Napalm Records
2013
1. Enter The Exosphere (Intro)
2. Blood Sisters
3. I Want To Fuck You To Death
4. Destroy Your Life
5. Starbound Beast
6. Zenith
7. Oracle
8. Receiver
9. Spectra Spectral
10. Alpha Tauri
Huntress' first release, Spell Eater, was a pretty good album, but I felt it could have been better. When I initially discovered the band and heard the song Eight Of Swords I got excited as hell for more, but the rest of the album just didn't quite meet my expectations of it. It was just a slight let down that none of the rest of the Spell Eater managed to match the intensity of that song. It was a debut though and there certainly was a lot of promise shown so I was hoping for more out of this one going in. I was pretty much thinking this album had the potential to kick a lot of ass if the band could grow a bit in the songwriting and maybe bring a little more speed and energy to the overall experience.
After listening to Starbound Beast, it does seem like the band has indeed grown a bit here. Things are a little less choppy and harsh with more of an underlying sense of melody. I hear some nice Maiden-isms here and while that's not exactly uncommon in metal, they make good use of them. Overall, the energy is just better and the songwriting is a bit more mature. Ok maybe mature is an odd word to use for I Want To Fuck You To Death, but lyrics aside, it rings true for me. On their debut the band may have been trying just a little too hard to sound harsh and evil. This has more of a flowing energy about it and the experience is more involving. Starbound Beast just seems more polished in a good way. I feel like the vocal experience has improved here as well as there's more of a focus on melodic singing and Janus has too good of a voice to be screeching and growling all the time. There's still a fair amount of harshness and edge for sure, but this has a bit more of a nod to the old school while still keeping things modern and aggressive. The overall experience reminds of influences like King Diamond and Iron Maiden thrown together with some thrashiness and given a modern touch.
Basically, this shows the growth and more consistent energy that I was hoping for out of the band. It's an improvement and this is the kind of sophmore album you want to see. Starbound Beast shows me that Huntress has room to grow and they have the ability to do so. I like where Huntress is headed. If you like the idea of a female fronted band with an aggressive, straight up heavy metal feel and an occult vibe than Huntress is worth your time.
Highlights: Receiver, I Want To Fuck You To Death, Zenith
Rating - 3.5/5
2. Blood Sisters
3. I Want To Fuck You To Death
4. Destroy Your Life
5. Starbound Beast
6. Zenith
7. Oracle
8. Receiver
9. Spectra Spectral
10. Alpha Tauri
Huntress' first release, Spell Eater, was a pretty good album, but I felt it could have been better. When I initially discovered the band and heard the song Eight Of Swords I got excited as hell for more, but the rest of the album just didn't quite meet my expectations of it. It was just a slight let down that none of the rest of the Spell Eater managed to match the intensity of that song. It was a debut though and there certainly was a lot of promise shown so I was hoping for more out of this one going in. I was pretty much thinking this album had the potential to kick a lot of ass if the band could grow a bit in the songwriting and maybe bring a little more speed and energy to the overall experience.
After listening to Starbound Beast, it does seem like the band has indeed grown a bit here. Things are a little less choppy and harsh with more of an underlying sense of melody. I hear some nice Maiden-isms here and while that's not exactly uncommon in metal, they make good use of them. Overall, the energy is just better and the songwriting is a bit more mature. Ok maybe mature is an odd word to use for I Want To Fuck You To Death, but lyrics aside, it rings true for me. On their debut the band may have been trying just a little too hard to sound harsh and evil. This has more of a flowing energy about it and the experience is more involving. Starbound Beast just seems more polished in a good way. I feel like the vocal experience has improved here as well as there's more of a focus on melodic singing and Janus has too good of a voice to be screeching and growling all the time. There's still a fair amount of harshness and edge for sure, but this has a bit more of a nod to the old school while still keeping things modern and aggressive. The overall experience reminds of influences like King Diamond and Iron Maiden thrown together with some thrashiness and given a modern touch.
Basically, this shows the growth and more consistent energy that I was hoping for out of the band. It's an improvement and this is the kind of sophmore album you want to see. Starbound Beast shows me that Huntress has room to grow and they have the ability to do so. I like where Huntress is headed. If you like the idea of a female fronted band with an aggressive, straight up heavy metal feel and an occult vibe than Huntress is worth your time.
Highlights: Receiver, I Want To Fuck You To Death, Zenith
Rating - 3.5/5
