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Great news in Grimpoint today, as it looks like my publishing imprint Bazillion Points will be printing the amazing Swedish Death Metal book in North America during 2008. Hold all calls — more details to come.

For now, let’s talk about the run-up to Swedish death metal, when Sweden suddenly filled with energetic, evil-obsessed thrash acts that went largely unnoticed outside Scandinavia. One my favorites is Hyste’riah from Landskrona, who were fluid, supple thrash masters with the weirdest vocals this side of early Bathory. I think the closest description I can muster is the guy sings like the ghost of Nuclear Assault’s John Connelly, banging against the barn windows while the band inside makes hay.

Guitar-wise, Hyste’riah is completely in the pocket, as the old jazz guys used to say. They plumb mid-paced thrash grooves to hypnotic effect, and it’s fun to play a game called “death metal dress-up” where you mentally start adding sicker vocals and thick Sunlight production until you make the connection to Entombed’s famous sound. Small surprise that Hyste’riah’s guitarist Cliff T, aka Klas Ideberg, is still a force in Swedish metal, generating gruff grooves to this day in Darkane, the Defaced, and Terror 2000.

HYSTE’RIAH * “Attempt the Life” 4-song demo 1987 [22MB .rar]

This tape was recorded on 26 Nov 1987. The following year, Hyste’riah briefly joined forces with the singer of God BC, briefly existing under the cryptic moniker Hyste’riah GBC. Yet alas, Sweden was not destined to earn its metal oats during the thrash epoch.

1 COMMENT

  1. Bloody hell! This is really fucking cool! I’ve actually put down the 2nd demo, “Jeremiad of the Living” on cd just for fun.
    If you want it I can send it. It’s better sounding and better played, I guess, hahaha. Well, well, I was just 15 when I did
    “Attempt the Life” and started playing when I was 14, so it’s not so bad, hahaha. Stay thrash!

    Klas

  2. Check out the similarities to track # 2, ‘Nightmare’ with the riff and beat to Lamb of God’s ‘Ashes of the Wake’- it sounds very close to me. 1987 as opposed to 2004, 17 years and Nightmare is much better and tighter, very interesting! Thanks for posting Ian.

  3. You have a publishing company??? That’s so great. And you’re putting out that Swedish Death Metal book, which costs like a bazillion bucks at the moment? Even better! I sure as hell am not paying 55 euros for any book unless it’s the Necronomicon.

  4. Nothing’s sealed in blood with Swedish Death Metal yet, but we’re working on it. As for the 2nd Hyste-riah demo, yes it’s already in the stacks, and will appear here once I start the 2nd round on bands like this, Dream Death, and Samhain DK. Thanks for riffing endlessly! IAN

  5. Aaargh!!! I thought this shit was dead since last hell. Hehe, I still play the some bass we used during recording this demo. Nice to see this shit is still around… 😉

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