Haunt

Sorry if these guys have been mentioned before but I just found out they hail from my hometown of Fresno (aka The Isle of Mediocrity)! Show how out of touch I am with the scene around here. Enjoyable stuff.

New album drops May 19!

I checked these guys out awhile back through an Amazon recommendation. Sounded decent enough, but then I sorta forgot about them. The lead singer/guitarist is (was?) also in the doom band Beastmaker

MetalGuy71 wrote:

The lead singer/guitarist is (was?) also in the doom band Beastmaker

He's also the son of Bill Church (Montrose).

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

The lead singer/guitarist is (was?) also in the doom band Beastmaker

He's also the son of Bill Church (Montrose).

I had no idea Haunt was Trevor Church's band! Badass.

Yeah Bill Church still resides here in Fresno as well, as far as I know. Bought a guitar from him forever ago when he was working a local guitar shoppe (Spitzer's Sound Stage). Told me a couple cool road stories that I've forgotten by now.

Hopefully I can catch these guys when they get back from the road. Beastmaker had some killer music as well. The last Haunt album has a bit of a lean Omen flavor that I dig.

I'm kinda digging both bands and their different styles, but I'm not sure I'll be getting either anytime soon. But maybe, who knows?

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I'm kinda digging both bands and their different styles, but I'm not sure I'll be getting either anytime soon. But maybe, who knows?

Yeah I'm on the fence. Great riffs, production values, atmosphere etc. But none of it quite sticking. And Trevor's voice is a hair to soft for the most part. I'd be curious to catch a gig.

Here's their new EP:

^^Nice!

Yeah, I'm not really digging Trevor's voice that much. I understand the vibe he's going for, and it almost works, but in the end the vocals are rather limited.

corplhicks wrote:

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

The lead singer/guitarist is (was?) also in the doom band Beastmaker

He's also the son of Bill Church (Montrose).

I had no idea Haunt was Trevor Church's band! Badass.

Yeah Bill Church still resides here in Fresno as well, as far as I know. Bought a guitar from him forever ago when he was working a local guitar shoppe (Spitzer's Sound Stage). Told me a couple cool road stories that I've forgotten by now.

Hopefully I can catch these guys when they get back from the road. Beastmaker had some killer music as well. The last Haunt album has a bit of a lean Omen flavor that I dig.

Me either, man. I just found out yesterday when he posted about them on the Beastmaker page. Been meaning to check them out, but thought their albums were out of print on CD. He pointed me to Shadow Kingdom, so I ordered them there.

Love Beastmaker! He's been churning out some killer EPs lately. Up to 10 now.

Eyesore wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

The lead singer/guitarist is (was?) also in the doom band Beastmaker

He's also the son of Bill Church (Montrose).

I had no idea Haunt was Trevor Church's band! Badass.

Yeah Bill Church still resides here in Fresno as well, as far as I know. Bought a guitar from him forever ago when he was working a local guitar shoppe (Spitzer's Sound Stage). Told me a couple cool road stories that I've forgotten by now.

Hopefully I can catch these guys when they get back from the road. Beastmaker had some killer music as well. The last Haunt album has a bit of a lean Omen flavor that I dig.

Me either, man. I just found out yesterday when he posted about them on the Beastmaker page. Been meaning to check them out, but thought their albums were out of print on CD. He pointed me to Shadow Kingdom, so I ordered them there.

Love Beastmaker! He's been churning out some killer EPs lately. Up to 10 now.

So is Beastmaker over or is he doing double duty?

They're playing in town on Tuesday! Looking forward to chatting with him IF I can make it, he sounds like a cool dude with a lot of talent.

Thanks for sharing, I had never heard of these guys. Love when I find a band because of this forum. It's how I discovered Night Demon, because of a post here. If it weren't for you guys all I would have are my classic releases.

I really like this band. I saw the luminous eyes album cover somewhere and it reminded me of an 80's Valiant comic book.

https://hauntthenation.bandcamp.com

I have seen lots of advertising for this band at a couple of record shops in Greece a few months ago. They are on my want list.

corplhicks wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

The lead singer/guitarist is (was?) also in the doom band Beastmaker

He's also the son of Bill Church (Montrose).

I had no idea Haunt was Trevor Church's band! Badass.

Yeah Bill Church still resides here in Fresno as well, as far as I know. Bought a guitar from him forever ago when he was working a local guitar shoppe (Spitzer's Sound Stage). Told me a couple cool road stories that I've forgotten by now.

Hopefully I can catch these guys when they get back from the road. Beastmaker had some killer music as well. The last Haunt album has a bit of a lean Omen flavor that I dig.

Me either, man. I just found out yesterday when he posted about them on the Beastmaker page. Been meaning to check them out, but thought their albums were out of print on CD. He pointed me to Shadow Kingdom, so I ordered them there.

Love Beastmaker! He's been churning out some killer EPs lately. Up to 10 now.

So is Beastmaker over or is he doing double duty?

