Huntress - Static (2015)

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Huntress - Static (2015)

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To state Californian Heavy Metal warriors HUNTRESS are making their presence known in the Metal community would be more than stating the obvious, their brutal sound and their dominant charisma has ensured they will secure a place in Metal history. Their relentless touring and fierce work ethic has ensured this; gaining support slots for the likes of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, LAMB OF GOD, AMON AMARTH and ARCH ENEMY.
HUNTRESS were the concoction spawned from Jill Janus, who has certainly become quite a strong figure in the Metal community. The band strive on giving us roaring drums, searing riffs, heavy riffs and memorable choruses which they certainly deliver on previous releases “Spell Eater” and “Starbound Beast” whilst releasing anthemic single “I Wanna Fuck You To Death”. They are to release their latest specimen “Static” later this month and it can be stated that this will mark a more than heroic return from this vicious quartet, due to Jill winning a recent battle with cancer.
From the moment you press play on that record you instantly feel the instant vibe that states “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger” as opening track “Sorrow” really shows no mercy and shows us that HUNTRESS are here to stay. As the album progresses so does the sound, can even hear a mixture of influences from different sub-genres of Metal; for example “Mania” seems to take on a more Doom Metal vibe then the next minute you hear the high pitched screams and sombre tones that Black Metal are best known for giving their fanbase. This is a personal favourite track on the album due to one track containing so many elements of different sub-genres to create something spellbinding. “I Want To Wanna Wake Up”, “Four Blood Moons” and “Noble Savage” also provide a hypnotising vibe that will root the listener to their spot.
An incredibly powerful release from this Californian Metal outfit that will wow fans and metalheads on an international scale.

by Lotty Whittingham, metal-temple.com

In the two years since Huntress released 2013's Starbound Beast, frontwoman and songwriter Jill Janus has been through some very scary stuff. She was diagnosed and surgically treated for uterine cancer, and revealed that she has been battling various mental illnesses – including bipolar disorder – since her early twenties. Huntress have also undergone more personnel changes. Tyler Meahl (guitarist Blake's brother) is their new drummer. Also new to the fold is Holy Grail guitarist Eli Santana. In the wake of all this, the band could be forgiven a middling album, but that's not what Static is; it's a step forward from Starbound Beast. Huntress have never been ashamed of their influences and they freely indulge them here, with NWOBHM, thrash, death, and doom among them. Janus employs her entire four-octave range on these 11 tracks that were co-produced by Paul Fig and James A. Rota. Opener "Sorrow" offers manic Meahl guitar riffs and an anthemic, fist-pumping chorus. First single "Flesh" recalls Rhandy Rhoads with a strutting riff that becomes a chugging sprint. The hook is so catchy it could be a Mercyful Fate single. "I Wanna Wake Up" is another furious cruncher. Janus transforms the band's meaty, squalling riffs into a transcendent chorus. Starbound Beast carried little of the doomy occult appeal that their debut Spell Eater offered. Here, the nearly nine-minute "Mania" picks up on the feel and mood of the earlier album's "Eight of Swords." Commencing with a gentle, melancholy melody (via beautiful open-hand fingerpicking), its slow, epic power thunders in a minute later and only relents briefly in the bridge. The headbanging Motörhead-esque gallop in "Four Blood Moons" is exceptional, while the furious urgency in the title track is underscored by an unhinged guitar breakdown. And speaking of fury, "Fire in My Heart" is the only place here where Janus lets her semi-unclean growl out of the box. A pummeling bassline hums through the throbbing guitar vamps, making the tune punchy as hell. Static closes with the bonus cut "Black Tongue." It's a studio version of a concert favorite. (An homage to Jägermeister, Janus does a shot of it after singing the words: "Hunt down the dark elixir and give away your mind.") There is but one small complaint about Static. Fig's and Rota's instrumental production is stellar, miles above what most modern metal recordings offer. But one has to ask why then, they would partially conceal a vocalist as powerful and technically gifted as Janus in their mix? The lyric sheet shouldn't even be necessary, let alone elemental, but it is. Criticism aside, Huntress' vibrant, unrelenting energy on Static, as well as their songwriting variety and old-school American metal swagger, make this their most consistent and confident effort to date.

by Thom Jurek, AMG

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Huntress - Static (2015)

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Huntress - Static (2015)

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Huntress - Static (2015)

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