Hysterica: Sexig, Sofistikerad och Sagolik
Written by Jason Daniel Baker
Sunday, 17 August 2014 03:30
The next stop on my world tour of discovery of hot bands brings me to Stockholm, Sweden as I track down and assess Hysterica, an all-female metal firm of modern-day valkyria formed in 2005 and still going strong after multiple line-up changes (like, enough to set up a completely different version of the band).
Hysterica, a visual feast of dangerous curves wrapped in leather and topped with big hair is the most devilishly bad-ass creation to come out of Sweden since those confusing instructions for assembling the extra large clothing rack that Ikea sent you but way more fun and a lot easier to understand.
Few hard and fast classifications fit a band with this sound properly but nothing says a band must fit a classification. They are slick but don’t slide neatly into any metal subgenre and are nearly theatrical enough to do skits on stage while performing their music.
The current line-up features wily sage Bitchie on guitar (a ‘full ‘O hell’ vet of the Swedish metal scene), glamor cat Satanica on bass, reserved and dignified Helln’ on drums and Anni De Vil (a sweet young thing Bitchie and Helln’ evidently lured with fika then corrupted and turned in to a whip-wielding, sword-collecting dominatrix) on vocals.
They spread out a smorgasbord of heavy rock sound (reminiscent of the much dreaded Manowar, only in a good way) that gets even their notoriously shy and reserved fellow Swedes head-banging on cold, dark winter nights during each fantastic set they play. On tour they have parked their bus all over Sweden including in to places many other musicians wouldn’t think to go.
It is a sound that has captivated me to the point of having ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ though it is more accurate to apply heavy metal clichés to Hysterica than Swedish ones. Their sound flirts with death metal, their lyrics include pagan references and they dress the part of 1980s Van Halen video nymphs carrying with them a cultural pride in the metal lifestyle tinged with cockiness and whimsy like their fans (if any in band read this I hope they’ll think of me as a fan) whom they refer to as ‘warriors’ – an appelation that fits us just fine.
Raw, rough and edgy but with technical precision there is a lot to admire the musicianship of this band to be found on its albums ‘Metalwar’ (2009) and ‘The Art of Metal’ (2012). Touring has taken them through their home country, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Britain (including Hard Rock Hell 3 in heavy metal’s holy land Wales) and Russia. In 2010 they won ‘Best Newcomer’ at the Swedish metal awards.
Yet from late 2012 to date these slick practitioners of ‘Femetal’ have been neglectful of their website. This band of fetching warrior maidens perhaps got lost roving in a go-kart following a viking trail of meatballs into a damp bog in a fjord. Getting inside information on them is difficult even for a fan and that doesn’t flatter much. But to bring up the suggestion of indefinite hiatus perhaps preceding break-up are unfounded. They are set to perform in Stockholm in September.
http://www.hysterica.se/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hysterica-official/151288304881413
