Many a metal band have been inspired by the grisly cinematic atrocities of Italian directors like Lucio Fulci, Dario Argento, Ruggero Deodato and Umberto Lenzi. Italian death metal band Stigma, however, draw from cheesy American horror for their lyrics -- and we're not talking about stuff like 'Scream,' 'Halloween' or even 'Friday the 13th.'

Stigma's new song, '1, 2, 3, 4, Dead,' which Noisecreep is proud to premiere, draws from the TV terror of HBO's long-loved anthology 'Tales From the Crypt,' which launched in 1989 and ran for seven years.

Listen to '1, 2, 3, 4, Dead'

"The song is based on a story entitled 'Revenge Is the Nuts,' and basically it's about a madman taking his revenge upon an old man who owns the insane asylum where he is locked up," vocalist Stefano "Vlad" Ghersi told Noisecreep. "I think this song represents very well all the ingredients you'll find in our new EP, 'The Undertaker,' a well-balanced mix of US metalcore, European death metal and a twist of hardcore."

Ghersi doesn't just love 'Tales From the Crypt,' he worships the show. All of the songs on 'The Undertaker' are based on 'Crypt' stories, just like every song from 2010's 'Concerto for the Undead.'

"After releasing 'Concerto for the Undead,' we immediately wanted to write new material, because of the good vibe in the band and the addition of our new second guitar player [Giacomo "Jack" Poli]," Ghersi said. "We wrote all the songs right after our European tour with Trigger the Bloodshed.

"The whole songwriting and recording processes were definitely no stress this time. We had time to focus on all the details and come out with the best arrangement. In the studio, we worked again with the Italian engineer Simone Mularoni, who pushed us once again to the limit, but we managed to work better and faster than the recording process of our latest album, 'cause we had time on our side."

At the moment, Stigma are on a roll -- just like 'Tales From the Crypt' before it was canceled in 1996. Guitarist Andrea Bailo has eight songs written for the next album, and the band is eager to record them. For now they're locked away in the vault of horrors, though. "It's time to tour in support of this EP and close the 'Concerto for the Undead' touring cycle," Ghersi admitted. "So it'll take some time before we push forward with more songwriting. Hopefully a new full-length will be out next year."

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