Huntress-Starbound Beast

Napalm Records
2013

For new bands sophomore releases can make or break you. While a good follow-up will help you build upon any success you previously had a bad follow-up can quickly allow critics a chance to bury you. With "Starbound Beast" I approached this album with no expectations. Even though I happened to like the debut-album from Huntress, 2012's "Spell Eater", I have to admit that repeated listens eventually made me long for more. On "Spell Eater" I came to languish missed opportunities. After listening to it over and over you'd think that it would resonate more with me, but the opposite actually happened where I started to nit pick flaws. So here, with a blank expression on my face, I looked into this promo and, seeing as I was in the mist of a potentially busy day, I actually made a copy of this album (For my own listening pleasure and no one else!) to listen to in my car as I ran a day's worth of errands. And wouldn't you know it this album shreds! "Starbound Beast" is such a HUGE step-forward that it's hard not to get overly excited about cool, straight-up, traditional heavy metal! Jill Janus (The band's provocative power-house vocalist) sounds much more in tune with her band-mates and, while I didn't go back and pull out "Spell Eater" for a side-by-side comparison, it sure does sound as if she is more adapt at actually "singing" on LP number two! Overall the band seems as if they have really jelled together and are more comfortable as a genuine band (Initially the group was made up of ex-Professor members with Jill as a new singer so it is possible that on album number one they were still feeling their way around being a new band.) and, as such, are more capable of writing more unique and tighter material. With 10-tracks total, one of which is simply the album's intro opening, the band puts all of their effort and energy into making sure that things are down right. With cuts like "Blood Sisters" and the "not for the kiddies" thrasher "I Want To F**k You To Death" pulling no punches up front the rest of the album flows easily through the band's take on kick ass metal. Yet again the group relies on the same sort of influences as album number one (Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Taist Of Iron, Witchfinder General, Black Sabbath, Cirith Ungol, Chastian, Mercyful Fate) but here it's all the more original and natural sounding. Between albums it does appear that there was a bit of a line-up change as now the band features two former members of the group DarkBlack (The latest one, Anthony Crocamo, handles guitar along with founding member Blake Meahl while original second guitarist Ian Alden has now switched to bass.) but the switch-ups hasn't affected the band in any ill way. Now, while the group (musically at least) sounds similar, the lyrical content has taken a step forward as evident on the title cut which, odd as it may sound, takes it's cue from the likes of Blue Öyster Cult. With "Starbound Beast" the band continues their exploration of space and the various nuances of occult rock that began on their first LP (For example album number one had cuts like  "Sleep Of Death" which, according to lead singer Jill Janus, dealt with space travel.) and will no doubt pop up on further releases. At least let's hope for further releases seeing as the group has made some nice leaps between album number one and album number two with this new one being highly recommended!

Huntress-Spell Eater

Napalm Records
2012


Observant readers might recall that a month or so ago (March 22, 2012 to be precise) I did a write-up on Huntress and their "Eight of Swords" single. At the time I did wonder to myself if the band would prove to be anything more substantial than all the hype that surrounded the group's hot singer. After all, one good song does not an album make. Since that time two things happened though to change my mind and, as a result, get me truly excited to hear the whole album. The first is "Spell Eater". Or, rather the song "Spell Eater" as it was included on the last sampler album to be featured in Metal Hammer. It proved to me that the band was capable of pulling off true heavy metal that, while yes both dark and sinister in much the same way as Mercyful Fate, was well crafted and executed consistently. The second thing to happen was the tremendous amount of praise this album was receiving. I'm not just talking about reviews from your run of the mill, mainstream sources (where they wouldn't know NWOBHM if it smacked them in the face) but from reviewers I highly respected. So, a day after sending off a formal request to Napalm Records I was happy to see that I was approved and that "Spell Eater" would be there for the taking. I've got to mention something and that is yes, even though Huntress is much more than the seriously deadly lungs of Julliard-educated vocalist Jill Janus, I'm still drawn to the band because of promo pictures like this:




There is of course nothing wrong with being both strong and sensual and Jill Janus is much more than simply a temptress. As stated she can sing and "Spell Eater" does a great job of wrapping music tightly around her that works to highlight her strengths. Before taking the lead spot in Huntress, and probably before she went around in fur and fake blood, Jill could be found fronting an all-female cover band called The Chelsea Girls. Since that band was known about town for playing hard rock and heavy metal numbers it does seem funny that with Huntress at least, since I did not check out The Chesea Girls myself for this review, Jill pulls off a rather nice impersonation of King Diamond. Let's not forget about the rest of the band and there help in crafting this killer album as it would be easy enough for them to be over shadowed by Jill. The rest of the band is filled out by ex-Professor members Blake Meahl and Ian Alden (guitar solos), Eric Harris (bassist) Carl Wiezrbicky (drums). Their old band was straight-ahead heavy metal so when they formed Huntress with Jill the foundation must have already been set in place to create heavy steel. Huntress brings forth the sounds of older metal (Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Taist Of Iron, Witchfinder General, Black Sabbath, Cirith Ungol, Chastian, Mercyful Fate, etc.) and like many bands these days splices it with a more modern touch. For Huntress it is all about having that edge. The band's metal comes across as a no-frills, no fuss approach and yet, hidden right below the surface, there is a technically savvy bunch that knows just how good they really are even if Jill gets all the glory. When it's all been said and done I walk away from Huntress with a new appreciation in place. For a band to get this much hype and really be worth it says something. "Spell Eater" is a satisfying debut for this female-fronted act and an album that, hopefully with time, will be the first of many great moments to come. It's good to see Huntress step right into the scene and make a lasting impression with an album that is equal parts heavy, dark and dreadful.