Amid turmoil swirling around the band Dogma, its co-founder—writer/producer Alvaro Rabaquino (previously credited as “The Dark Messiah” in association with the band)—and former members Grace Jane Pasturini (aka Lilith, vocals), Amber Maldonado (aka Lamia, guitar) and Patri Grief (aka Rusalka, guitar) have launched the new project Vindicta.
Along with a statement from Rabaquino, the new band has debuted its first single, “The Face of the Clown.”
While asking fans not to attack or harass anyone associated with the current version of Dogma, Rabaquino said, “The spirit of the project you connected with is alive.”
“I’m here to take responsibility for what I create and to offer you a way out of this manufactured narrative,” he said.
“Now, together with Grace, Amber, and Patri, the original performers who chose to step away from that chaos, we reclaim what was ours from the beginning,” Rabaquino said.
He also said Vindicta will perform the Dogma songs they created, along with new music.
Dogma, which released its self-titled debut album in 2023 via MNRK Heavy, features five women portraying corpse-painted nuns, and its music carries a message of personal freedom and female empowerment.
Rumors about changes to the band’s lineup began circulating after the first two shows of its 2025 North American headline tour—Oct. 23 in Anaheim, California, and Oct. 24 in Reno, Nevada—were postponed.
On Sunday, Oct. 26, Pasturini, Maldonado and Grief issued a statement confirming their departure and lashing out at the “person who now controls the project.” Since then, several former members of the band have released statements detailing their own experiences. The WeAreDogma subreddit is an excellent source for these statements and other information on the past and current incarnations of the band.
Rabaquino, who wrote all of the music and lyrics for Dogma, said he cut ties with the band more than a year ago after manager Ian Di Leo and his company, IDL Entertainment, took total control of the project.
Let’s hope there’s an album out in the not too distant future