Hysterica – “Metalwar” (2009)

Label : Crong Production

Review By Erwin Van Dijk

When you see this album for the first time you might think this is a joke. Four young blonde girls from Sweden (and a brunette with a large tattoo) dressed in leather and armed with enough fantasy weapons to film a Conan the Barbarian movie. (As a matter of fact, I’ve seen Hysterica twice live and this is also their stage outfit). This makes them the hottest girls on stage since Delilah and Lilith of Goddess of Desire called it a day, way back in 2005 but this an album review and not about boy fantasies.The name of the band is clearly inspired by Metallica but you might have guessed that already. Indeed, this sounds like some eighties heavy metal band. Stuff like Manowar and all those others. Maybe something like Bad Candy used to be years ago: hot girls for teenager boys who make some kind of rock. But that is the surface. Hysterica was founded by guitarist Bitchie and she has a good ear for musicians. She wanted to create an all women metal band and Hysterica was the result. And remember, all women metal bands are still scarce. Girlschool is still alive and The Donnas have their metal edge but Hysterica also shares much similarities with bands like Vixen, Doro and not to forget Lita Ford. The only other all women metal band I can think of right now in more or less the same genre and from this decennium is Crucified Barbara, also from Sweden. I had the luxury to see Hysterica twice before writing this review and these girls can actually play! More important, Hysterica brings back the fun into metal. This is not some My Dying Bride gig where you enter the venue happy and leaves depressed or some metalcore band where the moshpit always ends into a battlefield that would make the first scenes of the movie Saving Private Ryan a nice game of tag in comparison. Or, worse some “I hate myself and wants to die” emocore band. Hysterica won’t win a prize for being original when you compare them to the past. But compared with the competition today this is a great album. Not necessary for people who are in the whole female fronted scene. One of the gigs I saw was at the Heavy Metal Maniacs Festival and while this is clearly no place for Epica and all those other bands with a female singer and Heavy Metal Maniacs are rather narrow minded when it comes to women on stage in metal bands Hysterica was accepted right on as a metal band (but with a better looking crew I must admit) and not because of their image. This is why Hysterica is a good band and “Metalwar” a good album. Because it is metal as it was supposed to be. If you like Warlock or Sinergy this is a safe buy. And the same goes if you like metal in general.

Rating – 85/100

Tracklist

1. We Are the Undertakers
2. Halloween
3. Bless the Beast
4. Girls Made of Heavy Metal
5. Louder
6. Metalwar
7. Wreck of Society
8. The Bitch Is Back
9. Devil in Me
10. Heavy Metal Man
11. Pain in The Ass

Line Up

• Anni De Vil – Lead Singer
• Bitchie – Guitar
• RockZilla – Guitar
• SatAnica – Bass
• Hell’n – Drums

Links 

MySpace * Facebook * Site