The Hysteria is the darkest hope coming out of Belarus. This is one of those underground acts you should definitely look at right now. They’re quickly earning widely deserved attention from European and intercontinental press and audiences. They bring an insane mathcore attitude that every fan of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Converge, Iwrestledabearonce and Psyopus should easily appreciate.
Not too long ago The Hysteria dropped their debut EP “The Hysteria”. This was done through the legends over at Memorial Records. Today we’ll be taking a closer look at this record.
After the intro track featuring a beautiful game of sampled vocals taken from G.W. Bush speech and Charlie Chaplin’s words in”The Great Dictator”, dark and heavy attacks immediately take hold. This is supported by insane screaming vocals leading into the first real track of the EP, “Revolution In Our Hearts, Revolution In Your Hands”. Atmosphere plays a fundamental role, forming a catalyst for the track. The guitar riffage is damn heavy and gets really wicked towards the middle part of the song.
I know it may sound strange but the vocals often reminds of Frank Palmeri because of their wide and powerful screams and the spoken segments, but Victor adds a way more twisted and insane approach to it.
From the very first listen you’ll understand this is not an easy record at all. But upon further listens, the quality of this work will start to emerge even in the less immediate songs like the aforementioned opener. Things get way more weird and less dark in the following track, “Trojan Horse”, putting together a more ironic style. Songs like this and the following “Black Cat Wailing At The Moon” result to be way more catchy at the first listen. They’re more characteristic and unique, giving a better feel of the band’s style. Dark atmosphere possesses the second half of the song with enormous, hard-hitting soundscapes. The same vibe can be detected in “Black Cat Wailing At The Moon” as I told you before. That track emerges as the best on the EP, and definitely the most representative one, featuring all the unique elements of this band. Some more insanity is featured in the last track “Porn Star”, providing a furious end to the EP.
This band’s attitude is really hard to describe. But it’s really damn cool. Their mathcore style could be placed halfway between Destrage’s ironic approach, and Psyopus’ insane approach. They’ve managed to conjure up a really remarkable EP here. When it comes to technical skill and originality, this is one of the most promising upcoming bands in Europe. If you haven’t yet, discover these guys! A quick look and listen to “Black Cat Yelling At The Moon” play through will be enough for you to understand why you should.
-MATTIA
Links: Facebook // Official Website // iTunes
