Huntress’ Jill Janus Talks Mayhem Mentors, Glenn Danzig + More

Huntress have put in the work in the studio and they're ready to get their road legs under them at this summer's Mayhem Festival. There's a long road ahead for Huntress as they're just starting the support of their newly released 'Starbound Beast' album, and they just announced their follow-up trek after Mayhem's run.

Noisecreep spoke with Huntress vocalist Jill Janus at the 2013 Mayhem Festival kickoff performance in San Bernardino, Calif. and she opened up about her desire to learn from others, her excitement over meeting future tour mate Glenn Danzig and the comfort level the band now has with a full album cycle under the belt. Check out our discussion with Huntress' Jill Janus below.

You just did a song with Lemmy, who's obviously a great person to learn from, but there are so many great bands on this Mayhem bill. Is there anyone you're interested in checking out -- thinking I'd love to tap in to see what they have to say, if they have any advice?

We've already met Amon Amarth. We actually met them in London. I was presenting, Doro Pesch. We got to meet them at the Metal Hammer Awards in London. We really admired their longevity, how they do their deal. Their stage set up, a f---ing Viking ship like their drum head. It's insane. I love that s---. Besides that, we actually challenged them to a BBQ. We're going to see, it'll be Swedes versus Americans. Vikings versus stoners. In the end, I think we're going to win. We're Americans. But, they did say, "Give us two days of watching you BBQ and then we'll destroy you." So, it's on Amon Amarth. It's on.

I have to ask. You were so cute about it at the Golden Gods -- wanting to track down Glenn Danzig. Did that ever happen?

Yes. And it was better than I expected. He and I had wanted to meet up for a while, like I said we had worked with the same producer Chris Rakestraw. I was brought into his dressing room and we met. I got on my knees and I kissed his hand. I dreamt about doing that since I was in high school and I did it. So I lived out that fantasy. But there is some other big news coming with Danzig and Huntress. You'll be hearing about it soon.

[Editor's Note: Since the interview, a tour with Huntress, Danzig and Scar the Martyr has been revealed.]

You've got Mayhem for the rest of the summer. The new album is coming out, anything else on the horizon that we should be looking for?

'Zenith' is the next single that's going to be coming out with this immense video that's just going to blow your mind. I'm not kidding when I say that. It's going to blow minds. Pack your bongs now. Besides that we have some big tours coming out this fall. Again, can't talk about it. I got to tell you, I'm living the dream. I have the best band ever and I could not do it without them. I'm so happy to be on this journey with my boys. We're new at this and we're going to learn everything we can learn and just keep going. One album a year for as long as we can.

You mentioned your boys. What is it like working with these guys in the band? What do they bring to your show and what's the vibe that you get when you get a chance to play with them?

We've all grown as performers. Especially touring relentlessly supporting 'Spell Eater' all last year all over Europe and the U.S.. We just started to get this unity. It's almost like a telepathic connection where you can feed off each other. It's just a really good working relationship where each one of us brings something unique to the table that forms the sound of Huntress. And at the core we stay true to the roots of heavy metal. We all agree on that. We all agree we will not ever compromise our vision. That's why -- it seems we appeared out of nowhere but we were working at this for a really long time and I wouldn't compromise on those musicians. I found them and I'm not giving them up.

Our thanks to Huntress vocalist Jill Janus for the interview. You can catch Huntress on tour all summer as part of the 2013 Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival. The band's new album, 'Starbound Beast,' is currently available via iTunes.