Originally created as a solo project by songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Trevor William Church, in the last five years HAUNT has become a leader of American retro-metal / hard rock with a prolific number of releases.
Hot on the heels from HAUNT’s just released new 2023 very good album ‘Golden Arm’, Trevor will present a ‘Best Of’ CD (also available on vinyl, of course) titled ”Chariot Vol.1 [Best Of]”.
Church’s expressive vocals — high and melodic but with a crucial hint of world-weary pathos — along with his fierce, inventive riffs (often harmonized in vintage Thin Lizzy and Iron Maiden style), ornate solos (some played by bandmates) and concise, catchy songwriting align to make his retro ideas feel uncannily vital. Rounding out the presentation are his warm, unfussy production values, which run counter to contemporary metal’s often sanitized feel.
At a time when metal is cross-breeding with other genres and shooting off in all kinds of wild, progressive directions, HAUNT / Trevor is an anomaly: more old-school craftsman than willful innovator. And the music here just rocks!
In 1992, when Trevor William Church was 10 years old, his dad took him to see Van Halen. It was a typical father-son outing, except for the fact that the band’s then-frontman, Sammy Hagar, happened to be Bill Church’s former boss. That night, the elder Church, who played bass on 10 Hagar solo albums during the Seventies and Eighties, broke down and wept.
Unlike so many rock parents, Bill Church — who also worked with Montrose and Van Morrison, and went by the nickname “Electric Church” during his gigging heyday — put fatherhood first, ramping down his music career so he could be at home more.
Now 41, Trevor finds himself equally committed to both pursuits. He’s a self-described homebody who’s also one of the world’s most prolific, not to mention skillful, classic hard rock auteurs.
Trevor took up guitar around age 11, encouraged by a cousin who taught him how to play and schooled him in classic heavy metal. But it wasn’t until his thirties that he hit his stride as a musician. After playing in a series of short-lived bands, all the while making his living as a hairstylist, he formed Beastmaker in 2014.
From the start, the band stuck to a rigorously defined aesthetic — lumbering, post-Sabbath riffs; supernatural imagery — allowing Church to churn out material at an astonishing rate.
While that output has been remarkably consistent, it only hints at the scope of Church’s talents. The first wave of Beastmaker EPs were like comic books, escapist, unabashedly campy and packed with samples from B-horror flicks. HAUNT’s music is much more elaborated, melodic riff-driven rock n’ roll, and its album’s cover images featuring zombies and skeletons give a good idea of what’s in store when you hit play: ’80s culture.
His guitar heroes are fairly standard for a shredder of his age and taste profile: Ozzy Osbourne sidemen Randy Rhoads & Jake E. Lee, Dokken’s George Lynch, Metallica’s James Hetfield, and Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine.
But his songwriting inspirations stretch back a good deal further.
Church’s devotion to tried-and-true pop-rock forms is one reason he’s able to generate so many songs. Another is that when he’s not on the road, he treats writing and recording in his home-studio like any other day job.
“I don’t drink. I’m not a party guy,” Church says. “I’m just out here working all the time, my passion, the music.”
“My wife’s a schoolteacher. She is out the door in high heels and clanking shoes on the hardwood floor at 6:30 in the morning. So I rise up pretty early,” he says. “The first thing I do, get a cup of coffee. … I have Persian rugs covering the concrete in the studio; I have soundproofing everywhere, partitioned walls, tons of gear.
I have so many guitars, and a really nice producer workstation for myself. Having all those things around, that really gets me going.”
Traditionally, metal & hard rock was a collective endeavor where each band member played a specialized role — frontman, songwriter, lead shredder and so on — but HUNT is primarily Church’s vision. He writes the material and then brings in his bandmates once it’s time to record and get out on the road.
And that seems to work greatly; HUNT simply rocks, sometimes with a metallic NWOBHM atmosphere, sometimes with an ’80s Sunset Strip hard rocking delivery.
Highly Recommended
01 – Luminous Eyes
02 – Burst Into Flame
03 – Reflectors
04 – Frozen In Time
05 – It’s in My Hands
06 – If Icarus Could Fly
07 – Defender
08 – Light the Beacon
09 – Hearts on Fire
10 – Mind Freeze
11 – Flashback
12 – Winter’s Breath
13 – Electrified
Trevor William Church – vocals, all instruments
Andy Lei, Fili Bibiano – guitar solos
Taylor Hollman – additional bass
Daniel Wilson – additional drums
01 – Thunder In Your Heart (John Farnham cover)
02 – Send Me an Angel (Real Life cover)
HAUNT – Chariot Vol.1 [Best Of] (2023) + Hell Tracks
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