You would understandably mistaken, from all the album promo material floating around, that Huntress is a band that is comprised of one member. The irrefutably striking Jill Janus, vocalist and resident banshee for the band, has become so synonymous with Huntress’ image that it’s hard to work out if there are any other members of this autonomous female state. Of course, bands sell their debut albums based on this kind of imagery, but this sword is double edged; in fixing the spotlight on any aspect of a band will mean that it’ll continue to receive attention, even after the initial meat market is over.
In the case of Huntress, and Ms. Janus in particular, this seems unfair. Spell Eater, whilst being a solid album, is not outstanding. Not only does it not pull out the kind of venom and riveting evil that you want from this sort of record, but it also fails to showcase the amazing pipes that Janus undoubtedly has.
Instead, Spell Eater is riddled with episodic demonstrations of fiery musicianship and sinister vocals, but remains devoid of any scintillating songs. As opposed to this being a play filled with peaks and troughs, the album feels like a series of mediocre monologues, on which the vocals and the music play a part, but never actually get fully utilised. Janus suffers the most, as her coarse and devastating snarl fails to ignite on any song, which makes the album feel a little fleshless; when she does connect, as on the midway grind of ‘Eight of Swords’, it seems like there’s a supernova of potential waiting to explode out of the band, which sadly falls flat. As it stands, it all just feels a little distant and hollow.
The riffing on the album is notable, but feels a little more Broadway and a little less malevolent, although the record is indisputably heaped with guitar technicality; admittedly the guitars are sapped of any warming tones, but never resonate with the kind of darkness that you’d expect from a band with such maligned imagery. Couple the elaborate guitar work with the undoubtedly dark but flowery lyrical themes, and Spell Eater feels a little like a parody. This is an unjust result for a band that have an iceberg of potential here, but who seem to have fallen prey to an exasperatingly ravenous hype machine.
Huntress’ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HuntressKills
Napalm Records’ Website: http://www.napalmrecords.com
Bottom Line
Packed with punchy music and brutal vocals, so much more could have come from this debut. Disappointing.
I could only get halfway through the first song before my arteries were in danger of being clogged with cheese. I don’t trust any band who feels they have to wheel out a scantily-clad lady to get attention, to be fair, but this was all too bombastic for me!
May 17, 2012 at 12:31 OneMetal Team Member
Have to say I very much agree with Dani here. I’m not sure what to make of all the sexual imagery associated with the band and how it reflects on women in metal. Empowering or demeaning? I suppose Manowar did it, but I’m still not sure what kind of example it sets.
May 18, 2012 at 14:29 OneMetal Team Member
Way more offensive than the idea that Huntress might sell some records with Jill’s boobs is the idea that some people will assume the band is not good just because Jill is hot. That is really backwards. Somewhere, in all the exploding, infinite parallel possible universes, it was inevitable that a hot chick with a magnetic personality and talent out the wazoo would come to front a kick-a$$ metal band. As far as songwriting, musical chops, credibility, and the raw charisma of their frontperson, this Huntress album is AT LEAST in the same league as Manowar and Udo-era Accept. If they are not in the same league as Judas Priest and Dio, well christ people, who is?
June 12, 2012 at 18:38
That’s a valid point, and fair enough indeed, but I listened to them on the back of another review before I made the assessment that they sucked. It actually wasn’t even anything to do with Jill, I found the music dated and really quite tedious. I checked out a couple more songs after David’s review to see if they were a grower and I still maintain that he was pretty generous. But it’s not my bag anyway, to be fair I can’t stand any bombastic metal :)
As for assuming a band isn’t good because their female members get their norks out – some people probably do, and ‘backward’ it may be, but I do sense that behaviour like that does serve as a distraction from weak music. Maybe I just have a chip on my shoulder as a woman in a band, but my opinion is that the music should always speak louder than the image.
June 13, 2012 at 10:42 OneMetal Team Member
Janus is tone-deaf, period. I don’t know how a “classically-trained” singer as herself didn’t realize that flimsily arranged high-pitched wailing makes people wince, no matter how “extreme” she thinks they’re being sold. As for riffs, these are some of the simplest that have been written all year. If this year’s Christian Mistress, Holy Moses’ and Witch Mountain albums are considered then it’s been a very good year for chicks in heavy metal.
September 27, 2012 at 01:17