{"id":821,"date":"2012-06-12T18:36:48","date_gmt":"2012-06-12T13:06:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/Interviews\/?p=821"},"modified":"2012-06-12T18:43:33","modified_gmt":"2012-06-12T13:13:33","slug":"in-depth-interview-with-huntress-singer-jill-janus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/Interviews\/2012\/06\/12\/in-depth-interview-with-huntress-singer-jill-janus\/","title":{"rendered":"In-depth Interview With Huntress Singer Jill Janus"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Aniruddh “Andrew” Bansal<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Los Angeles-based occult-themed traditional heavy metal band Huntress have been around in the LA underground music scene for a number of years, but 2012 has truly proven to be their breakthrough year, with the release of their debut album “Spell Eater”, followed by the Paganfest North American tour and another run with DragonForce. Recently, I caught up with singer Jill Janus to talk about the band’s rapid progress, the debut album, her interest in occultism, among various other topics. Read the in-depth conversation and check out the band’s facebook page<\/a><\/strong> for more info on the album and the upcoming tour dates.<\/p>\n

First of all, your debut full-length “Spell-Eater” came out in May on Napalm\u00a0Records. What are your thoughts and feelings about the album at this point?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spell Eater recently debuted and we are so proud of our album. It was\u00a0a beautiful and brutal experience. I\u2019m still dusting off demonic\u00a0cobwebs from the vocal booth.<\/p>\n

Even though this is your debut full-length, you did put out an EP\u00a0and a single\u00a0in the past. Would you say the songs on “Spell Eater” follow a similar musical\u00a0style?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We have stayed true to the roots of heavy metal since the formation of\u00a0Huntress. Our musicianship gets stronger, our sound more definitive.\u00a0But at the heart of it, the vision remains the same.<\/p>\n

The most notable thing about the music is the dark, occult vibe. What’s the\u00a0reason for your liking of the occult?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have been Pagan since birth. I grew up on a deer farm in the\u00a0Catskill Mountains of New York, a region known for its ties to the\u00a0occult. My family is quite eccentric and always encouraged my secret\u00a0sight. I\u2019ve never had to speak of my beliefs until Spell Eater. I will\u00a0always hold close my mystery, however, many secrets will be revealed\u00a0within the songs.<\/p>\n

You have displayed a great vocal range on this album. When did you start<\/strong>
\nlearning to sing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was born with a four octave coloratura soprano range. My mother\u00a0realized I had a big voice and took me to auditions as a child. I was\u00a0performing in opera productions while recording thrash songs in my\u00a0basement. It just took me a little longer to break free of theatre. My\u00a0classical training is now the foundation for my screams, it helps me\u00a0to maintain the Voice.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I read somewhere that you toured Europe as a teenage opera star. Would you\u00a0say you’ve brought some of those theatrics to your on-stage performance as part\u00a0of Huntress?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Absolutely, I love theatre. I feel a strong bond with the stage. But I\u00a0have spent many years stripping away the classical inflections in my\u00a0voice. Huntress is not musical theatre, it is metal. Opera was never\u00a0dark enough for me.<\/p>\n

But did the opera experience at such a young age give you the confidence to\u00a0perform on stage?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, but I\u2019ve always been confident. I\u2019ve always known my purpose,\u00a0which is the Voice. My family said I had a focus and drive as a child\u00a0that was beyond my years. At the age of five, I told my father I was\u00a0born to sing and I would do nothing except sing for the rest of my
\nlife. I\u2019ve never lacked confidence!<\/p>\n

Does your on-stage performance change with different sizes of venues, or do<\/strong>
\nyou keep things exactly the same?<\/strong><\/p>\n

You will have to ask the Crone that question. She runs the show. She\u00a0is the nasty, horny old hag who possesses me on stage. I can tell you\u00a0we are an amazing duo.<\/p>\n

In LA, what venue do you most enjoy playing in?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Roxy. Best venue in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Coming back to the debut album, when did you actually started working on it,<\/strong>
\nand how long did it take?<\/strong><\/p>\n

One and a half years. One year of writing and re-writing. One month of\u00a0pre-production. One month of recording. It was a tedious process. But\u00a0we wouldn\u2019t compromise. Our debut album is exactly what we envisioned.<\/p>\n

