Huntress – Static

Sad Karaoke

Huntress is the project of Jill Janus. Janus is an attractive woman who lives in Los Angeles. Janus has problems with drugs and alcohol and feels sad and alone sometimes. On Static, she sings about her personal issues over slightly modified versions of 1980’s NWOBHM, Hair and Thrash metal hits. On the album cover, Janus looks ugly and scary.

On Static, Janus’ voice is loud and prominent. The rest of the band are quiet and in the background. The song “Sorrow” contains the lyrics “Lost and fading summer / I’ve become such a bummer / Like a suicide letter / This shit can’t get any better / Life really sucks / Someone please shut me up.” The song “Mania” is 8 minutes and 44 seconds long and contains the lyrics “I can’t remember what happened last night… / If you ever spent a night in my head / by the morning you’d be dead.”

Huntress used to be slightly heavier. Their songs were about spirit beasts and the occult. Huntress has developed a personal nature. It has become spiritually similar to Rollins Band, Today is the Day or Strapping Young Lad, but does not contain any original musical ideas.

Static is a musically disciplined album. Jill Janus sings lots of melodies and the band plays a lot of riffs. The songs maintain steady volumes and tempos. Some of the songs still contain stories about magic and space. There is a song with the title “Harsh Times on Planet Stoked.” The album contains many plainspoken lyrics. Humor does not result. There are no surprises on Static.

Heavy metal is transgressive and strange. Heavy metal musicians are creative and technically skilled. Heavy metal expresses dark emotions well. Static is musically nostalgic. It is lyrically underdeveloped. It sounds like karaoke. It is a waste of time.