They're playing in town on Tuesday! Looking forward to chatting with him IF I can make it, he sounds like a cool dude with a lot of talent.

No, not over. Like I said, he's been releasing a bunch of Beastmaker EPs as of late. Two at a time (or so it seems), four songs each. He releases them individually as digital albums at first, then a few months later puts them both on a single CD.

I just got EP 5 And 6 and EP 7 And 8 on CD today, in fact.

I actually prefer Beastmaker to Haunt.

Just got back from the show. Wow. I was going to post more, along with some photos, but my ears are ringing painfully, my neck is sore, and I look just like I feel. More tomorrow, hopefully.

Seriously, guys...I am absolutely impressed, and I wasn't the only one.

Wow.

EDIT: Oh yeah, before I forget, new EP has dropped, and new full length is in May.

Looking forward to seeing some pics. Did you get to meet him?

mikeinfla wrote:

Looking forward to seeing some pics. Did you get to meet him?

Only briefly; we talked about a Dio-Sabbath show he saw back in the day and his dad a bit, then he was gone like poof. Understandable though, he was really under the weather and just getting home from a tour. His choice of onstage drink was tea instead of beer. He even admitted on stage that he wasn't in his element and vocally he struggled. But honestly none of that showed.

Travis is a gifted frontman. He engaged the audience, struck the most badass rock band poses, and he shreds like a beast. The place was getting torn up haha. It was pure classic aggression and speed, total horns-in-the-air metal, passion and fury, I could go on. One thing is for sure; their live sound has a crushing effect compared to their studio output. It's a much wilder intensity, less restraint. I wasn't expecting that.

Their drummer is phenomenal, especially considering he just went through heart surgery in his mid-30's. The bassist had a great sense of humor and kept things rolling if they got awkward (like I said, Travis was TIRED), and the second guitarist is built like a tank with a commanding presence. Dual leads, denim vests, horns and headbanging abound. Best part was Travis giving up the mic for a group of front row fans--damn near high school age!--for vocal duties. It was a riot. The place was packed with metalheads both old and young, which is cool because it's an older club I used to gig at that shut down but got reopened by a local brewery.

I missed the first opening band, Idle Hands, but the second one, Hellfire...boy oh boy, I HAVE to write a thread up on these dudes if none exist around here. Straight up scorching speed metal from Portland.

9/10 will go again.

EDIT: got the two opening band names mixed up lol.

Eyesore wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

The lead singer/guitarist is (was?) also in the doom band Beastmaker

He's also the son of Bill Church (Montrose).

I had no idea Haunt was Trevor Church's band! Badass.

Yeah Bill Church still resides here in Fresno as well, as far as I know. Bought a guitar from him forever ago when he was working a local guitar shoppe (Spitzer's Sound Stage). Told me a couple cool road stories that I've forgotten by now.

Hopefully I can catch these guys when they get back from the road. Beastmaker had some killer music as well. The last Haunt album has a bit of a lean Omen flavor that I dig.

Me either, man. I just found out yesterday when he posted about them on the Beastmaker page. Been meaning to check them out, but thought their albums were out of print on CD. He pointed me to Shadow Kingdom, so I ordered them there.

Love Beastmaker! He's been churning out some killer EPs lately. Up to 10 now.

So is Beastmaker over or is he doing double duty?

They're playing in town on Tuesday! Looking forward to chatting with him IF I can make it, he sounds like a cool dude with a lot of talent.

No, not over. Like I said, he's been releasing a bunch of Beastmaker EPs as of late. Two at a time (or so it seems), four songs each. He releases them individually as digital albums at first, then a few months later puts them both on a single CD.

I just got EP 5 And 6 and EP 7 And 8 on CD today, in fact.

Scratch that. Beastmaker is done. Haunt and an upcoming new project are Church's focus now.

The final Beastmaker EP was released recently (CD version to follow):

^^Another project? Shit, does he get any sleep? He did look a little malnourished on stage. Felt like throwing him a sandwich.

That Beastmaker sounds catchy! That lead guitar sounds like a sonic rush, great mix there. Too bad the project is no more.

Trevor's voice is really growing on me. If I squint I can hear Ozzy.

corplhicks wrote:

^^Another project? Shit, does he get any sleep? He did look a little malnourished on stage. Felt like throwing him a sandwich.

That Beastmaker sounds catchy! That lead guitar sounds like a sonic rush, great mix there. Too bad the project is no more.

Trevor's voice is really growing on me. If I squint I can hear Ozzy.

That last EP sounds like a cross between Beastmaker and Haunt. Probably intentional. Very good, though.

Never heard of either band before, but both bands sound c really good. Might have to explore some more and add them to my list. Think I like Beastmaker best out of the two, but small sample size, that could change.

Some of their stuff is on Amazon prime so I downloaded it for free. Pretty good stuff!

Got an email from Trevor Church that he sent the new album to me today, wasn't expecting that but look forward to it.
I know Mosaic Vision will be getting a physical distribution but not until the new one is out.

Wargod60