It’s great that Huntress plays traditional heavy metal. What made the band\u00a0gravitate towards playing that style?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Traditional heavy metal is simply the best. We aren\u2019t throw backs or\u00a0retro, we keep our sound marching forward and are influenced by black\u00a0metal, death and thrash. But the heart of Huntress will always stay\u00a0true to the roots of heavy metal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I’ve been following the band’s facebook, and it seems like Huntress\u00a0is getting\u00a0constant attention in magazines. Are you surprised by the rapid progress you’ve\u00a0made in the press?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, it\u2019s been a whirlwind and a bit overwhelming at times. But we\u00a0can back up the hype. We are fearless and ready to conquer. We\u2019ve been\u00a0waiting a very long time for this moment. I\u2019ve visualized much of it,\u00a0seen it play out like a movie. I\u2019m sitting here writing this interview\u00a0on our tour bus, from Metalfest Loreley in Germany. It\u2019s raining. The\u00a0band Witchcraft is playing right now. One year ago exactly, Huntress\u00a0fell apart. I fired the original drummer and almost lost my band. I\u00a0had a nervous breakdown that put me in the hospital. But I asked the\u00a0remaining members to have faith in me, I told them we must share the\u00a0same vision for Huntress. I would not compromise. I never will. And\u00a0now we\u2019re touring Europe in a fucking Nightliner and have two US tours\u00a0under our belts. If you can dream it, you can be it. Believe the ways\u00a0of the witch.<\/p>\n

You did the Paganfest tour. Huntress must have been the\u00a0odd band on that line-up. Was it a conscious decision to be on that\u00a0tour and play\u00a0to different audiences?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We were given some wonderful opportunities as a baby band, many people\u00a0had faith in Huntress. Paganfest was ideal for us, it was the perfect\u00a0first national tour. We learned a lot, and even though we aren\u2019t pagan\u00a0metal, we found a common bond through fantasy with the other acts. The\u00a0audiences embraced us, we miss the crew and bands like mad! We\u2019re\u00a0actually hanging out with Alestorm today and it rules!<\/p>\n

What plans does the band have for the rest of the year?<\/strong><\/p>\n

After Paganfest, we joined up immediately with Dragonforce for our\u00a0second US tour. Again, audiences embraced us and we formed friendships\u00a0with the Dragonforce boys. Now we\u2019re in Europe playing Metalfest Open\u00a0Airs, followed by another US tour this Summer and more dates to be\u00a0announced for Europe and UK this Fall. This Winter we plan to finish
\nthe next album, which we have already started writing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I also read about your very recent music video shooting adventures. Tell me a<\/strong>
\nlittle about what you went through, and does that make the final video even more<\/strong>
\nworth the effort?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Huntress has two videos: Eight of Swords and Spell Eater. Eight of\u00a0Swords brought us the attention we desired to find a record label, as\u00a0the Tarot cards foretold. Both were directed by Simon Chan of\u00a0Artificial Army. He\u2019s a wizard. Both video concepts came to me like\u00a0magic, the creative aspect was quite effortless. Every song on this\u00a0album already has its own story, its own little heartbeat. However,\u00a0the actual shoot for Spell Eater was brutal. Two days in the Mojave\u00a0Desert, rain, snow and violent winds. I broke down and cried each\u00a0night. The photography is breathtaking, it\u2019s heavy. But I wouldn\u2019t do\u00a0it again.<\/p>\n

Lastly I would like to ask, you’ve done so many different things in\u00a0life already ..\u00a0opera, hard rock cover band, and now metal. Do you feel that this is where you\u00a0belong from now on?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anything I have done prior to Huntress was preparation for this\u00a0moment. I grew up poor, learned to hustle and took on jobs to fund my\u00a0music. Metal has always been my true love. Looking back, it all makes\u00a0sense now. I finally feel like I belong on this planet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Aniruddh “Andrew” Bansal Los Angeles-based occult-themed traditional heavy metal band Huntress have been around in the LA underground music scene for a number of years, but 2012 has truly proven to be their breakthrough year, with the release of their debut album “Spell Eater”, followed by the Paganfest North American tour and another run … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “In-depth Interview With Huntress Singer Jill Janus”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/Interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/Interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/Interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/Interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/Interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=821"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/Interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":828,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/Interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821\/revisions\/828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/Interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/Interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/Interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}