Hunted

MM: Your "Alone" demo EP is well-produced and has been well-received in the metal community. Have any major labels come calling?
Chris: Thanks a lot! We‘re definitely pleased with how it‘s been received, people and generally the metal community out there really liked it a lot. As far as labels, yes, we have had interest from a few independent and well-known ones but not from a major one as of yet.

MM: Where did you find drummer Matt "Animal" Thomas? Listening to him play, you can tell he didn't get his nickname for nothing, he tears the kit up.
Steve: Matt joined HUNTED around a year ago when we were advertising for a new drummer (our previous drummer Adam actually plays on the recording of ’Silence of Minds’). Matt was definitely the best auditionee and his hard-hitting ‘animalistic’ technique and enthusiastic vibe towards the band was very appealing. We’ve actually never seen a drummer go through drumsticks the way he does!
Jon: He definitely lives up to his name live too!

MM: At what age did you realize you wanted to become a musician?
Matt: My family’s told me I would move to any beat from any song from the age of 2 or 3! I went through a few instruments until the drums, and from the age of 12 or 13, they were for me.
Steve: I started playing guitar at 13 years of age, I don’t think I ever took it too seriously until I came back to the UK in 2001 where becoming a musician is actually viable.
Chris: At the age of 14, when I formed my first metal band and had my first gig!
Dan: Since as long as I can remember. My father is a guitarist, and so is my brother, so I've always been surrounded by guitar.
Jon: 17 for me. Within about a week of picking up a bass for the first time! I just wish I’d started sooner.

MM: Are you working on new material?
Steve: Always! There are 2 main composers in the band but every member has plenty of ideas for upcoming tunes which means we have a huge amount of material waiting to be worked on. We’re currently working on a 10 track self-financed debut album which hopefully will be released sometime 2010.

MM: Can you explain the lyrics of each song on "Alone" and your writing process?
Chris: I’ll leave that up to the main songwriters of the band, Steve & Jon, as mainly they write the lyrics as well as the music of each song. Obviously, we all contribute towards the final structure of any of our songs but, coming to the explanation of the lyrics, I would say that I’m the one that hopefully gives them life in the song, I always try to live them all the way through.
Steve: "Impaled": This song is based on an incident that occurred near me in Colombia where a child witnessed the murder of his parents during a robbery on the street. It sings about the innocence of the child, the naive and confused reaction he must have felt, his thirst for revenge as an adult, and the need to exorcise those cruel memories. "Shadows": This song is quite simply inspired by a real relationship that had to end due to circumstances that could not be controlled — hence it deals with moving on, leaving the past, and also the desire to be released from the grasp of fate. "Silence of Minds": This is a bit more complex! "Silence of Minds" deals with those idealistic concepts that are cemented into us at childhood, especially those regarding religion (heaven/hell) that we seem to embrace without understanding them — only after we become older and ‘wiser’ do we realise that nothing is clear and nobody really (in my humble opinion) knows what to believe.

MM: What are your touring plans?
Steve: We have a number of great gigs coming up over the summer and are currently arranging more around the whole of the UK. We’re definitely looking to head out towards the strongholds of metal that are most European countries! If you’re interested in keeping track of our plans, please keep checking http://www.myspace.com/huntedrock as we are updating it all the time.

MM: Do you have a favorite band that you would want to go on tour with?
Matt: I can’t wait to get out and play some of the big metal fests!
Dan: Hmmm … Dream Theater or … Dream Theater.
Chris: Nevermore, please?
Steve: I’d have to say ‘not really’ as there are too many bands that we would be more than happy to support. I guess we would prefer to support a band of similar style, say Helloween or Nevermore.
Jon: Supporting Iron Maiden, Megadeth or Nevermore would certainly make me an unfeasibly happy man.

MM: How can someone find your "Alone" demo?
Steve: We’re not selling "Alone" as a CD at the moment (other than at gigs, for £3!), but we’ll be setting up a merchandise section soon on our myspace. The tracks can also be bought/downloaded individually at http://indiestore.7digital.com/hunted Alternatively, please feel very free to get in touch with us via our myspace or at huntedrock@hotmail.co.uk

MM: What's next for the band and what do you hope to achieve?
Chris: Next step for the band is the self-financed recording of our first album, which we’ve already started. It’s started taking shape already, sounding really cool and this time we’re aiming for the absolute best sound we can get. We’re definitely working hard on overall perfection of our playing and production, which is hopefully gonna help us get some interest from the major labels, get a deal and be able to just play our music and do what we really know how to do at its best!
Jon: We would all love to do this for a living, and have the chance to take our sound as far as it can go, both musically and professionally. The sky’s the limit, we hope!

Kelley Simms