Spell Eater

I debuted my copy of this camping last weekend and can report that it is all good in the woods. The first time you hear our fearless femme fatale intone the line "I am the Spell Eater", it sounds like a subtle nod to Judas Priest, but this is first and foremost a batch of original and kick-@$$ songs. I remember at some point in college it was fashionable to say you liked Nietzsche. Me? I'm too inclined towards the mystical, and my 19th-century German metaphysical idealist of choice is Hegel. But there is no doubt that Nietzsche has a lot of clever ideas and his popularization of the Apollonian / Dionysian dichotomy in art is as good a starting point for talking about how us moderns use art and music as anything. For me it is a matter of useful categories-- the Dionysian is for the heart, for wine, woman, and song. The Apollonian is for the mind, for metal, pipes, and dreams. While having the rapturous, passionate qualities of drunken rock (=Dionysian drinking music), the compositions of the band once known as Professor, now reborn as the warrior-kings backing Jill Janus, are sufficiently spiky and technical that they can keep the human brain-- that most complex aggregate of matter in the visible universe-- distracted and amused entirely without recourse to emotional elements (=smokin' Apollonian metal). That said, the songs are made of actual notes in pleasing sequences, and they do transport you to another world, one that looks like the stomping grounds of our beloved childhood icon He-Man if reworked by Frank Frazetta and sporting a lot of bodies impaled on pikes. The album artwork by Vance Kelly captures it beautifully. There are three elements to this band that make skeptics anxious. The first is that the band plays traditional heavy metal with a thrash edge. To play rock & roll, which is what old Judas Priest and Dio is, you have to come from a place of rock & roll. It has to be in your soul, and I doubt a band that has *chosen* to play raw thrash for six albums will be able to shift gears and make a traditional heavy metal album that sounds credible. But Huntress are a hungry, up-and-coming band and they nail the ecstatic, reckless rock thing. The second question people are going to have is whether this band is only getting attention because of their attractive singer. If a lot of interest is owing to that... oh well. This band will probably never sell as many records as it should. And part of the reason this is good is specifically because it has a woman for a lead singer. It is a fact that women's voices tend to be a little different than men's. I've also read guitarists saying that sometimes a female voice is nice to work with because it occupies a higher register and therefore doesn't compete with the rhythm guitar for space in a metal song. I don't think it is necessary to politely ignore the different quality of the voice here in the name of gender neutrality. The third question is whether Janus really believes in magick. Again, the proof is in the pudding. She has already wielded the power of manifestation with skill, considering how she has positioned herself on all our stereos. Your grandmother can watch "The Secret", but conviction and force of personality is what separates the apprentices from the masters. And this brings us full circle to the authenticity of the classic metal vibe. Miss Janus sounds dead-serious and has the potential to be metal's most compelling frontwoman. These guys are not destined to become hipster-magnets like say Wolfmother or The Sword-- not that those bands are terrible per se but they sure do toe that irony line (nor does the band take the absurdist route of good ole Manowar and many other old-school acts). The reviewer advice on this website asks reviewers to think, "What would you have wanted to know before you purchased the product?" I'm telling you that Huntress will make you wish you were in love and running naked through a redwood forest. Then the outro to the title track hits and you stumble headfirst into a druid circle and can smell the lichen adorning the stone menhir. It's good. It invokes the spirit of Dionysus more often than Apollo, so having been desensitized by a decade-and-a-half of death metal means I might skip over the wizard smoke and go straight to the mead for this one. Alternatively, the music is just complex and progressive enough (Apollonian to a degree, if you will indulge me) to warrant a pillow of moss and something for your tooth-ache. Oh, and it's a little too heavy for your D&D session but that's what Blackmore's Night is for.

Ok lets say who the review is coming from , my "favorite" metal bands/music are Slayer, most Kittie, Danzig (mostly earlier stuff), King Diamond , old megadeth, DRI, Motorhead and Classical Music. I stumbled upon Eight Of Swords always pursuing and searching for music that I like since I can say I haven't liked many NEW bands or their music in 10 years , but I never give up and was blown away by the song and kept up Huntress until the release of the new album and I am not disappointed. I give the album 5 stars. Unlike many new bands I get the feeling of what the band likes as inspiration without just ripping off or getting "glammy/emo" variation of. You could take this music back to the 80s my hay-day of metal and it would feel the same or fit in. The music is Timeless doesn't have that EMO world sucks or political preaching feeling. Like King Diamond the songs tell a story and vocals are dynamic, she doesn't just pitch out , scream or switch quickly from a speedier sound to slow melody. Strip away the Vocals and you have solid playing, good drums serve foundation of great riffing heavy guitars. Instruments play well together. In all interviews i really like the band as well, they seem to say we will make what we like how we like, but we will also use everything to our advantage to get our music out, hence they have no problem using Jill Janus's sexuality to get people to look at them. People get mad at this but honestly for example Cannibal Corpse uses good gore artwork to get attention to their albums, and now Chris Barnes has apparently gone dreadlocks/Rastafarian and pot head to gain some street cred with whomever his new fan base is. I just hope this freshman album from Huntress isn't another one off, like other bands that have come and gone or switch gears.

Just found out about these guys (and gal) recently (summer 2012). This is a really great band. Jill's voice is very good; furthermore it is consistent throughout the album. Great range too. Eight of Swords is FANTASTIC (worth buying the album for).The lyrics are good old fashioned medieval/Dark Ages/demonic type stuff; done very well here (similiar source material to King Diamond/Dio etc.). Great guitar work, good old fashioned metal; done exceptionally well. More than anything I am looking forward to future albums from this band.

Fun and underrated band. Has a great singer and good sound.

The things that frontwoman Jill Janus can do with voice are astounding. The metal velocity never lets up. As soon as I finish any of the three albums, I want to listen to it again. And with the criminally low prices that Amazon is charging makes it worth taking a chance on at least one of these breathtaking albums. This one & Starbound Beast are a little than Static.

This first album shows a lot of promise and is the origin point for a band that I hope continues to produce great records and tour. They are a fantastic metal band with great vocals, awesome rhythms and outstanding playing.

... if not THE best. I purchased this CD in large part because I wanted "Eight of Swords" (being a metal-head as well as a Tarot reader, I kind of have to love that song). Jill Janus' dulcet tones are at their best on this album. The title track (Spell Eater) will carry you away to a realm of darkness from which you will not escape and each subsequent track drags you further and further, kicking and screaming with no hope of release from the grip of the driving beats and the amazing power of Jill's voice. Jill Janus ... you will be sorely missed ......

Never knew this band existed. Now that I do the lead singer commits suicide. Will be listening for a long time and hope they get a new lead singer to carry on.