| 3 March 2003 | KR | Dream On Records | 8809053138393 | other |
| 2007 | IT | Night of the Vinyl Dead | other | |
| 2007 | AR | Icarus Music | 5051099721227 | other |
| 22 May 2009 | DE | Century Media | 5051099792425 | remaster |
| 22 May 2009 | XW | Century Media | 886443598317 | other |
| 11 August 2009 | US | Century Media | 727701862422 | deluxe |
| 12 October 2011 | JP | Trooper Entertainment | 4582352381083 | other |
| 2023 | XE | Century Media | 196587932121 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 300×297 | upscaled |