Hysterica-Girls Made of Heavy Metal

Bio By She Rox, All Female Bands: Stockholm, Sweden based Hysterica began in 2005 by guitarist, Bitte “Ebba” Ebbersten, stage name Bitchie Blackmore, with the intent to form an all female heavy metal band, all though not a groundbreaking idea, seeing how Sweden was years ahead of leading a revival of hard rock and heavy metal with several all-female bands partaking, but an all female metal band playing old school metal was quite rare. Hysterica as a band would become one of the first all female bands that would fill that niche of heavy metal bordering on power metal and they gained a quick and large following for doing so. Vocalist Liv Jagrell of the band Sister Sin would join Hysterica’s original line-up as well, Jagrell with the stage Sinderella, and drummer Elin Eriksson, stage name Hell’N. Veteran guitarist Mia Langdon, best known for her time in the Swedish all female band Aphrodite, along with Drain STH members, Flavia Canel and Martina Axen in the mid 1980’s. Langdon would take the stage name of Rockzilla and Hysterica was rounded out with keyboardist “Electra”, and bassist “Xotica”. This line up released one demo in 2006, but proved short lived with 2007 seeing the departure of both the bassist and keyboardist and vocalist Liv Jagrell. Jagrell during this time was supporting both Hysterica and Sister Sin as a lead vocalists and the duties of both proved to be too much. Guitar player turned bass player, Sara Leni Englund, stage name SatAnica and vocalist Anni Lovisa Sundquist, stage name Anni De Vil would fill in the band’s empty slots minus a new keyboardist. The band would spend the next few years touring not only Sweden but Europe as well and building a solid fan base before releasing their debut album Metal War in 2009. The debut record gained the band much acclaim for their no frills heavy metal. Melodic and heavy, the album secured the band for a win for best new artist in Sweden. By the end of 2009, guitarist “Rockzilla” would leave the band and her replacement for touring was Jessica Gardlund, who the band asked to join full time, Gardlund decline to focus on her solo career however. By 2010 the remaining members brought in keyboardist “Mary Death” for 2012’s release, The Art of Metal, praised for it’s more mature sound and mixing of old school metal reminiscent of bands like Judas Priest and Manowar, the album dabbled in various styles of music as well from symphonic metal to power metal. Hailed overall as the band’s best material to date, with many noting the addition of keyboards as to perfecting the album’s overall sound. On the other hand many felt the album did not need vocalist Anni Di Vil growling her vocals, (in some songs) feeling this only took away from her perfectly pitched vocals. By 2014 , the band would once again become a quartet with keyboardist “Mary Death” leaving the band. By 2015 the band would release the ep, All In, much grittier and less power metal then its predecessor the ep is still quite heavy in it’s return. By 2016 the band would go on a hiatus however talks of the core members reuniting have been circulating around, leaving die hard fans hoping Sweden’s queens of metal make their return.