In between recording and hitting the road in support of Amon Amarth, Huntress frontwoman Jill Janus took time out to speak to Ghost Cult about life in Huntress and to tease a few details about their upcoming third album.
Life in a professional metal band isn’t like the glory days of old and long gone are the days when Manowar travelled in luxury with an additional bus in tow purely for their groupies. Two albums in on a respected metal label, Napalm Records, and with a flurry of press coverage for the pair, one would expect something more glamorous than a mini-bus to be Huntress’ touring companion. But this tour with Amon Amarth is about sacrifices to achieve a vision. “I wanted to tour with Amon Amarth. I wrote it down on a piece of paper and willed it to be true. And here we are. I’m a big believer in visualization” confirms focal-point, Jill Janus.
It’s easy to see why all roads lead to Jill. Not only the voice and face of the band, it is from her that the lyrical themes and imagery flow, too. But to what extent is Huntress a one person show?
“It’s Blake (Meahl – lead guitar) and I who are really the driving force behind Huntress and we’ve been fortunate enough to have several musicians come on this journey with us but sometimes touring is too hard, and that’s really the main reason we’ve had to replace a couple of band members along the way.
“We’re not making any money doing this, and some of these guys have wives or girlfriends or rent to pay, so unless you’re willing to put all your shit in a van, or in storage, it’s going to burn.
“I’ve really had to abandon all other ambitions and only live for Huntress” confirms the focused singer “and it’s not easy to do. Right now my main focus is self-control. It’s not easy to stay sane doing what I do and the pace at which I do it, and a lot of my focus now is ‘Keep your shit together, Jill, and don’t lose it’, and that’s it daily. Every day when I wake up, it’s focus, don’t lose it.”
Making it happen in a professional metal band isn’t all banging out some riffs and seeing what happens… “One side of it is to really maintain your self-control. The other is don’t believe your own hype. The minute you believe you’re a rock star, you’re an asshole. I stay very focused. I am cogniscent of the things that are going on around me, I can hear the buzz, I can hear hype, I won’t believe it because I’m very focused on my purpose.
“I don’t ever look online. It is toxic. It’s deadly. I never read anything online about Huntress. The only thing I interact with are my fans, and that’s on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and those are focused, limited moments. It’s come down to a science. I do not allow myself to read anything online, it’s methodical, and I do not allow any trolls to know my goals. I always say “Keep your goals away from trolls”, and that’s something I live by.
I’ve seen every part of this journey and it’s all come to fruition. Every single bit of Huntress, every moment, every plan has all been visualized and not only by myself but my band mates as well. If you dream it, you can be it. You’re looking at me here, because it was in my head at first. And that goes along with a lot of the imagery, the “occult” aspect as well. As I said, I’m a big believer in visualisation.”
One thing Jill may not have visualized was the panning and critical kicking their second album, Starbound Beast received in many quarters. Regaining credibility can be a difficult thing – it takes years to build a reputation, but only minutes to destroy it.
“We’re always going to stay true to the roots of heavy metal, and we’re always going to stay authentic to who we are, but we’re evolving and that’s a very organic process. What you’ll hear in the production is that it’s going to be a bit more modernized, which I’ve been pushing for and the boys are going to keep it true to the roots of heavy metal and keep the NWOBHM in there. Stylistically my vocals have a little hat-tip to the great Rob Halford and it’s going to be true Huntress through and through.
“The third record will have some of those doom elements, too (that were present on the second album), because it’s The Crone and it’s Death season. There’s dying, and doomy, but there’ll be some surprises on there and it’s going to be a touch catchier as well.”
Jill has mentioned previously that the first three albums are linked, thematically, in terms of following a female life from youth to maturity.
“The second record was more cosmic, the first more occult based, more witchcraft, and now we’re heading into the cycle for the third album, Album three is done, it just needs to be mixed when we get back and then we’re ready to rock. Two more things to do on it and then we’re ready. I call the first three albums our trilogy. The Maiden was Spell Eater, The Mother was Starbound Beast and here comes The Crone. The title is yet to be announced, but the record will be out sometime this summer and we’re moving into the realm of The Crone. The Crone is going to be ruling this phase of the trilogy. She’s horny and she’s an old bitch! She’s a lot of fun.”
Words by STEVE TOVEY