“I come from a pagan family, and for me it’s absolutely natural to wander through the forest naked”! No, this is not an XXX version of the Little Red Ridinghood, but a quote by Huntress’ singer, Jill Janus.
The Julliard graduate after leaving underground metallers Professor, DJ’ing in various LA clubs, having played with the all-star, all-female covers band Chelsea Girls along with Corey Parks (ex-Nashville Pussy), Allison Robertson (Donnas) and Samantha Maloney (Hole), and of course having posed for Playboy, takes the microphone in old school metal band Huntress.
As far as their sound and their music is concerned I can’t say that this is something new, or original, and I really think that if it wasn’t for Jill Janus’ presence we wouldn’t even know who Huntress were. There are several decent moments in the album, and good ideas, but in total “Spell Eater” doesn’t leave us with something extraordinary, or something more comparing to other bands that would nowadays be labeled under the NWOTHM (New Wave Of Traditional Heavy Metal) bands. Their influences come from the metal classics, Priest, Sabbath, Maiden, they have some thrashy passages, and Jill’s voice dominates. But, what really makes the difference is the songs, and that’s where the band is lacking on their debut album. The dark, almost satanic atmosphere is good, as well as the frenzy soloing, but after you finish listening to the album I wonder if you’d remember anything else than Jill’s photos…
