#30-Inside the darkness

Hysteria - Melodic Black Death Metal from France
1. First of all, guys,
we just want to mention
that we’re extremely
happy to
see you featuring this
issue after such a killer
release. How
are the
things going
for you now
and how did
the year start
for the entire
band, besides
the
new LP?
Things are going really
well; we've worked
hard, fine-tuning every
Interview by Olga Schneider
I think our longevity is
the result of a friendship
that has lasted for almost
three decades now.
detail for the release of this
LP. From the cover to the
compositions, merchandising,
promotion... we haven't
left anything
to
chance, and it has paid off,
as the feedback from the
media, fans... is more than en-
Interview with Xavier Chautard
couraging. The release and
the subsequent release party
were resounding successes.
We're eager to see what
comes next.
2. Hysteria
has got a
long enough
history
since 1996
and primary
you started
as a Brutal
Death
Metal project, but
time brought some more
melodicism to your music.
What were the main reasons
of these changes?
This evolution didn't
happen overnight. We've
been around for almost 30
years, and over that time,
our musical tastes have
changed. In our early days,
we listened almost exclusively
to Death Metal,
but over the years, we've
opened up to other styles
of music that have influenced
our
compositions.
We've
evolved,
but we've
kept our
identity intact,
which
is dear to
us. The
band hasn't
radically
changed;
we've just
followed
a gradual,
instinctive
change that wasn't
calculated at all. If you
listen to all the albums,
you'll notice that none
of them really resemble
each other.
3. Are you planning
any further experiments
with sound anytime
in the future? Or have
you found yourself as a
Blackened Death band
as you do now?
As for what's next, we
don't know; nothing is
planned in advance. We
move forward based on
how we feel things. We
don't limit ourselves to
anything. Right now, we're
not thinking about it yet;
we're digesting the release
of our latest endeavor,
enjoying the present moment
without projecting
too much into the future.
Our goal is to promote
this album as much as
possible through live
performances.
4. You grew up a lot
extremely quickly in
fact, and 2022 was a
year when you already
started sharing the stage
with much bigger and
better known (at that
point of time) bands like
Dissection, Mortician
etc. What in your opinion
helped you succeed in such
a short term and what were
the biggest lessons (probably
also the hardest ones)
you got from this experience
back then?
An organization for concert
organization in
Lyon called Hammer o f
Gones has helped us a lot in the
past by booking us as the opening
act for all these big names.
The best memory
we have
is undoubtedly
opening
for Dissection.
It was
the band's
comeback,
and being a
fan of Dissection,
it
was an honor
to share
the stage
with them.
As for giving
advice
or lessons learned from our
ascent, we have none. We're
proud of the journey we've
taken, and I think our longevity
is the result of a
friendship that has lasted for
almost three decades now.
5. You were one of those
bands who actually started
building and developing
Death Metal traditions in
France. How did it feel like
to be one of the pioneers and
what was your strongest
support in all this stuff?
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